The 2019 Algarve Cup was the 26th edition of the international women’s invitational football tournament held in Portugal between 27th February to 6th March. During the tournament, on 4th March, Scotland (FIFA ranking 20th) played against Iceland (FIFA ranking 22nd) in an exciting matchup that delivered 5 goals in total with Scotland taking the victory. The full match reports, can be found on the Scottish FA website and also the Icelandic FA website. In addition to the exciting game and football talent on show, there was another lesser known fact about this specific football match: there were also four personal training students/graduates from the same school playing alongside each other during the match.
Icelandic football team
Playing for Iceland, Dagný Brynjarsdóttir was the very first graduate of the Nordic Personal Training Certification (NPTC), obtaining her European Level 4 personal training qualification in January 2018. The NPTC programme has been fully accredited by EuropeActive to meet all the required professional fitness industry standards across the European region. By graduating from this course, Dagný and her fellow students directly became EREPS members. Regarding her learning experience, Dagný said: “The NPTC is a great programme which gave me the opportunity to study while pursuing my professional football career.”
Sigriður Garðarsdóttir, also playing for Iceland, is the most recent graduate of the NPTC programme (per date of publication). She achieved her Level 4 personal training qualification in February 2019, just a few days before this international game with Scotland. In respect to her journey to becoming a certified personal trainer, Sigriður rated the course as “Excellent,” and that she would “recommend the course.” Needless to say, Nordic Fitness Education, and mother training company Keilir Academy, are very proud of both of these personal training graduates. Glódís Viggosdóttir, who was selected in the starting 11 for this match, is currently halfway through the NPTC programme. Similarly to her football skills, she is performing very well in her studies to date.
Scottish football team
Finally, on the Scottish side, Fiona Brown, who played in the second half of the game, is also halfway through her NPTC studies. Fiona is proving to be a very capable student as she works towards her Level 4 personal training qualification. The team at Nordic Fitness Education says they will continue to support both Glódís and Fiona as they work hard towards the completion of their Level 4 personal training certifications. No doubt they are gaining valuable knowledge that will help support them as they continue to play football at an international level. EREPS is proud to highlight these exercise champions and wishes them all the best in their careers.
Could you become a certified personal trainer?
Undertaking a career in personal training can be a great option for those who are seeking a secondary field of expertise to focus their professional careers. Whether you work in sport or perhaps in some other field of expertise, why don’t you find out more about the Nordic Personal Training Certificate or another accredited course in your home country.
Highlights of the footbal match between Scotland and Iceland (4-1) can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/g67RQLPfNtc