At the end of May, chocolate giant Freia entered into a partnership with Topfotball Kvinner (TFK). On Friday last week, after 16 days, the latter chose to cancel the collaboration before it even began.
Freya has already managed to launch a contest for the kids, where they can win a dream meeting with a soccer player of their choice. Among those qualified was Fire Chief Cecily Redish Kvami.
The reason for the cessation of cooperation is that Freya’s owner, Mondelez, continued production in factories on Russian soil, after the war broke out in Ukraine.
I loved the women’s project
– First of all, I must say that this is very sad. Sad for us, Freya, and women’s soccer. We have established a very good collaboration with Freya, and we see them as a player who puts women’s football on the agenda in Norway. We applaud this initiative and have had a great campaign on the stairs,” says Hege Jorgensen, General Manager of Topfotball Kvinner.
Last year Freia launched a campaign with Ada Hegerberg, Harry Kane and Virgil Van Dyke, but this year they wanted to change their focus. Now there were 12 Norwegian players representing Al Taawun.
“Together with some of Norway’s toughest footballers, Freya and Topfootball Kvinner will engage and inspire real sporting fun. The aim is to raise awareness of women’s football, build profiles and create enthusiasm in every corner of the country,” they wrote in a May press release. .
At the same time, they launched a competition where young winners could experience their dream match with the football great champion. In the list of those who could be chosen are names like Ada Hegerberg, Guro Pettersen and Branns Cecilie Redisch Kvamme.
– What can I say, I didn’t think much about this. I take on what I’ve been told, Kvamme says when asking BA what she thinks of the collaboration suspension. She explains that she is behind the decision.
– Is it stupid to interrupt a campaign with such focus?
– Yes, of course, it’s sad. It was really cool that they wanted to elevate females. I hope someone else comes on board and wants to do the same, she says.
He had several meetings
Top women’s football has now come to a request to freeze cooperation until Mondelez stops its production on Russian soil.
– As soon as we learned that Mondelez was blacklisted in Ukraine, discussions began. We’ve had several meetings with them, and it was important to spend enough time on the process. Although we know that none of the Freya products sold in Norway come from Russia, we ultimately concluded based on a comprehensive evaluation, says TFK leader Jorgensen.
Mondelez stated that she continues to condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
– As a result, we have significantly changed our operations in Russia. We have limited our activities and stopped capital investments, product launches and advertising. Food products are exempt from Western sanctions, and Mondelez and most other global food companies have continued to operate in Russia, while complying with all existing sanctions. These aren’t easy decisions, but as a food company, we help preserve food supplies by focusing on basic, affordable products and packaging formats, they write in an email.
They call the situation complicated. If they stop operations, they say, it will harm ordinary people.
– This would create great uncertainty for our employees and for the farmers who depend on us. We regret what is happening now with Freya, that our brand is highlighted among all the companies that continued to operate in Russia, they wrote.
When asked if TFK sees its zero-production order likely to actually happen in Russia, Jorgensen replied as follows:
– We know that withdrawing from Russia is not easy, and there are many considerations to take into account. But for us, it was the right decision.
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