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Norway stands out among the historic European powers that dominate what remains of the World Cup. It has the skimpiest soccer heritage of the bunch — with a 28-year break since its last visit to the tournament — and the strongest political agenda: a continued fight to boot Israel from international soccer.

Norway’s trip to this World Cup ran through Israel, which has competed for one of Europe’s tournament slots since 1994, when boycotts from Arab and Muslim countries made it impossible for the Middle Eastern country to continue competing in the Asian Football Confederation.

When the two countries faced off in Oslo last October in a qualifying match, the Norwegian Football Federation announced that all proceeds would be donated to relief aid in Gaza. Palestinian flags, keffiyehs paired with viking hats and a massive “Let Children Live” banner swept the stands. Fans booed the playing of Israel’s national anthem.

But the Norwegian federation’s primary instrument is not advocacy from its team or fan base, but institutional pressure through federation standing and procedural respectability — an instinct reflecting the nation’s overall style and befitting its disproportionately large role at the United Nations.

Norway has been in the middle of Middle Eastern politics for a while. In 1978, the Camp David Accords set Israel on course to surrender the Sinai Peninsula and its oil fields, just before the Iranian Revolution upended regional energy politics. The United States pressed Norway to supply oil to Israel, which it did only after clearing the idea with Palestine Liberation Organization Chair Yasser Arafat, who saw the value of a Scandinavian back channel to Israeli leaders.

Norway’s tact turned itself into a distinctive intermediary: a small, energy-rich state with few Middle East ambitions of its own, clout in Washington, trust among Israelis and rapport with Palestinians. In the 1990s, the country hosted the negotiations that generated the Oslo Accords, the most significant diplomatic breakthrough toward a lasting peace. As talks failed and Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank deepened over the early 2000s, Norway pulled back from Israel.

Now Norway has brought that perspective to soccer’s governing bodies, arguing that Russia’s exclusion from the sport after its invasion of Ukraine presents a double standard that should be applied equally to Israel. The latest push for Israel’s suspension from FIFA began in 2024 by the Palestinian Football Association. It is backed by Arab and Asian football bodies, which cite atrocities in Gaza, discrimination against Arab athletes and Israel’s inclusion of football clubs that operate in illegal West Bank settlements.

Norwegian support advances the cause into the soccer’s mainstream, lending a weight and legitimacy absent among other European countries whose federations have taken a hard line against Israeli involvement. Türkiye’s position can be dismissed as predictably partisan on religious grounds, while Ireland — which has formally introduced a resolution to expel Israel and has considered boycotting matches against the country — is absent from this World Cup.

The driver of Norway’s political agenda is former national team star Lise Klaveness, a lawyer who serves on the executive committee of European confederation UEFA. She has been a voice for Nordic progressive politics within international soccer: In early 2022, Klaveness spoke to FIFA Congress about human rights, LGBTQ+ safety and transparency concerns in Qatar.

Players have been more circumspect than their leadership, but far from silent. Captain Martin Ødegaard said in early 2025 that the situation in Gaza — which that fall was subject to a peace deal negotiated in part by the United States — was “a background you can’t ignore” when playing Israel. The team’s leading goal-scorer, striker Erling Haaland, has engaged more obliquely with the subject but has not ignored it: A 2023 social media post mourned innocent children dying as attacks escalated on Gaza, and clips circulated of a 2025 video call Haaland held with a freed Israeli hostage.

​Politics

When the men’s World Cup winds down next week, FIFA isn’t packing it all up and heading back to Zurich.

Instead, the global soccer governing body will keep open the Miami office that it has used as an American political headquarters as it looks to expand its presence in the western hemisphere.

The strategy marks a significant shift in how FIFA has approached major tournaments. Rather than relying on a local organizing structure that dissolves after the final whistle, officials say the organization intends to retain the institutional knowledge assembled in South Florida and deploy it for the next wave of competitions.

“The whole idea was to bring 50 people from Zurich, who have the necessary experience and breadth, who’ve done other World Cups and they became the nucleus of Miami and they hired people,” a senior FIFA adviser, granted anonymity to describe internal strategy, said earlier this year. “That’s a model that we intend to use for future World Cups.”

FIFA first opened its Miami office in 2023, but the operation has since ballooned into 700-plus full-time staff. During the tournament, it has functioned as the organization’s nerve center and base for senior officials, including Chief Event Operations Officer for the FIFA World Cup Heimo Schirgi.

The Miami team will soon pivot toward FIFA’s next slate of marquee events. Brazil will host the women’s World Cup next year, and FIFA will help to manage the soccer portion of the LA28 Olympics, which will include qualifying matches across the United States. And while Spain, Portugal and Morocco will serve as the primary hosts of the 2030 men’s World Cup, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will each stage one opening match to commemorate the tournament’s centennial.

Just a year later, the United States is expected to host the 2031 women’s World Cup, giving FIFA another major event on American soil.

The organization hopes the staff, relationships and expertise developed during the largest World Cup in history can become a lasting asset as North America increasingly becomes one of the sport’s most important markets.

CORRECTION: This report has been updated to correct the title of Heimo Schirgi.​Politics