This stands in the way of Mol and Sørum’s Norway dream
They had won the Olympics, the European Championships and the World Series. Last week they also won the long-awaited World Cup gold, so now Anders Mol and Christian Sørum have won everything that can be won.
Shortly after the World Cup triumph, the world champions looked forward to their new main goal:
– Now we want a tournament in Norway. We have to do that, said Anders Mol when he and partner Christian Sørum met TV 2 at Gardemoen after the flight from the World Cup city of Rome.
– For us, it all started when we saw the World Cup in Stavanger in 2009. We were very inspired by the tournament and said to ourselves that we wanted to become world champions, and now we are.
With a tournament on Norwegian soil, they hope to pass on the same fate to others, both to get more people to open their eyes to the sport and also to motivate someone who can hopefully take over their baton one day.
From 1999 to 2016, tournaments were held in either Stavanger or Kristiansand almost every year, with the World Cup in 2009 as the highlight.
The Volleyball Association tells TV 2 that they, like Mol and Sørum, want to get the sand volleyball circus back to Norway.
It’s just a problem.
Will fulfill the dream, men …
The last time the volleyball association hosted international tournaments, things went terribly wrong.
During the years when Norway was a permanent stop for the volleyball circus, they always had partners to lean on. Until the last three years.
– In 2014, 2015 and 2016, we had tournaments in Stavanger where we lost almost 10 million in the three years combined, informs the association’s president, Eirik Sørdahl.
Afterwards, the association could not stand on its own two feet, and therefore had to borrow money from the Norwegian Sports Confederation.
– We have spent the last six years correcting the economy. As great a financial risk as it is with a tournament in Norway, we have not dared to take on a new such tournament during this time.
Light at the end of the tunnel?
Now the volleyball association stands on its own two feet again, and says they want tournaments to Norway – but not at any price:
– For us to arrange a big tournament again, we are dependent on having someone with us who shares the financial risk, says the volleyball president.
An international tournament could cost anywhere between 8 and 16 million, Sørdahl states. A World Cup can cost up to four times as much.
That one finds destinations such as Jurmala in Latvia and Ostrava in the Czech Republic on the calendar of the world series, but not a Norwegian one, he explains as follows:
– I think there is a large degree of government funding, especially in the Czech Republic. Many of the tournaments take place in countries where there is a strong government impact.
Norway has not provided this type of state guarantee for a long time, and they usually do not do so in connection with anything other than the Olympics and major ski events.
Nevertheless, he acknowledges that the association is looking for possible partners, but that it is currently far from dialogue to reality:
– We have an ongoing dialogue with the international federations, as well as several municipalities in Norway that have shown interest.
– But we often compete with large cities or countries where state guarantees are provided for having such an event. Norway has not provided this type of state guarantee for a long time, and they usually do not do so in connection with anything other than the Olympics and major ski events.
– Would be a shame
Bjørn Maaseide, who himself has won the European Championships and the World Series combined when he was active, believes that Norway has a very good starting point for a tournament – despite the lack of financial means:
– When you have the world’s best team in this country, a lot is already in place.
– It would be a shame for them, but also for Norway if they were not allowed to play at home now that they are at the top of their careers. I think the Norwegian people would have appreciated seeing them live.
He himself experienced many tournaments in Norwegian during his career. He retired after the World Cup in 2009 – a tournament he himself was the initiator of.
He lists a number of alternatives he himself believes would have been good for a future tournament on Norwegian soil:
– I like cities like Oslo, Arendal, Kristiansand, Bergen and Trondheim. Resourceful cities. Or think of it Arctic Race, ie the bicycle race in northern Norway. Imagine combining it with beach volleyball in the midnight sun.