In 2016 Iceland reached the quarterfinals of the European Championship. In 2018 Iceland qualified for the World Cup in Russia. In their first game Iceland tied two-time World Cup champion Argentina 1-1.
Arnar Bill Gunnarsson, Director of Education for the Icelandic Football Association (KSÍ), believes the improvement is the result of consistency, education, and an iron-clad national mentality.
Coaching is open to people from any walk of life, from elevator operators to stockbrokers. Currently this nation of 335,000 has around 600 qualified coaches, 400 with a UEFA “B” license, or one per 825 people.
The result is a spread of expertise right down to the four year olds. From U-10 and up all coaches must have a UEFA “B” license. From U-10 and down coaches must have half of the UAFA “B”. Note: The UEFA “B” is one step off the level needed to coach a professional team in England. Yelling Dads it is not.
Every coach in Iceland gets paid, they don’t have any amateurs. Every child who plays pays an annual fee and can go and train with a professional.
The D-7 Instruction Staff firmly believes that D-7 coach’s improvement can also result from consistency, education, and an iron-clad district mentality. That is why we urge coaches to attend one of our coaching courses.
