Icelandic team Knattspyrnufelag Akureyrar (KA) will face off against Connah’s Quay Nomads in the first qualifying round of this year’s Europa Conference League.
The first leg will take place in Iceland, with the second leg taking place a week later at TNS’ Park Hall.
As the Nomads prepare to take on their opponents, we take a closer look at their opposition.
History
Situated in the city of Akureyri in the north of Iceland, KA were founded in 1922, and are part of a larger organisation.
As well as football, KA also have clubs who play handball, volleyball, tennis, badminton, and judo.
In terms of their history on the pitch, it hasn’t been trophy laden.
They’ve only won the league once (back in 1989) and won the Icelandic Supercup in 1990.
They’ve been runners-up in the Icelandic Cup on three occasions and were also second best once in the Icelandic League Cup in 2015, the last final they reached.
Stadium
While KA play their games at the Greifavöllurinn stadium, which holds 2000 fans, their European games will be played outside of the city.
This game will be taking place in Reykjavik and at the Fram Stadium (also known as Framvöllur) which has a capacity of between 1500-2000.
Manager
The manager of KA is former Icelandic international Hallgrímur Jónasson.
A former centre back, Jónasson spent most of his playing years in Denmark playing for the likes of OB and Lyngby.
The defender ended his career at KA, before taking up a managerial role at the club.
Jónasson has 16 caps for Iceland and was part of their qualifying campaign that saw them reach Euro 2016.
Players to Watch
KA’s threat down the wing will come from Hallgrímur Steingrímsson, who has started the league tremendously well, by bagging seven assists in twelve league appearances so far.
Midfielder Daníel Hafsteinsson has come through the club’s youth system and has recently broken into the Icelandic national team.
Up front, they have acquired the services of Scottish forward Harley Willard. Willard came through the youth academies of Southampton and Arsenal and signed for KA at the start of the season.
Current Season
We are currently beyond the halfway point of the Icelandic season, and after finishing second in the league last season, it hasn’t been a rip-roaring start for KA.
They sit in sixth place in the table, 21 points behind the leaders, Vikingur, though they do have a game in hand.
With five wins, two draws, and seven defeats in their 14 games, it’s been a middle-of-the-road season so far for the club, and a top-two finish looks like a difficult task.
European Pedigree
KA have only appeared in Europe three times before, and it hasn’t exactly gone to plan for them.
In the 70s, they lost 14-1 on aggregate to Zurich in the Cup Winners’ Cup, before losing to CSKA Sofia 3-1 on aggregate in the European Cup in the 90s.
Their last European adventure came in 2003 when they played in the Intertoto Cup. On that occasion, they were knocked out in the first round by Bosnian side Sloboda Tuzla.
After a 20-year absence, there is no doubt that KA will want to progress further than ever before in Europe.
(Featured Image: Jarvin Jarle Vines)
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