Theguardian iconTheguardianJul 11, 2026 ~1 min source read

‘We know fans bleed for the jersey’: how Norway used fierce football rivalries to get more blood donors

When the Norwegian Red Cross desperately needed to find more donors, it decided to harness the competitive nature of football fans In 2023, the Norwegian Red Cross had a problem. Data estimated that while 50% of Norwegians would be in need of blood during their lifetime, fewer than 2% of the eligible population were donating.

‘We know fans bleed for the jersey’: how Norway used fierce football rivalries to get more blood donors
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When the Norwegian Red Cross desperately needed to find more donors, it decided to harness the competitive nature of football fans In 2023, the Norwegian Red Cross had a problem.

Data estimated that while 50% of Norwegians would be in need of blood during their lifetime, fewer than 2% of the eligible population were donating.

To compound the situation, many registered donors were leaving the system due to age and health conditions.

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The useful part

When the Norwegian Red Cross desperately needed to find more donors, it decided to harness the competitive nature of football fans In 2023, the Norwegian Red Cross had a problem. Data estimated that while 50% of Norwegians would be in need of blood during their lifetime, fewer than 2% of the eligible population were donating. To compound the situation, many registered donors were leaving the system due to age and health conditions.

How it works

  • Every time someone went to register as a blood donor, they could declare their footballing allegiance and score a point for their team, with the club that produced the most sign-ups winning the league for...
  • This meant that the Red Cross desperately needed to find a new demographic of donors to meet the ever-growing demand for blood.
  • "We know that football supporters bleed for the jersey and we wanted to transfer that to being a life-saving action," says the blood programme's senior adviser, Camilla Rodø.

Details worth keeping

Launched in autumn 2023 with the slogan, Blø for drakta (bleed for the jersey), the Blood League campaign aimed to harness the power of footballing rivalries to increase blood donations by establishing a friendly competition between the top-flight men's and women's football teams.

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