Iceland has qualified for the UEFA 2022 Euros and is rightfully excited. However, two out of their three groups will be playing in the Manchester City Academy Stadium. The Academy Stadium can hold a capacity of 4,400 people and is overshadowed by some of the better-known stadiums like Old Trafford and the Etihad Stadium. “You’re playing in England, you have so many stadiums, and we have a training ground from City. It’s just embarrassing,” said Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir, the captain of the women’s Iceland team.
Despite the small stadium, the fans were packed. No seat was left unoccupied and the crowd was roaring. In the last two out of three appearances in the Euros, the Icelandic team failed to score even a single point. However, they already tied a game with a 1-1 score against Belgium, the runner-up team from the 2018 World Cup. Even Katrin Jakobsdottir, the Prime Minister of Iceland, attended the Iceland Euros.
Professional women’s soccer in Iceland is still quite new to them as it was only introduced in 1997. This was due to the sexism of the past and how most soccer players in Iceland would stop playing the sport after their teenage years. This does not stop the cheering of the crowd. In the game against Belgium, the ones cheering for Iceland wore white, red, and blue while the Belgians wore red and yellow. Jakobsdottir wore the colors of Iceland before changing into her formal clothes.
After the match, Sveindis Jane Jonsdottir was named the player of the match. She struggled to hear what her teammates or the other players had to say due to the loud noises from the crowd. Thorsteinn Halldorsson, the coach of the Iceland team, thought that the “fans were fantastic.” The organizers of the match defended their choice to use the Academy Stadium because a small stadium filled with tons of fans is better than a huge stadium that has empty seats all over the place.
Despite the small stadium, the fans were packed. No seat was left unoccupied and the crowd was roaring. In the last two out of three appearances in the Euros, the Icelandic team failed to score even a single point. However, they already tied a game with a 1-1 score against Belgium, the runner-up team from the 2018 World Cup. Even Katrin Jakobsdottir, the Prime Minister of Iceland, attended the Iceland Euros.
Professional women’s soccer in Iceland is still quite new to them as it was only introduced in 1997. This was due to the sexism of the past and how most soccer players in Iceland would stop playing the sport after their teenage years. This does not stop the cheering of the crowd. In the game against Belgium, the ones cheering for Iceland wore white, red, and blue while the Belgians wore red and yellow. Jakobsdottir wore the colors of Iceland before changing into her formal clothes.
After the match, Sveindis Jane Jonsdottir was named the player of the match. She struggled to hear what her teammates or the other players had to say due to the loud noises from the crowd. Thorsteinn Halldorsson, the coach of the Iceland team, thought that the “fans were fantastic.” The organizers of the match defended their choice to use the Academy Stadium because a small stadium filled with tons of fans is better than a huge stadium that has empty seats all over the place.
