Aberdeen, Alloa Athletic, Ayr United, Dundee United, Montrose, Stenhousemuir and Stirling Albion are among the growing number of senior clubs here whose academies and community trusts have embraced the bespoke administrative system.

Grassroots outfits like Corstorphine Dynamo, Giffnock Soccer Centre, Jeanfield Swifts, North Merchiston and Vics in the Community, too, have found that many mundane but vital tasks have become far simpler since tapping into the online platform. Who knows where it will all end?

“The entire sports network over here in Iceland runs on our software and app now,” said Maute. “It has even grown outside the realm of sport. I think something like 75 per cent of people here are on Abler in some capacity. Even God is on it these days. The churches here organise their services using it as well.”

Could Scotland address some of its societal problems by following Iceland's innovative approach to youth sport as well? Maute believes there would be considerable benefits. 

He is still grateful for the support which he received on a daily basis at his local handball club in Reykjavik when he was a young boy growing up in a single-parent family back in the 1980s and 1990s.

The encouragement and expert advice he was given enabled him to fulfil his childhood dream and play the game professionally when he left school; he turned out for HSG Dusseldorf in the German Bundesliga for two seasons during the early 2000s.

Yet the former left back saw first-hand just how seismic an impact increased government funding for sport had on the wider population in Iceland, not just those who, like him, excelled in their chosen pastime, during his formative years.

Alarming rates of drinking, smoking and drug use among adolescents prompted politicians at national and regional level to develop and roll out a groundbreaking prevention model which has attracted attention around the world.

Instead of investing in awareness campaigns, higher policing levels and more robust border controls, they put money into organised leisure and sport, facilitated stronger parental involvement and restricted access to alcohol and tobacco. The results have been nothing short of remarkable.   

“In the late 1980s and early 1990s there was a substance abuse crisis in Iceland among teenagers,” said Maute. “In 1998, 42 per cent of Icelandic 15 and 16-year-olds reported having been drunk in the previous 30 days, 23 per cent had smoked daily and 17 per cent had used cannabis. The youth of the country was not in a good place.

A kid plays football on a pitch in Iceland (Image: Promotional)

“So the politicians came together and decided they needed to find something else for youngsters to do. They did a really good thing for once - they started to invest in sport. They built very good infrastructure for sports clubs in all of their municipalities. Suddenly, everyone had excellent, accessible facilities. That was key to the turnaround.

“Clubs here received a lot of financial support. The government built the infrastructure and then gifted the facilities to them so they didn't have to fund the construction of a new pitch, changing rooms, or a stand. Those things can be a huge burden on clubs.

“The policy worked. Clubs became like second homes for kids. We hung out there before practice and after practice when I was growing up. I was lucky enough to have great coaches who taught me good values and life skills through sport as well as how to play handball and football.

“A lot of money was put into coach education as well. There are not that many professional coaches in Iceland, but they do get compensated for their time. There are also full-time staff who run clubs now. The set-ups are far more professional and everything is subsidised.

“The municipalities also give parents financial incentives to get their kids involved. For example, I get around £500 a year to use towards my son playing sport or getting involved in music. The money I receive is substantial and definitely makes a big difference.

“It costs around £800 or £900 a year for my 12-year-old boy to play football. But he trains four times a week with a UEFA-qualified coach and he plays games on top of that. It is definitely good value for money.”

Since reaching the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 and qualifying for Russia 2018 – incredible achievements for a country which had a population of just 335,000 people at that time – the Iceland national football team has struggled.

They have many excellent players who ply their trade in the Bundesliga, Eredivisie, La Liga, Ligue 1, Premier League and Serie A. But they failed to reach the Euro 2020, Qatar 2022, Euro 2024 and World Cup 2026 finals.

The focus in the youth game, though, is very much on participation.

“The whole sport system is built around community clubs which are accessible to everyone,” said Maute. “The beauty of it is that it is open to all. Yes, it develops all our best athletes and all of our top footballers. But everyone comes through the same grassroots system.

“Any kid can play. If you have a boy who has never played football and your area has the best football team in the country at his age group then he will still be welcomed with open arms and he will still train alongside the best players.

“People in Iceland understand the important impact this has had in preventing anti-social behaviour. In my neighbourhood, something like 90 per cent of kids who are aged between six and 16 participate in organised sports at their local club. The substance abuse problem which was once so bad has changed enormously.”

Indeed it has. Official figures show that between 1998 and 2018 the proportion of 15 and 16-year-olds in Iceland who reported having been drunk in the previous 30 days fell from 42 per cent to five per cent, daily smoking fell from 23 per cent to three per cent and cannabis use fell from 17 per cent to five per cent.

Kids play football at a community club in Iceland (Image: Promotional)

For Maute and many of his compatriots, the millions which have been pumped into sport have been extremely well spent.

“When kids play sport they get integrated into society,” he said. “They are more likely to get a better job, pay higher taxes, use the healthcare system less and rely on income support and benefits less.”

Maute has been championing the merits of the Abler software to sports clubs, youth organisations, charities and governing bodies across Europe for some time now and has been struck by how differently other countries, including Scotland, deal with their young people and tackle alcohol and drug abuse issues.  

“What I like most about the Icelandic system is that nobody has to do trials in order to get into a team,” he said. “That is a very good thing. Even if you’re not an elite-level player, you can still take part. So kids who maybe develop a little slower physically, who might be late bloomers, are not discriminated against.

“I would say that 90 per cent of the boys who are in my son’s class at school take part in his football and handball training. You remain in your friendship circle even if you are an elite guy. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a serious environment where a good player can progress. But you form connections which last a lifetime.

“The community clubs are also in close proximity to the schools. In other countries it can sometimes take a kid an hour to get to training. If they are any good, they are invariably whisked away to another club to play with other promising players and are taken out of their friendship group.

“Putting kids into a professional environment too early is the worst thing you can do in my opinion. Studies have been done which show that if sport becomes too serious too early it puts kids at risk of burnout. Their interest in sport can often fizzle out when they are as young as 12 if they are taken away by an academy.”

The Scottish government continues to wrestle with significant public-health challenges which affect both young people and the wider population.

Concerning Public Health Scotland figures which were released in December showed that 24 per cent of Primary One children were at risk of being overweight or obese in the 2024/25 school year.

The same body revealed in January that there were 29,430 hospital admissions for “conditions wholly attributable to alcohol” during the 2024/25 financial year. National Records of Scotland confirmed that 1,133 drug use deaths were registered here in 2025.

It is overly simplistic to suggest these complex issues can be tackled by allocating increased funding to youth football teams. Still, MSPs at Holyrood and MPs at Westminster could learn much if they studied the success which Iceland has enjoyed through its internationally renowned prevention model.  

“I don’t want to comment on how Scottish people should run their country,” said Maute. “But what I would say is that I believe in the Icelandic sports model and the Icelandic methodology. Look at what it has done to our substance abuse issues. The evidence is there.

Markus Maute of Abler (Image: Promottional)

“I have lived it myself. My upbringing would have been completely different without my local sports club. It made me what I am today and it has done the same for so many other kids.

“The government has had to invest for it to work. The infrastructure has been expensive. Good coaches have to be able to make a living out of sport or at least be paid. You can’t depend on volunteers. But when they put money in they know they can get it back later many times over. The numbers prove it.

“More often than not individuals who come through the system will get a job, will pay taxes, will know how to take care of themselves, will understand how to bounce back from adversity when things are not going so well in life.

“I am a great believer in this. I feel we're only scratching the surface of how the life-developing power of sport can be harnessed too. I think it will become even more important in future because so much communication is digital now and sport is one of the last places where kids can come together and connect.”

He added, “I grew up without a father and was very fortunate to have good sports clubs in my neighbourhood during my childhood. I spent most of my time in and around them. The coaches there became my father figures. They gave me a sense of belonging.

“As my business career progressed, I developed ideas about how to improve sport further in Iceland. I said, ‘Do you know what? I'm going to go and talk about my ideas to all the people I respect who are involved in the system because I believe in it a lot.’ They thought my ideas were great so I quit my job and went all in.

“I thought we needed to amplify the life-developing power of sports. Sport is such a powerful tool because kids are so emotionally invested in it. They listen more to their coach than they do their teacher.

“Abler helps to create a better working environment for everyone who is involved in sport so more time and more energy can be put into what really matters: developing good people and great athletes.”