Gŵyl Wal Goch is the leading festival of football culture and is held in Wrexham, the spiritual home of Welsh football. On the eve of the Nations League clash between the Cymru and Norway in Cardiff, the group has arranged a screening of the film Alt For Norge in Cardiff in the company of Welsh and Norwegian fans and delegates from the Welsh and Icelandic football associations. Gŵyl Wal Goch founder Russell Todd explains more:
There is a train of thought that when Cymru broke its 58 year qualifying duck at Euro 2016 in France, it changed not just Welsh football but the whole nation. But looking back, we were not alone. A football film being screened in Cardiff suggests Norway went on a similar football-influenced journey a couple of decades earlier than Wales when the unexpected success of national team coach Egil ‘Drillo’ Olsen in the 1990s had a huge influence on Norwegian national identity.
Taking inspiration from Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia’s sports documentaries Senna and Diego Maradona, filmmaker duo Jo Vemund Svendsen and Daniel Høglund let the story from the 1990s speak for itself in their captivating film Alt for Norge.
Co-director Daniel Høglund said: “We are thrilled to be bringing Alt For Norge to Cardiff to warm up for the match between our nations. For many years Norwegian football was better known for a commentator’s unbridled on-air joy at Norway beating England than for any success on the pitch.”
The memorable quote was screamed over the radio, ‘Lord Nelson! Winston Churchill! Maggie Thatcher! Lady Diana! Your boys took one hell of a beating tonight.’
But Høglund says after that victory they were minnows no more.
“It all changed in the 1990s under Egil Olsen but his impact stretched beyond the pitch. It really did change our small nation and our self-confidence forever.”
Gŵyl Wal Goch’s Russell Todd said: “To many who remember football in the 1990s, Egil Olsen in his wellies is an indelible image. His idiosyncrasies may have made him a figure of fun but they hid an astute brain, both for football and politics. Alt For Norge is a fascinating portrayal of how football can change a small nation for the better, something we in Cymru know all too well after that wonderful summer in France a decade ago. So why not come and join us for a great night out before the big match?”
Mark Hinge from the Welsh Norwegian Society said, “How fitting that on the eve of a sporting-clash of two small nations – both equally, with big hearts – that this film will be screened in Wales as an example of Welsh ‘Hiraeth’ and Norwegian ‘Begjær’. It will be wonderful to watch the historic rise of Norway as a sporting nation and for all of Wales to share in that rise of success and their joy.”
Alt for Norge! shows at The Canopi on Tudor Street on Wednesday 30 September Tickets are available from the Gŵyl Wal Goch website: https://www.footballfansfestival.com/the-silver-screen-loyw
Welsh Norwegian Society 