Alumni News: Barcelona Business School alumni Harald José Haraldsen’s thesis on local Norwegian soccer teams

Norwegian media showcases Barcelona Business School graduate´s final project; Community welcomes his suggestions

BBS student Harald Jose Haraldsen has been the subject of local media and community attention since he returned to his native Norway. People are interested in finding out what they can do to keep local football clubs alive and Haraldsen is now ready to provide answers.

A Sports Management Master graduate at Barcelona Business School, Haraldsen presented a final thesis on the decline in attendance at the local, grassroots football clubs in Fredrikstad, Norway.

“Since football is very important to people here, my project received quite a bit of attention”, says Haraldsen about the thesis titled ‘Local football clubs in Norway: Is this the beginning of the end?’

“I was both interviewed by a local newspaper (Demokraten) and by a local radio station (Radio Fredrikstad) about my project. Also quite a number of people were interested in reading my paper since I returned home.”

“I have been asked to sit on the board of the youth league here in Norway, and have also discussed opportunities within the Football Academy. Writing the Capstone project turned out to be much more than just a completion of requirements!”

Being a former player and great football fan himself, Haraldsen wanted to identify the causes of the decline in attendance in order to reverse this trend. He believes football clubs are a great tool for community cohesion and he is ready to implement changes to keep them in place. The project includes interviews with key figures of the Norwegian football community and a section of the professional team, Fredrikstad FK.

Links

Download newspaper article (PDF / Norwegian only)

Article published in “Demokraten” on October 30,2007