Treatment in Iceland: a completely new ball game
It is a dream come true: to tread the lush stadium at Iceland’s largest stadium, Laugardalsvöllur. Flanked by his older teammates, Björn Breki Magnússon, the youngest in the team only twenty, enjoys every moment. His impressive build earned him a place as one of FC Sækó’s defenders in early 2018. His presence on the pitch may not be the result of a multi-million euro transfer contract, but his medical value is invaluable.
“I am following treatment to deal with psychotic disorders, but medicines are not without treatment. When I joined the team last year, I found a place where I could come out of my shell. Here we are responsible, with two training sessions a week and games all summer as part of the Gold League, an amateur tournament, “he says before he takes part in the warm-up under the watchful eye of the Icelandic football legend Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen.
Training at Laugardalsvöllur is a great occasion for FC Sækó: it is usually only used by professionals from the Icelandic national team to hold international games. The Icelandic Football Association (KSÍ Football Association) wanted to show this project jointly on behalf of the psychiatric ward of the University Hospital of Iceland and rehabilitation center offer sports and cultural activities for people with mental health problems. This is the second small amateur club award, following the “best project” award it received as part of UEFA Grassroots Football Awards, in the fall of 2018, for the club’s success in promoting an active lifestyle and social interaction for people suffering from mental health problems and helping to free them from isolation.
Eight years after its establishment, FC Sækó, based in the Icelandic capital Reykjavík, now has about 30 players.
These are men and women, between the ages of 20 and 60, who suffer from one or more of the mental disorders listed by the World Health Organization (WHO): bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia and other psychosis, dementia, intellectual disabilities and developmental disorders, including . Like Björn, most of them came to the project by word of mouth, within specialized structures: “I go to Laugarásinn, a center connected to the University Hospital of Iceland, several times a week to take part in other social activities. I feel calmer in the presence of others. I hope to get a job soon, maybe as a salesman, “he says, but puts on his football boots at the end of training.
“Show them they are not alone”
Iceland is often hailed as a great model of gender equality. With a population of less than 350,000, caring for vulnerable people is based on human contact: “We do not treat them as if they were sick. It is important to bring them together, show them that they are not alone and that they can play football, Iceland’s favorite game. They are free to come and see us at the hospital or on the football field if they feel better there. We are not there to impose any restrictions on their habits or special diet. We prefer a step-by-step approach, to restore their self-confidence and strengthen their self-confidence, “says FC Sækó’s coach, Bergór Grétar Böðvarsson, who has been involved in the project from the beginning.
At the age of 52, he himself experienced learning difficulties as a young man in his vocational training in construction and carpentry. His experience has become his strength. He has steered User asks User (literally “User asks user”) project at Hlutverkasetur’s residence since 2010 and participates in various other facilities, such as the psychiatric ward of the University Hospital of Iceland and the Icelandic Mental Health Institute, which represents users. His role is to act as an intermediary between a team of occupational therapists and people with mental health problems, to better identify the needs and expectations of all.
He benefits from the project with the unwavering support of Rafn Harald Rafnsson, head of the psychiatry department at the University of Iceland: “Football is only one of the options that Bergϸór offers. We also offer activities related to stress management, nature walks, swimming, badminton or acupuncture. About 200 people now benefit from our services. These healthy activities reduce the need for medication and improve people’s quality of life during treatment. In 2015, Rafn Haraldur Rafnsson and three other Icelandic scientists did research effects of exercise on people with schizophrenia. Their results are conclusive: after 20 weeks, the patients, aged 21 to 31 years, saw their quality of life with reduced anxiety and stress.
Stretch your legs and widen your mind
Practicing on the artificial grass in Reykjavík is one thing, taking a bus ride to the other end of the country with your friends is a whole new ball. Before the summer season began, Bergϸór Grétar Böðvarsson organized a training camp in Akureyri, another city in the north of the island. “For three whole days, the players left the routine behind. We rented a hostel with shared rooms. Most of them are used to living on their own. This experience is another step towards a deeper change. “
The trip is also a therapeutic exercise where learning to live together takes precedence over scoring goals. The 34-year-old Jóhann Ingi Kristinsson, the team’s goalkeeper, sits on a sofa in the lounge and searches for his words before he speaks. Although he is hamstring and has difficulty making eye contact, it clearly means a lot to him to talk about his team.
“I find it difficult to communicate with people. I spend a lot of time at home with my cat, but when I saw our national team take part in the Euro 2016 in France, I understood my passion for the game.
“Before I knew it, I had joined FC Sækó. In 2018, thanks to the team, I took a plane for the first time in my life. We flew to Norway to meet other teams. My role as a goalkeeper is very important to me. Being here allows me to have a time I would not necessarily have had elsewhere. “
Bergór is inside his ears and listens carefully to his words. They bring a smile to their lips. He knows that bringing people together is not always easy. As the team’s coach, Bergóór still manages to meet everyone’s needs by following the advice of doctors and with the help of occupational therapists and other volunteers.
One project inspires another
In Akureyri, the highlight of the summer camp is the friendly match against FF Múrbrjótur, a club they are getting to know well and for good reason: inspired by the example of FC Sækó, the team’s coach, Haukur Snær Baldursson, repeated the project, 388 kilometers north of Reykjavík. “When I saw how FC Sækó had traveled to Scotland, England and Norway, I wanted to do the same thing here, with one goal in mind: to bring together people who are normally isolated and help them reintegrate into society,” he said. looks at the teams two practice.
Bergór admits that he does not have exact figures regarding the medical results of the project. “We are now consulting with the doctors who monitor the players to get more information about the impact of time in football.
“The most important thing for us is the progress we see, week after week.
“Jóhann and other players of the team took part in the Reykjavík Marathon on August 24, for example. Apart from increasing their endurance, their participation also enabled us to raise ISK 134,500 (about 965 euros) for FC Sækó’s future projects. Jóhann, the goalkeeper, has also recently found work in a school warehouse that receives people and develops disabilities again.
Bergór’s dream of seeing this type of initiative spread to Europe is gradually taking shape. “My ambition is to invite the various teams that have welcomed us since 2014 to come to Reykjavík, to set up a FC Sækó tournament. Next year we are going to Spain. In addition to visiting the Real Madrid stadium, I would like to meet people in the same situation as us, to encourage them to embark on this type of project outside Iceland.
This article has been translated from French.