Background

The Norwegian Football Federation (Norges Fotballforbund, NFF) is the governing body for football in Norway, founded in 1902 and affiliated to both FIFA and UEFA. It oversees professional and amateur football across the country, including the top-flight Eliteserien, the women's league, and the national teams. The federation is headquartered in Oslo and has a long record of public advocacy on human rights in football governance.

On 2 June 2026, NFF president Lise Klaveness wrote to FIFA's Ethics Committee formally backing a complaint lodged by London-based rights group FairSquare on 8 December 2025, making Norway the first national member federation to do so . The complaint alleges FIFA president Gianni Infantino breached Article 15 of the Code of Ethics through his public alignment with Donald Trump, including presenting Trump with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. The submission is a formal complaint; no charges have been laid and no finding has been made by the Ethics Committee.

Klaveness has a consistent record of pressing FIFA on governance and rights issues. She confronted FIFA leadership publicly over Qatar 2022 working conditions at the 2022 FIFA Congress, making her the first federation president to do so from the floor. The NFF's formal backing of the FairSquare complaint six days before the 2026 World Cup opener signals that at least one member association is prepared to use formal institutional channels against the sitting president.

Common Questions

Why did Norway back an ethics complaint against FIFA's Infantino?

NFF president Lise Klaveness wrote to FIFA's Ethics Committee on 2 June 2026 supporting a complaint by FairSquare that alleges Infantino breached Article 15 of the FIFA Code of Ethics by publicly aligning with Donald Trump and awarding him the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. It is a formal complaint; no finding of guilt has been made.Source: Lowdown

Who is Lise Klaveness and what has she done at FIFA?

Lise Klaveness is the president of the Norwegian Football Federation. She became known internationally for publicly confronting FIFA leadership about Qatar 2022 human rights conditions at the 2022 FIFA Congress. In June 2026 she wrote to FIFA's Ethics Committee backing a formal complaint against president Gianni Infantino.

What is Article 15 of the FIFA Code of Ethics?

Article 15 of the FIFA Code of Ethics sets out political neutrality obligations for FIFA officials, prohibiting alignment with political figures in ways that compromise or appear to compromise their independence. FairSquare's complaint against Infantino alleges four breaches of this article.Source: FairSquare

Which football federation was first to back the ethics case against Infantino?

The Norwegian Football Federation, whose president Lise Klaveness wrote to FIFA's Ethics Committee on or before 2 June 2026 in formal support of FairSquare's complaint. No other national federation had previously backed the complaint.Source: Lowdown

Source Material

Norges Fotballforbund – Official website Football Association of Norway

How the World Sees Them

FIFA

No member federation has previously backed a formal complaint against a sitting FIFA president. The NFF action creates precedent and potentially invites other federations to follow.

Europe

European federations control significant voting blocs and sponsorship leverage. Norway's move tests whether human rights advocacy by smaller federations can shift the broader membership's posture before the 2027 presidential election.

Norway

NFF has a sustained record of pressing FIFA on governance; Klaveness's 2022 Qatar intervention and 2026 ethics backing signal institutional persistence rather than one-off protest.