Korva is a scroll of the internet’s best ideas.
Norway out-medaled the US
Norway's sporting success is largely attributed to a youth model that prioritizes finding joy in the sport and an internal love of improving at practice, ahead of results, scores, and finishing positions. The pattern shows up beyond the Winter Games, too: Norway's best triathletes are the best in the world, its distance runners are beating East Africans and Americans alike, and its top men's beach volleyball partnership is better than any the US can produce.
In US soccer, no country has more youth players, yet barriers to access and clubs incentivized to turn a profit and chase meaningless tournament results over player development stand in the way. The US men failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup while tiny Iceland held its own against mighty Argentina. In 2022, the Netherlands, whose population is slightly smaller than that of New York State, knocked the US men out comfortably.
What are Norway's rules for children's sports?
Norway's national sports confederation has a set of children's rights in sport that govern competition for young athletes. Under them, children under 13 are not to compete in national championships. The rules were first adopted in 1987 and have been revised since. They apply to the roughly 9,000 local sports clubs that make up the confederation.
How is youth sport funded in Norway?
Norwegian sport is organized through local, member-run clubs that sit under a national confederation. Part of the profit from Norsk Tipping, the state-owned gaming company, goes to sports organizations. That arrangement ties funding for sport to a national program rather than to what each family pays. Clubs run largely on volunteer work and modest membership fees.
How did tiny Iceland become a soccer power?
Iceland's soccer federation is credited with building indoor and heated pitches so children could train through long winters. It also trained a large number of coaches to UEFA licensing standards, so even youth teams had qualified coaches. The country reached the quarterfinals of Euro 2016 and played at the 2018 World Cup. In its first match there, Iceland drew 1-1 with Argentina in Moscow.
More from Wendover Productions
