Arbeidernes Idrettsforbund
Encyclopedia
Arbeidernes Idrettsforbund (English: "Workers' Federation of Sports") was a sport
ing organization in Norway
between 1924 and 1946. As of 1935, AIF had around 50,000 members. AIF published the magazine Arbeideridrett.
" was played. This helped spur the creation of a workers' federation of sports, although a Workers' Sports Opposition had existed since 1922.
The decision to found AIF was taken (with 51 votes against 4) at the third national conference of the Workers' Sports Opposition in Folkets Hus in Oslo on June 8 and 9, 1924. Harald Liljedahl was elected as chairman of AIF, with 29 votes against 9 for Olaf Thorsen
(a communist and executive member of the Red Sport International
). The conference unanimously decided to appeal for membership in the Red Sport International.
AIF grew rapidly. Initially a Oslo
-based movement, AIF began forming clubs in different parts of the country. At the time of its foundation, the organization had affiliated clubs with a combined membership of 4,810. By the end of the year, it had 85 sports teams and a combined membership of 5,686. In 1925, AIF had 96 sports teams and a combined membership of 6,608. The stronghold was still Oslo and Akershus
, whereas Sogn og Fjordane
did not have a single workers' sports club.
. Trygve Lie
opposed the idea of having a politicized sporting organization. The national party conference of 1925 did however decide that the party would back the new organization, rejecting Lie's criticism.
At the AIF national conference of 1926, the communist and trade union
ist Oskar Hansen was elected as new chairman with 56 votes against 31 for Rolf Hofmo
. The new AIF board was dominated by communists.
Political contradictions intensified in AIF after the Labour Party reunified with the Social Democratic Labour Party of Norway
in 1927. The merger conference, the unified party declared that it would continue to support AIF but that their support was condition with the 'end to Communist Party cell activity' in AIF. At the AIF national conference in April 1927 the incumbent AIF leadership was severely criticized. The communist candidate for chairman, Kristoffer Mikkelsen, was defeated. The Labour Party-supported Thor Jørgensen was elected chairman, with 68 votes against 42 for Mikkelsen.
In the spring of 1929, Ola Brandstorp
wrote an article in Den Røde Ungdom where he suggested that AIF would withdraw from the Red Sport International. The article sparked a debate, and at a Red Sport International executive meeting in Kharkov (in which Brandstorp participated) he was ordered to resign from the executive committee. AIF interpreted this move as an ultimatum. The November 1929 AIF national conference voted in favour of retaining membership in the Red Sport International, but demanding that the International would not interfere in the links between AIF and the Labour Party and Norwegian Trade Union Confederation. According to the decision passed at the conference, AIF became subordinated to these two bodies. Brandstorp was elected new editor of Arbeideridrett.
.
AIF sent 42 athletes to the 1931 Workers' Olympiad in Vienna
, organized by the Socialist Workers' Sport International
.
in 1934. The reunification between AIF and Rød Sport was finalized at the 1935 AIF national conference. The reunification of the Norwegian workers' sport movement has been described as an early expression of the popular front
line.
In 1935 the Norwegian government instituted a sports commission, trying to achieve unity between AIF and the bourgeois federation NLI
. In 1936, the effort bore fruit and an agreement of cooperation between AIF and NLI came into force.
During the German occupation of Norway in 1940, erstwhile rivals AIF and NLI joined forces in a sports boycott. The 'sportsfront', the opposition to the occupation from the sports movement, can be seen as an early expression of the Norwegian resistance.
NLI and AIF merged in 1946, forming the Norwegian Confederation of Sports
(NIF).
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
ing organization in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
between 1924 and 1946. As of 1935, AIF had around 50,000 members. AIF published the magazine Arbeideridrett.
Foundation and early growth
The first explicit workers' sports club in Norway was Arbeidernes TIF, founded in 1909 and renamed to Fagforeningernes TIF in 1916. In the 1920s, the Norwegian Wrestling Federation banned fifteen members of this club for taking part in a "politicized" wrestling meet where "The InternationaleThe Internationale
The Internationale is a famous socialist, communist, social-democratic and anarchist anthem.The Internationale became the anthem of international socialism, and gained particular fame under the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1944, when it was that communist state's de facto central anthem...
" was played. This helped spur the creation of a workers' federation of sports, although a Workers' Sports Opposition had existed since 1922.
The decision to found AIF was taken (with 51 votes against 4) at the third national conference of the Workers' Sports Opposition in Folkets Hus in Oslo on June 8 and 9, 1924. Harald Liljedahl was elected as chairman of AIF, with 29 votes against 9 for Olaf Thorsen
Olaf Thörsen
Olaf Thörsen is an Italian guitarist and founding member of a progressive power metal band Vision Divine. He is also known as a founding member, guitarist, and lyricist of Labyrinth until his departure in 2002.-Biography:...
(a communist and executive member of the Red Sport International
Red Sport International
The International Association of Red Sports and Gymnastics Associations, commonly known as Red Sport International or Sportintern was a Comintern-supported organization, created on 23 July 1921, to promote communist-based sports and gymnastics.RSI was largely created upon the initiative of...
). The conference unanimously decided to appeal for membership in the Red Sport International.
AIF grew rapidly. Initially a Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
-based movement, AIF began forming clubs in different parts of the country. At the time of its foundation, the organization had affiliated clubs with a combined membership of 4,810. By the end of the year, it had 85 sports teams and a combined membership of 5,686. In 1925, AIF had 96 sports teams and a combined membership of 6,608. The stronghold was still Oslo and Akershus
Akershus
- Geography :The county is conventionally divided into the traditional districts Follo and Romerike, which fill the vast part of the county, as well as the small exclave west of Oslo that consists of Asker and Bærum...
, whereas Sogn og Fjordane
Sogn og Fjordane
is a county in Norway, bordering Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland. The county administration is in the town of Hermansverk in Leikanger municipality while the largest town is Førde....
did not have a single workers' sports club.
Political complications
The foundation of AIF was not met with complete enthusiasm in the Norwegian Labour PartyNorwegian Labour Party
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....
. Trygve Lie
Trygve Lie
Trygve Halvdan Lie was a Norwegian politician, labour leader, government official and author. He served as Norwegian Foreign minister during the critical years of the Norwegian government in exile in London from 1940 to 1945. From 1946 to 1952 he was the first Secretary-General of the United...
opposed the idea of having a politicized sporting organization. The national party conference of 1925 did however decide that the party would back the new organization, rejecting Lie's criticism.
At the AIF national conference of 1926, the communist and trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ist Oskar Hansen was elected as new chairman with 56 votes against 31 for Rolf Hofmo
Rolf Hofmo
Rolf Hofmo was a Norwegian politician and sports official.He was chairman of Arbeidernes Idrettsforbund from 1939 to 1940, and central in the merge negotiations with Norges Landsforbund for Idræt. He was arrested in December 1940, and transferred to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1942...
. The new AIF board was dominated by communists.
Political contradictions intensified in AIF after the Labour Party reunified with the Social Democratic Labour Party of Norway
Social Democratic Labour Party of Norway
The Social Democratic Labour Party of Norway was a Norwegian political party in the 1920s. Following the Labour Party's entry into the Comintern in 1919, its right wing left the party to form the Social Democratic Labour Party in 1921...
in 1927. The merger conference, the unified party declared that it would continue to support AIF but that their support was condition with the 'end to Communist Party cell activity' in AIF. At the AIF national conference in April 1927 the incumbent AIF leadership was severely criticized. The communist candidate for chairman, Kristoffer Mikkelsen, was defeated. The Labour Party-supported Thor Jørgensen was elected chairman, with 68 votes against 42 for Mikkelsen.
Oslo Winter Spartakiad
The timing of the political shift in AIF was problematic for the Red Sport International, as AIF was due to host the Winter Spartakiad in February 1928. The Winter Spartakiad was however held in Oslo, in a grand fashion, coorganized by AIF and the Red Sport International. However, the attempts by the Labour Party-wing of AIF to tone down the propagandistic character of the event was severely disliked by the Red Sport International, and the Winter Spartakiad marked a deterioration of the relations between the two bodies.Communist come-back
At the April 1928 national conference, the communists decided to launch Thorvald Olsen. Olsen, a national wrestling champion, was a Labour Party member but seen as more sympathetic towards the Red Sport International. In the election, Olsen defeated the incumbent Jørgensen. Moreover, the communist managed to get their party comrade Johs. Mortensen elected as editor of Arbeideridrett. Five out of ten members of the new board were communists.In the spring of 1929, Ola Brandstorp
Ola Brandstorp
Ola Johan Brandstorp was a Norwegian journalist, sports official, politician for the Labour Party and military officer.-Pre-war career:...
wrote an article in Den Røde Ungdom where he suggested that AIF would withdraw from the Red Sport International. The article sparked a debate, and at a Red Sport International executive meeting in Kharkov (in which Brandstorp participated) he was ordered to resign from the executive committee. AIF interpreted this move as an ultimatum. The November 1929 AIF national conference voted in favour of retaining membership in the Red Sport International, but demanding that the International would not interfere in the links between AIF and the Labour Party and Norwegian Trade Union Confederation. According to the decision passed at the conference, AIF became subordinated to these two bodies. Brandstorp was elected new editor of Arbeideridrett.
Split and Labour Party hegemony
The communist sector of AIF began to organize itself an oppositional tendency, and had direct links with the Red Sport International. The AIF national conference of May 1931 decided that AIF withdrew from the Red Sport International. Trygve Lie was elected AIF chairman. The communists responded by forming their own sporting organization, Rød SportKampforbundet for Rød Sportsenhet
Kampforbundet for Rød Sportsenhet was a sporting organization in Norway. It was colloquially known as Rød sport. It was founded by the Communist Party of Norway in 1931, in reaction to the decision of the Arbeidernes Idrettsforbund to leave the Red Sports International...
.
AIF sent 42 athletes to the 1931 Workers' Olympiad in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, organized by the Socialist Workers' Sport International
Socialist Workers' Sport International
Socialist Workers' Sport International was an international socialist sporting organisation, based in Lucerne. It was founded in 1920, and consisted of six national federations at the time of its foundation. Initially it was known as International Association for Sports and Physical Culture...
.
Reunification
During the 1930s, there were several fruitless negotiations with Rød Sport (initiated on behalf of the communist side) regarding unity between the two organizations. In the end, the issue was settled after direct talks between AIF and the Soviet High Council of Physical Culture in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 1934. The reunification between AIF and Rød Sport was finalized at the 1935 AIF national conference. The reunification of the Norwegian workers' sport movement has been described as an early expression of the popular front
Popular front
A popular front is a broad coalition of different political groupings, often made up of leftists and centrists. Being very broad, they can sometimes include centrist and liberal forces as well as socialist and communist groups...
line.
In 1935 the Norwegian government instituted a sports commission, trying to achieve unity between AIF and the bourgeois federation NLI
Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports
The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports is the umbrella organization for sport in Norway. It is the largest volunteering organization in Norway, with more than 2 million members, and 12000 sports clubs, in 19 region confederatons and 56 national federations...
. In 1936, the effort bore fruit and an agreement of cooperation between AIF and NLI came into force.
During the German occupation of Norway in 1940, erstwhile rivals AIF and NLI joined forces in a sports boycott. The 'sportsfront', the opposition to the occupation from the sports movement, can be seen as an early expression of the Norwegian resistance.
NLI and AIF merged in 1946, forming the Norwegian Confederation of Sports
Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports
The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports is the umbrella organization for sport in Norway. It is the largest volunteering organization in Norway, with more than 2 million members, and 12000 sports clubs, in 19 region confederatons and 56 national federations...
(NIF).