Granted Liverpool supporters amnesty for the children
30. May 2026
On Farmar’s vessels, the Manchester United crest is a permanent fixture. On Friday, however, two Liverpool shirts were allowed on board for a greater cause.
Farmar employees show off their favourite teams. Office worker Anna Elisabeth Nilsen (Hammerfest), General Manager John W. Nilsen (the Norwegian national team), HSE and QA manager Odd Svein Hansen (Liverpool), accounts clerk Jenny Tønnesen (Barcelona) and Beathe Nilsen (FLIK).
Text and photo: Sveinung W. Jensen, Tellus Kommunikasjon
At Farmar, it normally takes quite a lot for employees wearing Liverpool shirts to pass by entirely unnoticed.
The company has Manchester United crests on all its vessels, and Managing Director John W. Nilsen is a United supporter through and through.
But on the Norwegian Childhood Cancer Society’s Football Shirt Friday, a temporary ceasefire was declared in the maritime football war.
SEVERAL EMPLOYEES came to work wearing football shirts from different clubs and national teams to support the fight against childhood cancer. Farmar contributed NOK 25,000, becoming a silver sponsor of this year’s campaign.
“This is an extremely important cause. We are very pleased to be able to contribute and support this,” says John W. Nilsen, managing director of Farmar.
FOOTBALL SHIRT FRIDAY is the Norwegian Childhood Cancer Society’s annual campaign, in which workplaces, schools, clubs and individuals wear their favourite football shirts to show support for children and young people affected by cancer. The aim is to raise awareness, build a sense of community and generate funds for vital research.
At Farmar, the occasion was both serious and colourful. Shirts in various colours appeared in the working day, and for once it was not a question of who had chosen the right club. Even so, some shirts attracted more attention than others.
HR MANAGER DANIEL Hovden and HSE and QA Manager Odd Svein Hansen both turned up in Liverpool shirts. According to Nilsen, this was more or less the one day of the year they could do so without the matter being escalated internally.
“It is fun to see employees wearing football shirts to work one day a year. So we will just have to live with the fact that a couple of our colleagues dug out their Liverpool shirts,” says Nilsen.
HE HIMSELF CHOSE a version of Norway’s new away shirt. That may be interpreted as a diplomatic choice, but also as a sign that even the most loyal United man knows when club loyalties must give way to something greater.
“When a simple gesture like this can help draw attention to the fight against childhood cancer, of course we want to be part of it. In this cause, we are all on the same team,” says Nilsen.
Norsk bokmål 
English (UK)