“It is a Swedish-Danish application”

The Nordic countries made a joint effort to organize the 2025 European Women’s Championship, but when it was voted on in the spring of 2023, it was not even close. In the final vote in UEFA’s executive committee, winning Switzerland received nine votes and the Nordics just four.

In connection with the Uefa congress in Paris in February 2024, the football associations in Sweden and Denmark surprised by announcing the plan to apply for the European Championship in 2029. Without either Finland or Norway and where the Norwegian football association is clear that they want to be a part. NFF base Lise Klaveness has not given up on the idea of ​​a group game at Ullevål in Oslo.

– We have hope because they said there is hope. Denmark and Sweden are leading it, we want to step in and support it with our capital and other Nordic capitals. But of course we have to persuade them first and I won’t do that via the media, says Lise Klaveness to Fotbollskanalen.

– We have done a lot with our pitch and we have the government with us, we have a strong history and strong motivation. I think the application will be stronger if we do this together, as a unit. But we have to give the chairman a chance to see that we are a value to add, not something that drags down the application. Then we don’t want to be involved, we want to make it stronger.

Fredrik Reinfeldt has been to Norway and met Lise Klaveness but does not want to open the door.

– Among the first things I had to experience was coming to Lisbon last year and being denied the application from the four Nordic nations, and when we read the evaluation, it was quite clear that they pointed out that some of the arenas were not up to standard, that maybe was not completely cohesive and above all that four were too many, says the SvFF base to the Football Channel.

– That’s why we sat down and asked ourselves which countries had the best arena possibilities and which are close enough to make a better bid. We came to the conclusion that Sweden and Denmark were. That’s as far as we’ve come. We have raised our hand and said that we are preparing an application, but we haven’t gotten any further than that. Therefore, it is too early to have a discussion about what it might contain in addition.

– We are seeing a Swedish-Danish application. Then we know that there is a Norwegian and Nordic interest in being part of it in different ways. But I want to be clear that the conclusion drawn was that it was better to be two than four.

Is it a bit of a no to Lise Klaveness?
– We have to design an application that we believe can win support in Uefa and we were, to be completely honest, not very close when we got to the final vote. We have to do this in a different way and we have to do it in a way and we have to do it in a way that can win higher support. Then I know that there are different opinions and we will meet this summer and talk about this as well, but that is where it is right now. Above all, what we are starting with is an in-depth coordination with the Danish Football Association.

Lise Klaveness and Fredrik Reinfeldt were both at a conference on lifting Nordic women’s football in Malmö on April 11, which was organized by Malmö FF and FC Rosengård. Klaveness then repeated, just as before, that she wants to see the Nordic confederations work more closely together.

– We had a collaboration where we wanted to start a Nordic league. Uefa took note and subsequently established the Europa League for women. They said it was also because we were in forward motion, so it was a big success for us. They felt some pressure and were inspired by us. Then they started the Europa League, partly because we gathered the forces in the project. We ran for six months and now there is the Europa League, says Lise Klaveness.

– But I still believe that it will be important to have proper cooperation, not just Nordic meetings with the chairmen. That the league winners meet each other, that we have educational efforts across borders – we don’t do that today. We can’t compete with Manchester City’s or Real Madrid’s budget but we have other things, but then it has to be some action and energy. We should go in and do three or four priorities and I talked to Fredrik (Reinfeldt) about that: Maybe we can do this five-year program together? Along with Iceland, Finland and Denmark as well.

I asked Fredrik about the EC application for 2029, but he is adamant that it is a Danish-Swedish project, what are your thoughts on that?

– As he told us, he wants to see our idea. Denmark and Sweden are leading figures, but they want to evaluate whether we can enter. That’s what he said to me and hopefully to you. We will talk about it in the coming weeks.