Supporting youth sports in northern Iceland

Article published by Akureyri.net on May 18

A new travel fund has been established to support children in the Eyjafjörður region, helping more young people take part in sports activities regardless of their financial situation or where they live.

The fund was founded by the Akureyri Sports Association, together with the regional branches of the National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland and the Icelandic Youth Association in Northeast Iceland. Samherji and atNorth have jointly provided the initial ISK 10 million contribution.

The purpose of the fund is to help families cover travel costs related to sports competitions and training, supporting more equal access for children across the region.

“Parents of children in Eyjafjörður should not have to withdraw from tournaments or games because of distance and cost. With the establishment of the fund, we want to help ensure that children in Eyjafjörður have the opportunity to attend tournaments and compete in their sport,” said Baldvin Þorsteinsson, CEO of Samherji, and Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson, CEO of atNorth in the aforementioned announcement.

“We want to contribute to ensuring that as many children as possible can participate in sports and benefit from the opportunities that sports activities create. We also hope that more companies will see the opportunity to support this important community initiative.”

From left: Heimir Örn Árnason, Board Member of the National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland (ÍSÍ), Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson, CEO of atNorth, Baldvin Þorsteinsson, CEO of Samherji, and Jóna Jónsdóttir, Chair of the Akureyri Sports Association (ÍBA)

Read the full article in Icelandic here.