Latest news with #Icelanders
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Gary Naysmith on his two big Scotland regrets as Tartan Army hero recalls his strike that downed Iceland
Everton and Hearts icon scored his one and only international goal against this Friday's opponents. One of the proudest moments of Gary Naysmith's career arrived for Scotland against Iceland. He might not have known it at the time but the Nordic nation also played a part in one of his major regrets. The former Everton and Hearts ace boasts a perfect four wins from four against the Icelanders and scored his one and only goal for Scotland in a 2-0 Euro qualifying success in Reykjavik in 2002. But his 46th and final appearance arrived back at Hampden in a 2-1 World Cup qualifying victory against Eidur Gudjohnsen and co seven years later. And as the two nations prepare to lock horns for the first time since that April 2009 evening, Naysmith admits his biggest disappointment from a 20-year playing career was falling just short of 50 caps and entry to the Hampden roll of honour. That and a failure to qualify for a major tournament with his country. It's a different story now with the latest squad having reached the last two European Championships. And given the number of hall of famers at Steve Clarke 's disposal, Naysmith reckons reaching a first World Cup for 28 years is also now a real possibility. The latest quest begins with Friday's friendly clash against Iceland in Glasgow before Clarke finalises his squad for the World Cup qualifiers starting in September. And Naysmith, now manager at Stenhousemuir, said: 'Every game is big for Scotland and these players seem to appreciate that. I loved playing for my country. 'My only Scotland goal was against Iceland - with my right foot as well! I was playing centre midfield which was an unusual position for me but the goal is something I will always cherish. 'I remember the cross coming in, taking a decent touch and then.. listen when I swing with my right foot the first thing I was just trying to concentrate on was making sure I actually hit the ball! 'I caught it well and it was one of those ones you know is going in straight away. The feeling of scoring for Scotland is incredible. 'Playing for your country's a big thing but then actually scoring for your country's something else. It was one of the highlights of my career, no doubt about it. 'I crossed for Christian Dailly's opener as well so it was a good trip all round. 'Four games against them and four wins isn't bad. My wife also booked us a weekend in Iceland for my 40th birthday so there's been quite a significant link with Iceland. 'But the 2-1 win in 2009 turned out to be my last appearance. I was only 30 so my international career ended quite suddenly.' A hamstring injury picked up with Sheffield United two weeks after that game refused to go away and Naysmith missed an entire year. But never would he pull on a Scotland jersey again. He said: 'I was very lucky to get 46 caps - 45 of them starts. I've not got too many regrets in my career. But the two I do have are both with Scotland - not getting to a major tournament and not getting 50 caps and into the Hall of Fame. 'The second one is probably the bigger regret. It would have been a nice thing to show the grandkids to take them and see the Hall of Fame at Hampden. 'I'd have really loved to be able to say I got 50 caps for Scotland. And I should have got that. I missed too many squads through injury.' Now managing Stenhousemuir, Naysmith will be backing Clarke's side as a fan on Friday night. With newly crowned Serie A champions Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour in the ranks beside Coppa Italia winner Lewis Ferguson, Torino's Che Adams and Premier League big guns John McGinn, Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney there's no shortage of top level quality. And it's a gathering of experience Naysmith hopes can help Clarke's troops get over the line when the World Cup qualifiers begin. He said: 'We have a lot of players who are doing really well in the big leagues. Our teams also had that. Players who were playing sporadically in England or at Rangers or Celtic, big clubs. 'But these lads going abroad and doing well helps the national team. Hopefully this can be their year. 'The choices we have in midfield especially is very strong. 'You wonder if we have a definite centre half pairing. And striker is a bit of an issue - we don't seem to have an out and out first pick. 'But midfield is so strong and it's interesting to see how Steve will fit them all in.' Former Hearts man Andy Irving is the newcomer to the engine room. The West Ham star has his chance to impress Clarke. And although Naysmith never worked with the 25-year-old playmaker at Hearts he came up against him plenty as manager of Queen of the South. He said: 'Technically Andy is superb. He was on loan at Falkirk and one thing you know is that his passing ability is exceptional. 'You had to make sure he never got a lot of time on the ball or he would hurt you. There's parts of his game he has obviously worked hard on in various different countries. 'It's an unbelievable story. It shows you, you have to go and play. You get to a certain age and you need games. 'That's why I left Everton at 28. I had an another three-year deal on the table but I knew in my heart of hearts that I probably wasn't going to be starting in the big games. 'I just wanted to play so I moved on. That's what these boys are doing and they will benefit for that.'
Morocco World
28-05-2025
- Business
- Morocco World
PLAY Airlines Expands Morocco Routes with New Direct Flights to Agadir
Doha – Icelandic low-cost carrier PLAY has announced direct flights between Keflavik Airport, near Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland, and Agadir, Morocco. The new service will begin December 19, with flights operating weekly on Fridays through mid-April 2026. The flight duration is approximately five and a half hours. This marks PLAY's second Moroccan destination after Marrakech. 'Our objective is to offer Icelanders an exceptional choice of sunny destinations, and Agadir won't disappoint,' said Einar Örn Ólafsson, PLAY's CEO. Agadir boasts a climate similar to Tenerife, with around 300 days of sunshine annually. The route's winter schedule covers major holidays, including Christmas and Easter. Agadir is known for its golden beaches and world-class golf courses. The Atlantic coastal city has undergone extensive redevelopment in recent years. These improvements aim to create a relaxed, pleasant experience for both residents and visitors. The city features modern infrastructure and various leisure activities, including seaside promenades. The addition of Agadir expands PLAY's leisure network to 16 destinations from Iceland. These include eight locations in Spain, four in Portugal, Split in Croatia, and Antalya in Turkey. PLAY first entered the Moroccan market in 2024, with direct flights between Reykjavik and Marrakech launching on October 17. The route operates twice weekly, on Thursdays and Sundays. The Marrakech service resulted from a collaboration between PLAY and the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT). The partnership aimed to leverage Iceland's position as a transatlantic hub. PLAY connects five major North American airports through Reykjavik: New York, Washington, Baltimore, Boston, and Toronto. ONMT has identified Iceland as a strategic market for Morocco. The agency launched promotional campaigns in Scandinavian countries, including the 'Light Tour' from May 27-30, 2024. The event attracted over 150 key players in Scandinavian tourism. Morocco has seen increased airline interest ahead of co-hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup. PLAY currently operates with a fleet of 10 Airbus A320neo family aircraft. Read also: Binter Announces Flights Between Agadir, Canary Islands for MAD 524 Tags: AgadirairlinesIceland
CBC
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
New Iceland celebrates memories, reunions to mark 150th anniversary
Gimli, Man., became home to Icelandic people 150 years ago. To celebrate, the New Iceland Heritage Museum is showcasing nostalgia from 1975 — the 100th anniversary year — when many Icelanders came to Gimli to attend the Islendingadagurinn festival, and to see where their relatives ended up.
Asahi Shimbun
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
INTERVIEW/ Iceland President Tomasdottir discusses gender equality
Iceland President Halla Tomasdottir at the presidential residence in Reykjavik on May 12 (Gakushi Fujiwara) REYKJAVIK—How can Iceland, a Nordic island nation, continue to be 'the most gender-equal country in the world'? Iceland President Halla Tomasdottir was a young girl when the women in her country went on strike for a day, and five years later voters elected their first female president. In 2024, Icelanders elected Tomasdottir, 56, as the second female president in Iceland's history. At a symposium hosted by The Asahi Shimbun on May 31, Tomasdottir will discuss gender equality with young Japanese and Diet members. The event, titled, 'How to create gender equality with the President of Iceland,' will explore the insights Japan can glean from Iceland's challenges and path forward, which has increased the percentage of female members in parliament from 10 percent to 46 percent in 40 years. Recently, The Asahi Shimbun interviewed Tomasdottir at the presidential residence in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, asking about Iceland's half-century of progress in gender equality and her suggestions for Japan. * * * The turning point in Iceland for gender equality was Oct. 24, 1975. The women of Iceland went on strike for the day. Ninety percent of the women in the country took time off from work and household chores to attend protests. Businesses and families were paralyzed nationwide, highlighting the importance of women. Tomasdottir was 7 at the time. 'I thought, this is strange, I've never seen this,' she recalled. The day happened to be her mother's birthday, and her father and uncles were preparing for a party. She asked one of her aunts, 'Why are the men doing the cleaning up and serving and you're just having fun like I've never seen before?' She said she will never forget her aunt's answer: 'Because we want to show that we matter.' She realized then that if women did not function, nothing would function. Five years after the national strike, the nation elected its first female president, Vigdis Finnbogadottir. She also became the world's first democratically elected female president. Tomasdottir said Finnbogadottir 'was a great role model.' 'You can't be what you can't see,' she said. She has a photograph of herself alongside Finnbogadottir, who is now 95, in her official residence. Tomasdottir graduated from a university and received an M.B.A in the United States, and built her career at major U.S. companies. She ran for president of Iceland for the first time in 2016 but finished a close second. Six months later, she visited her daughter's school and, as an experiment, she asked about 80 students—boys and girls—to draw a picture of an entrepreneur, a teacher and a president. With the exception of just two, the students drew a male entrepreneur, a female teacher and a male president—even though the country had been led by Finnbogadottir and Tomasdottir had just run for the position recently. 'Gender norms are very powerful,' she said, and 'These underlying norms and assumptions (are) impacting both women and men, both boys and girls.' Tomasdottir has spent most of her life breaking down 'barriers,' believing that women taking a leadership role is essential for a prosperous future. In June 2024, she won the presidential election on her second attempt. Iceland has ranked first 15 consecutive times in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index. Meanwhile, Japan ranked 118th out of 146 countries in the 2024 index. Asked if there are any ideas to close the gender gap that Japan can take from Iceland's history, Tomasdottir said one example is the all-female political party that was created in 1983, three years after Finnbogadottir became the president. Tomasdottir said that the party 'really put pressure on the other political parties' to think about the importance of female legislators. Another example might be voluntary quotas and mandatory quotas that Iceland has implemented to increase gender balance, she said. In Iceland, gender quotas are required by law for boards of directors of midsize and larger companies. The third and most powerful idea in her opinion would be 'to actually create a concerted initiative to make it happen,' she said. Tomasdottir said although she has not visited Japan, 'I know from history that when Japan decides to do something well, it does well.' If Japan takes gender equality seriously, 'then I think the future is very bright for Japan, with all of its design and nature, it's a beautiful country with a very strong economy,' she said. 'But growth and innovation are not going to come from doing more of the same,' Tomasdottir said. * * * The symposium, 'How to create gender equality with the President of Iceland,' will be held on May 31 starting at 10 a.m. at Hirose Memorial Hall at Tsuda University's Sendagaya Campus in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward. It will be co-hosted by The Asahi Shimbun, Tsuda University and the Embassy of Iceland in Tokyo. The symposium will be limited to 100 people and open to Asahi Shimbun subscribers. It is free of charge. Applications can be made here: The deadline for applications is May 20.
Kuwait Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Trump's Greenland threats spark jitters
REYKJAVIK: US President Donald Trump's threats to take over Greenland have neighboring Iceland rethinking its long-term defense, currently provided by the United States and NATO as the volcanic island has no military of its own. Around 74 percent of Icelanders think Trump's interest in Greenland, and in the Arctic in general, pose a threat to their country, according to a recent poll by public broadcaster RUV. 'We can easily put ourselves in Greenlanders' shoes,' an Icelandic member of parliament for the governing Social Democrats, Dagur Eggertsson, told AFP. The White House under Trump has not so far voiced any plans for Iceland, a subarctic island in the North Atlantic between the UK and Greenland and home to 390,000 people. Trump 'is threatening Greenland every day but doesn't say a thing about Iceland', said Valur Ingimundarson, a professor of contemporary history at the University of Iceland. He noted that while Iceland shares Greenland's geostrategic location, it does not possess the mineral riches believed to be hidden under Greenland's soil. And like Greenland, Iceland has close military ties with the United States. Washington has guaranteed Iceland's defense since 1951 following an agreement between the two NATO members. During World War II, the Keflavik military base was a key US hub and it remained important to the alliance during the Cold War. The 1951 agreement enables the United States to maintain troops on the island but allows Iceland to set limits on the number of soldiers and to unilaterally cancel the agreement with 18 months' notice. Subsea infrastructure Although the United States officially closed the Keflavik base in 2006, it returned following Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea. 'The US military base has not formally been reopened in Iceland, but American troops are here the whole year round, if on a rotational basis,' Ingimundarson said. At stake are underwater telecoms and energy infrastructure, at risk of potential Chinese or Russian sabotage. Beijing and Moscow have been increasingly active in the Arctic as climate change opens up sea routes. As a result, no one in Iceland has officially questioned the US presence or Reykjavik's military dependence on Washington. 'Iceland and the US have a longstanding and close relationship on security and defence matters, based on shared interest in the North Atlantic and the Arctic,' the foreign ministry told AFP. 'There is no reason to assume that this will change.' Establishing an Icelandic army has always been a taboo subject. 'If the government would put it on the agenda, it would result in a divisive public debate, with those opposing the idea most likely having the upper hand,' Ingimundarson said. Yet the tide appears to be gradually turning, said Eggertsson, the MP. 'We are in a time of transformation, where the clear vision from the post-World War years that Europe should not re-arm, but be provided defense under the NATO-US umbrella, is giving way,' he said. Advocating a multilateral approach to security, Iceland is now shifting its gaze toward Europe as Trump casts US defense ties with NATO allies into doubt. Given the unpredictability of the Trump administration, 'we should have as a plan B (to) try to establish a close relationship with the EU,' Ingimundarson said. The foreign ministry has already made it clear that partnerships with the EU 'are expected to deepen further in the coming years'. 'Iceland would definitely support a European NATO if the United States would withdraw from the alliance,' Ingimundarson said. That would be an 'easier option' than transferring European defence to the EU - of which Iceland is not a member. 'It wouldn't necessitate Iceland becoming an EU member, if it would seek to disentangle itself from the US,' he said. Iceland launched EU membership negotiations in 2009 following its 2008 economic collapse. The talks were suspended in 2013, but a referendum on their resumption is due in 2027. EU membership would not just be about safeguarding the island's security. 'It is also about economic prosperity, low tariffs with our biggest trading partners, fisheries and more,' Eggertsson said. Fisheries policy would be the biggest stumbling block, with Iceland keen to retain total control over its lucrative fishing zones, a crucial pillar of its economy. - AFP
