Isleifson linked to Iceland’s World Cup team, relatively speaking
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/06/2018 (2844 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
As he cheers on soccer underdog Iceland in this year’s FIFA World Cup, Len Isleifson will be doing so not just as an Icelander himself, but as a distant relative to most of the team’s players.
Isleifson, the Progressive Conservative MLA for Brandon East, recently discovered that of the 23 players on the Icelandic men’s national soccer team, he is related to 22 of them, along with one of the coaches.
With the help of his father and the website Icelandic Roots, Isleifson was able to uncover a list of familial connections that included a number of eighth cousins and his closest relative, Emil Hallfredsson — a third cousin and midfielder for the national team. Isleifson’s story was first reported by the CBC.
“It’s pretty exciting when you look at the size of the country,” he said.
The small Nordic nation of nearly 350,000 people made history when it qualified for this year’s FIFA World Cup for the first time.
It was at that point Isleifson decided to share the results of his family’s genealogical research — which initially began at 19 before growing to 22 — in the provincial legislature, giving him and his fellow Icelanders in Manitoba a reason to celebrate and some pride for their national team, he said.
“I look at it as the underdogs coming through,” he said.
The team marked its debut appearance at the World Cup last Saturday with an opening match against soccer veterans Argentina. Iceland managed to pull through with a 1-1 draw.
“Sure the ultimate goal is to go out there with that calibre and win … but certainly a tie against Argentina, especially 1-1, was almost a win in itself,” Isleifson said.
Isleifson said he has always been interested in his family’s history, which dates back to when his great-grandfather came to Canada 130 years ago.
But seeing the national team from Iceland qualify really sparked his interest. Isleifson recently joined the Icelandic Canadian Club of Western Manitoba and said he hopes to go to Iceland for the first time and meet some of the players if given the chance.
Since breaking the news of his family connections, Isleifson said the talk in the halls of the legislature has moved away from politics to chats about the World Cup and his Icelandic heritage.
He keeps an Iceland jersey of his own at home and has another, along with a hat, at his office in Winnipeg.
Iceland plays its next game against Nigeria on Friday and Isleifson said he plans on recording the game on his PVR and watching it later that night.
But with one game already under their belt, he said the only place left to go for the team is up.
» mlee@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @mtaylorlee