10 Years + Ten Milestones: Iceland Capstone (No. 4)

The Rosevelt Soccer Club is celebrating its 10th season, so over the next ten weeks we'll be celebrating ten of the club's milestones over the last decade.

No. 4: Iceland Capstone

Our club first developed a relationship with Icelandic soccer clubs in February 2019, when one of our co-founders and chairman visited Iceland's federation and three clubs for a whirlwind 72-hour tour of Iceland's federation and three of its clubs--Breiðablik, Grindavík, and Víkingur Reykjavík.

We had hoped to further develop those relationships by planning a 3-game tour for our 19U Boys team in April 2020, but that trip was unfortunately canceled when international travel was shutdown by the outbreak of COVID-19 about a month before our team was scheduled to fly to Iceland.

But we reconnected with all three clubs with another set of administrator-level meetings in Iceland in April 2022, which laid the groundwork for our 19U Boys and 16U Girls teams' 3-game tour in Iceland last April.

That inaugural trip featuring 78 of our members was such a positive and successful experience that our club's directors have identified it as a culminating experience we'd like our club's oldest players to continue to experience in the future.

The planning, logistics, and resources required for a recurring trip to Iceland are too daunting for us to undertake every year, or even every other season. 

But it's probably realistic for us to plan a similar every third year, which will play a factor in how we structure our youth pathway to try to ensure our 17U, 18U, and 19U players have the opportunity to play in Iceland at least once before the end of their youth careers with our club.

Our members' on-field experiences during our inaugural trip were eye-opening, and our off-field cultural and social experiences were enriching. And our continued partnership with Icelandic clubs can be just the latest example of growing connections between Maine and Iceland.

Breiðablik is a large club located in the Reykjavik suburb Kopavagur, and the club hosted both of our teams for friendlies. Their women's team earned a spot in the Round of 16 in the UEFA Women's

Champions League in 2019-2020 before being knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain.

Grindavík is a small club located along the coast, and the club hosted both of our teams for friendlies. Their men's and women's teams are known domestically for punching above their weight, but 

their town has been the focus of international attention since December because 

of an active volcano in the area.

Not only did Víkingur Reykjavík host both of our teams for a friendly, but they also recognized our 

club and players during the pre-game introductions of one of their club's

men's Iceland Cup games.

- John C.L. Morgan