Prime Minister of Norway shares his love for Leeds United with brilliant photo
The Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, has let his nation know of his love for Leeds United with one of his latest Instagram posts.
Støre has previously spoken at length about his affiliation with United, and how he has always supported the Whites since he was a young boy. He is one of many Leeds fans based in Norway.
The club’s popularity across Scandinavia grew in the 1970s when English football was broadcast free on mainstream television. As a result, there are families of United supporters across the region today, particularly in Norway.
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During an interview in 2020, Støre, 64, described falling in love with Leeds as “a kind of infatuation, a fascination.”
He outlined: “A new sense of belonging emerged, a new hyphenated identity emerged: I was a Leeds supporter. And what really gave me identity and belonging was that other boys chose other clubs: like Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal. A rather friendly expression for ‘us against the others’."
Støre dived head first into the world of Leeds United, subscribing to magazines and going to watch them play in 1973 when the club came to Strømsgodset to play in the UEFA Cup. He later would sit alone in front of the TV to watch Leeds play Bayern Munich in the 1975 European Cup final.
“I knew everything about Leeds,” he stated. “I kept a log of the games, the goals, cut out pictures of the players and had Leeds socks and buttons.”
Though he had not always been able to track United’s progress amid his route to becoming Norway’s leader, his passion for the club still runs thick. This week, the Prime Minister came across a barn decked with Leeds United flags.
The word ‘Leeds’ had been hammered into its side with planks of wood, too. Spotting an opportunity, Støre posed for a photograph before posting it on his Instagram story with the caption: “Found a nice barn along the road.”
