As a born and bred Italian football fan, I have had to face the sorry dilemma of picking an alternative team to root for this World Cup. I hadn’t exactly given the issue enough thought when on opening night, I was forcefully ordered to declare my allegiance, as otherwise it would be ‘unfair’.
Faced with my implacable eight-year-old insistently demanding an answer, I blurted out: “Iceland!”
Predictably came the supplementary question: “Mummy! Why on earth Iceland? Is it because you’re travelling out there for work? Is it because they are small like us?” This was the start of a complicated and lengthy dinner discussion on rooting for underdogs, etc, with everyone vying to defend his or her choice.
Why did I choose Iceland?
Having worked closely with colleagues from Iceland on several projects over the past year and having visited this beautiful country, I learnt that there is much value in collaborating with Iceland, at least insofar as the planning of health services is concerned. But there is something else about Iceland that influenced my decision, and it goes beyond their splendid performance in the European cup.
Around 25 years ago, Iceland had some of the highest levels of substance abuse among young people in Europe. At the time the government chose to invest seriously in sports infrastructure and to promote policies that facilitate the uptake of sports and alternative leisure pursuits among young people.
A Eurobarometer survey of young people highlighted the lack of sports and community activities undertaken in Malta
This led to the creation of a grassroots-inspired sports movement throughout the population and yielded a much vaunted and merited qualification for the Euro and World Cup championships a quarter of a decade later. This success was achieved against all odds, given a tiny population and the experience of a devastating economic crisis along the way.
As a result of this foresight and vision, a less well-known but nevertheless highly significant transformation materialised. Icelandic youth now report far lower levels of cigarette, alcohol and cannabis use than 25 years ago and are highlighted as one of Europe’s top performers.
Unfortunately, odious comparisons between Malta and Iceland are not limited to the football field alone. The results from the latest European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (which is conducted among 15- to 16-year-olds) confirm that Iceland is trailblazing while Malta is lagging behind.
Although smoking has decreased in both countries, 15 per cent of Maltese students report smoking cigarettes, compared with six per cent in Iceland. The gap when it comes to alcohol is much larger. Fifty-four per cent of Maltese students report having consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days, with 47 per cent reporting excessive consumption on at least one occasion.
Remarkably, in Iceland nine per cent report consuming alcohol, with eight per cent reporting excessive use.
In terms of lifetime use of cannabis, Iceland has decreased consumption to seven per cent, while in Malta the rate of students that report lifetime use is 13 per cent, and the trend is rising.
A Eurobarometer survey among young people earlier this year highlighted the lack of sports and community activities undertaken in Malta.
The raison d’être for investing in sports and recreational facilities and policies for our youth should go beyond the desire to achieve spectacular results in competitive sports events.
Our metrics of success should rather be about engaging our youth in fun, stress-free activities that work wonders for their physical and mental well-being.
Let us by all means look at Iceland as a role model for our professional football future, but let us widen our perspective and learn from their youth engagement programme in its entirety.
Natasha Azzopardi Muscat is president, European Public Health Association, and consultant in public health medicine and senior lecturer, University of Malta.