With a woman as general secretary for almost a decade, Norway�s FA has long embraced a forward-thinking outlook seemingly at odds with SFA policy, writes Alan Campbell

WHEN Gordon Smith eventually departs as the SFA chief executive, can anybody envisage his replacement being a woman? The lineage of bowler-hatted secretaries at Park Gardens to sharp-suited chief executives at Hampden has always assumed that only a man can do the job.

Not so in Norway. Smith's equivalent at Hampden yesterday was Karen Espelund, who was appointed general secretary of her country's football association in 1999. A former midfielder, she was introduced to administration through the women's game and did her work so efficiently that there was no male opposition when, after a spell as vice-president, she assumed her country's top post.

That suggests a more enlightened attitude in Oslo than might be experienced in Glasgow. In Scotland there remains a deep-seated resentment in some backward male quarters to women being involved in football in any capacity. Contrast, for example, the no-expense-spared treatment of our men's international team to the pitiful scraps thrown at our women players.

Espelund presides over an organisation which is much more egalitatian. Both genders, at adult and youth levels, receive equal resources and attention. The result is a far more streamlined operation than the SFA's, which operates in a time warp and is compromised by the conflicting interests of the many different organisations which comprise the association.

The statistics reeled off by Espelund, as we chat on a dismally wet Friday afternoon in Scotland's largest city, are impressive. "One big difference between Norway and Scotland," she points out, "is that we have 1842 clubs, who between them have 27,000 teams and 130,000 volunteers.

"The Norwegian FA has put a lot of effort into helping clubs build facilities. We have told all the non-profesional clubs in Norway to build artificial pitches, because that is the future. Every year there are 100 new artificial pitches constructed, as well as 300 new mini-pitches."

Norway's population is 4.6 million, which is less than Scotland's but close enough to make decent comparisons. "Football is the sport in Norway," says Espelund, and although the first international match wasn't played until 1908 and resulted in an embarrassing 11-3 thumping by Sweden, it is nevertheless a fact that the Norwegians can point to many more tangible achievements than we can.

The men's international team has progressed beyond the group stages in the World Cup (1998), and for a heady few weeks in October 1993 were No 2, behind Brazil, in the world rankings. Furthermore they have played the Brazilians four times, winning two and drawing the other two, and lay claim to being the only nation never beaten by them.

The women's feats are much more formidable - the only country to have won the World Cup, the European Championships and the Olympic title. It's a heady mix for a country which is wrongly assumed to barely register on the football radar.

Espelund and her association are currently considering a joint bid for the men's 2016 European Championships with great rivals and neighbours Sweden. The fact that Uefa is raising the number of teams to 24 will not matter, according to the Norwegian general secretary.

"The extra teams won't necessarily make it more difficult," she says, "because Uefa has said you can have six matches in one stadium. That means eight grounds in the two countries will be sufficient. If Uefa had restricted it to three games per stadium we couldn't have managed.

"We still don't know the full criteria for 2016, but we are working with the government and our partners to see if we can do it. It's the third largest sporting event in the world and the biggest Norway and Sweden can think of staging. We will probably have to make up our minds by Christmas."

Norway, along with Sweden, Denmark and Finland also bid for Euro 2008 but, like Scotland, lost out to Switzerland and Austria. "What we learned was that our bid was OK, but four countries was too many," explains the 47-year-old, whose introduction to the game was playing street football in her native Trondheim.

The go-ahead attitude in Norway to staging the event again contrasts with the hand-wringing and prevaricating in Scotland, where some influential commentators have been actively hostile to the concept. This despite the fact that in this country we already have four stadia more than fit for purpose, while the Norwegians might have to build theirs from scratch - or at least rebuild existing stadia.

"We need a new national stadium," says Espelund, "and we need governmental support to get the others in place." But judging by her relaxed demeanour, financing the project is not causing the general secretary to lose any sleep - especially given the existence of Norway's oil fund. Not that, as in this country, there isn't intense media scrutiny of the Norwegian FA's performance. The local press are becoming restless at the men's failure to qualify for a major championships since 2000, but Espelund says coach Age Hareide will be allowed to see out his contract, which ends in 2010.

"He is under pressure," concedes Espelund. "Although we have been close to qualifying for championships it hasn't been satisfying according to the press. Because we qualified in 1994, 1998 and 2000 the expectation is extremely high, especially for a small country.

"Age has announced, and we have agreed, this is his last contract so we are slowly starting to look for his replacement. But until then we will give him full support and stand behind him."

Espelund may have a slight frame, but there is a toughness within as Sepp Blatter discovered in 2002 when she let him have it with both barrels at Fifa's congress in Seoul. The Norwegian FA, we can assume, is in good hands, even if they're softer than those which have traditionally shuffled papers at the SFA.