World Footy News

It is just possible that Australian Rules footy in Iceland saw our game in the most dramatically beautiful country on earth. With its amazing mix of sub-Arctic, volcanic, coastal, mountain and beautifully rural scenery combined with charming cities and people, our game was given an incredible backdrop.

But, sadly, beauty isn’t enough to sustain sport, especially a sport with a lower profile than others, and the game in Iceland is in a state of decline after having made significant steps in recent years. The reality of life is that people need to work to live and this fact impacts on all teams at some point. In a country like Iceland where the game was very fragile due to the “newness” of the game and relatively low numbers, a few personnel moves can mean the difference between maintaining the code or seeing it fall away.

In chatting recently to Sölvi Sigmarsson, General manager of AFL Iceland and one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Akureyri in the north of the country, near the Arctic Circle (see story – Footy Beneath the Arctic Circle – Akureyri, Iceland) he is honest in his appraisal of the game in Iceland.

“Yeah it's true. The two main driving forces in Reykjavík have moved abroad, and the two main driving forces here up North - Jón Hrói, and myself - have both moved to different locations. Jón having moved to a town called Akranes, just North of Reykjavík, and myself to a small place called Siglufjörður. I am however moving to Denmark next year.”

“It is simply an unfortunate by-product of us having to move for work.”

“The main problem is that we hadn't been able to find others to take over after we left. We weren't able to spark enough interest here with the relatively short time we had. I imagine that if all four of us had been living in the same place for a couple of years we might perhaps have been able to do more.”

The story is similar down in the nation’s capital city Reykjavik. Hafsteinn mar Andersen gave a version of events eerily similar to that of Sölvi looking at the game’s demise in the south.

“Sadly attendance to practices has dropped to a halt the last two years or since we lost our training field in central Kopavogur to football and had to move to Mosfellsbær where it is a longer drive for players to come and practice. Also losing the driving force of thetwo2 lead coaches, Eyjo and Fritz [President of AFL Iceland] now both working abroad in Denmark, had not helped. That is in short the sad situation of footy in Iceland.”

“There were three practice sessions this year where we had three and four players attend. On paper there are two teams in Iceland - one in Reykjavik/Kopavogur and one in Akureyri where Sölvi has been training.”

It is true that Iceland’s journey in Australian Rules football has been a remarkable case of growing, existing and persisting in the first place, but it is also a tale of caution for other nations. Without the people to drive it, or possible succession plans, things can go downhill quickly.

Since their debut as a national team at the 2010 Euro Cup the Iceland Ravens were able to contest the Euro Plate Final against Norway in 2012. Things were certainly on an upward trend, but that momentum has not continued.

The question remains as to whether or not the Australian Rules football scene in Iceland is over. Diehards like Sölvi and Hafsteinn hope otherwise, though they live in a real world where work, family and health come first. But it might be that with a platform already set the game in Iceland might just hibernate until another catalyst arrives to again bring life.

It might be that there is someone reading this has a year up their sleeve – a gap year, a desire for a new challenge for 12 months, maybe a desire to get involved in the game somewhere and seek success. Interestingly, Sir Richard Branson was sitting at an AFL finals match last weekend with AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan, learning about the game. Maybe someone should approach him to be an interested benefactor “locally” in Europe who might lend some financial support. There are ways that the game can live on.

But the immediate future of Australian Rules football in Iceland is up in the air, and likely to stay that way unless something can change the current inertia. It would be a shame for the code to lose one of its most exotic and far flung destinations. I, for one, do not want to see the game in Iceland ebb away.

I am sure, actually certain, that AFL Iceland would love to hear from any interested people.

Footy amongst the glaciers should never be lost.



Left: Iceland - Footy with an amazing backdrop (AFL Iceland)