A decades-long partnership brought Norway back to UNCG for World Cup preparations

Anyone who knows the story would understand why the Norwegian Men's National Soccer Team picked UNC Greensboro as their initial training site. The two have a thing going on.

The team broke camp earlier this week as they continue their pursuit of the World Cup. The Norwegians defeated Ivory Coast, 2-1, on Tuesday, setting up a showdown with Brazil on Sunday afternoon in East Rutherford, New Jersey. But the quest began in the Triad, and the area has been the launching pad for a few of that country's competitions over the years.

Former UNCG Athletics Director Nelson Bobb writes that, with the Olympics headed to Atlanta in 1996, the school looked for a way to sell the UNCG sports facilities and the Triad. There were visits to several embassies and communication with several non-government organizations to offer assistance.

"Norway reached out to us because of our soccer facility and the Tower Village complex, which was new," Bobb wrote last month. "They also liked the security structure of our soccer stadium and the Village. We also offered to build a beach volleyball pit using the same sand as the Olympic facilities. And we transformed the three-court gymnasium into a team handball court."

Norway's women's soccer team had just won the 1995 Women's World Cup in Sweden and sported the best player in the world, Hege Riise. Their handball team was a top team in Europe and in the world. The beach volleyball teams were competitive in the world championships.

Bobb said the Tower Village complex pleased the Norwegian guests. The beach volleyball court was well-received, and hundreds of people came to watch the athletes train. The Norwegian teams invited other countries to train with them. The handball team also allowed visitors to watch and brought in the U.S. team for an exhibition. While the U.S. didn't have a handball team, it assembled one because, as the host country, it could play in the Atlanta Olympics.

The Norwegians got the VIP treatment while in Greensboro, going to eat barbecue, visiting movie theaters and touring the Wrangler world headquarters.

"The Wrangler experience was incredible because they connected directly back to their Olympiatoppen national headquarters in Oslo. Further, Wrangler allowed each member of the travel party to choose two or three pairs of Wrangler jeans, which they sent directly back to Norway. That gesture was huge and possibly the highlight of their stay," Bobb said.

Jarle Aambo, the Norwegian delegation lead in Greensboro, became the leader of Olympiatoppen and served in that position for several years. According to Bobb, he assisted with UNCG's men's and women's basketball teams as they visited their Olympic training facilities in Oslo when both teams traveled to Norway and Sweden.

Several years later, Aambo sent the Norwegian men's handball team's coaches to Greensboro to meet with Mike Gaski, the UNCG baseball coach at the time. Their purpose was to understand how we throw various pitches so they could transfer and teach that information to their players. In April 1997, UNCG hosted the first match of the USWNT Nike Victory Tour as U.S. defeated France.

Brian Mackin, the current AD at UNCG, held a watch party in his office for the France game, which Norway lost, 4-1. But the score he was more interested in is the exposure his campus got thanks to the Norwegian media telling their stories about the stay in the city.

"There is one billion impressions ... whatever website, whatever platform that is out there," Mackin said. "We're getting just tremendous awareness. I guess through the whole experience, it's been really gratifying."

Mackin and his staff did what was necessary to make the Norway team comfortable during its stay, although they couldn't control the weather.

"Our facilities staff and the university staff made this happen," he said. "They're the ones that need to get the credit, and I mean it."

Two years ago, UNCG did a makeover of its soccer stadium, unaware that one of the countries on the field would choose Greensboro as a training site. The pitch was regraded and resodded, just in time to host a Brazilian club team.

"They loved it so much, it put us on the board for consideration for the World Cup because of the pitch," Mackin said.

Richard Beard of the Greensboro Sports Foundation described it as a collaborative effort between his organization, UNCG, Grandover Resort and the city. He also pointed out Erling Haaland, whose late goal helped the Norwegians beat Ivory Coast to set up the Sunday match.

"Erling Holand is actively posting through the tournament," Beard said, "and you see him on the field with the UNCG Spartans scoreboard in the background or playing golf at Grandover. He has 41 million followers, and he's been spending the last month posting every day in Greensboro."

In one of his Instagram posts, he's approached by two women asking him and a YouTube producer if they're on the Norwegian soccer team. At first, he said "No," but when one of the women said she heard that one of the men was one of the biggest soccer players in the world. Haaland replied, "You're looking at him."

The exchange included Haaland trying to blend in with the local culture, saying, "No worries, y'all."

The 2031 Women's World Cup will be held in the U.S., and Charlotte is being considered as a potential host city. If Norway makes the field and needs a place to train, men's team coach Stale Solbakken has an idea.

"Big thanks to the university and big thanks to all the members around this area who have helped us during these weeks," Solbakken said in a video. "It's been a tremendous service, which helped us a lot, and we have really enjoyed the experience of being here, and maybe we'll meet again sooner or later."

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 9:39 AM.