It’s Friday May 16th and last season’s top two clubs will be playing each other in what will be the sixth game of the 2025 season for each of them. Thats one-third of the 18 games that make up the first phase of the competition, ahead of the split between top and bottom halves. With that being said, I’m still calling this a preview, and really it’s just my two cents on how I see each of these squads so far and going forward.
Breiðablik
Location: Kópavogur
Home venue: Kópavogsvöllur
Head Coach: Nik Chamberlain
2024: Champions
First 5 Games: WDWWW – 1st place, 13 points
Could the next dynasty of women’s football have arrived in Kópavogur? The monster of a squad built by Nik ended the previous run of titles in which Valur won three in a row, and now looks to repeat themselves. Some of their signings this winter feel downright unfair, and they’ve now started the season with 24 goals from 5 games, with no win decided by less than four goals.
B11’s player to watch: Líf Joostdóttir van Bemmel is a 17-year-old who could be the next big thing in a green jersey. The signings of Heiðdís Lillýardóttir, Berglind Björg Þorvaldsdóttir, and Sammy Smith were rightly hyped, but Líf have been getting a smattering of gametime with Blikar the last two years while also playing for Augnablik (who are absent from the league this year). She’s played in all 5 games this year and has her first 2 Besta deild goals.
FH
Location: Hafnarfjörður
Home venue: Kaplariki
Head Coaches: Guðni Eiríksson & Hlynur Svan Eiríksson
2024: 6th
First 5 Games: DWWWW – 2nd place, 13 points
The first two years of the current Besta deild spell for FH have been marked by decent first phase play, followed by a struggle against the other top half teams. This year the promising core of youth players is bolstered by some solid signings which have so far resulted in the sturdiest defence in the league, allowing just 2 goals. Perhaps just as importantly, the pains of premium-opponents seem to have eased – FH have recorded their best results against Valur and Þór/KA since 2017 and (arguably) 2005.
B11’s player to watch: Aldís Guðlaugsdóttir, the goalkeeper from Ólafsvík is a key part of that defensive effort. She had 6 Besta deild cleansheets in 2023, 4 in 2024, and now already has 3 this season.
FHL
Location: Reyðarfjörður
Home venue: Fjarðabyggðarhöllin
Head Coach: Björgvin Karl Gunnarsson
2024: Promoted as Champions
First 5 Games: LLLLL – 10th place, 0 points
FHL set Lengjudeild on fire en route to the Second Division title last year. It was fueled in no small part by American attackers Emma Hawkins and Sammy Smith, who ended as the top 2 scorers in the division, at 24 and 15 goals respectively. Repeating the performance without those 2 key players would’ve been tough as it is, but doing so in Besta deild is even harder. FHL have returned to the same well, signing 5 players from teams in the US to go along with returning goalkeeper Keelan Terrell
B11’s players to watch: Hope Santaniello and Calliste Brookshire are an intriguing tandem of forwards, as they both come from the same US college, UMass Lowell. As if they didn’t already have large shoes to fill, being from the same state as Smith might make them prone to have direct comparisons drawn.
Fram
Location: Grafarholt og Úlfarsárdalur, Reykjavík
Home venue: Lambhagavöllurinn
Head Coach: Óskar Smári Haraldsson
2024: Promoted as Runner-Up
First 5 Games: LLLWW – 6th place, 6 points
The other promoted team is probably better equiped to make the transition to Besta deild – led by a pair of the most prolific Lengjudeild goalscorers ever (Murielle Tiernan and Alda Ólafsdóttir), and backed up with a bevy of top division experience. Add to that the youngsters such as Ólína Ágústa Valdimarsdóttir and Katrín Erla Clausen – both having come from Stjarnan and played all 5 games for Fram so far – and it’s a squad that could find success in this division beyond 2025.
B11’s player to watch: Dominique Bond-Flasza gave a dominant defensive performance in one of the games I managed to get to in person last year. The centre half will be pivotal to Fram’s success this year.
Stjarnan
Location: Garðabær
Home venue: Samsungvöllurinn
Head Coach: Jóhannes Karl Sigursteinsson
2024: 7th
First 5 Games: LLWWL – 7th place, 6 points
Stjarnan are a bit confusing to me, as they’re yet to show they are equal to the sum of their parts in my opinion. When they lost heavily to Breiðablik in the season opener I thought maybe that was just the strength of their opponents more than their own weaknesses, but then they conceded 6 goals for a second time. Their are 5 players (and one more who is 2 games away from the milsetone) in the squad with 100+ top division appearances, while captain Anna María Baldursdóttir has over 200. There’s just no way this team should be spending another year outside of the top half come the split.
B11’s player to watch: Úlfa Dís Kreye Úlfarsdóttir is a good example of another top quality player who isn’t even one of those I mentioned as having 100+ apps. The midfielder is still only 23-years-old and has also had success with the University of Kentucky – She should be a major piece of the puzzle for Stjarnan this year.
Þór/KA
Location: Akureyri
Home venues: VÍS völlurinn; Boginn*
Head Coach: Jóhann Kristinn Gunnarsson
2024: 4th
First 5 Games: WWLLW – 4th place, 9 points
The foremost team from the north of the country is the Akureyri combo until proven otherwise – they’re also the most recent champion other than Blikar or Vals. Like Stjarnan they have 5 players with 100+ Besta deild appearances, and that includes one of Iceland’s all-time best strikers in Sandra María Jessen. 4th place last year may have even been a slight disappointment, but they should be right in the mix to return to 3rd or better this season.
B11’s player to watch: Karen María Sigurgeirsdóttir is one of the 100+ club and is a major goal threat who could be in line for a breakout scoring season. She currently equals Sandra María on 3, with her best prior mark being 5 scored in 3 separate seasons.
Þróttur Reykjavík
Location: Laugardalur, Reykjavík
Home venue: AVIS völlurinn
Head Coach: Ólafur Kristjánsson
2024: 5th
First 5 Games: WDWWW – 3rd place, 13 points
Perhaps pegged for a rebuild year in 2024 after longtime boss Nik Chamberlain left for Breiðablik, Þróttur came from behind to win their final pre-split game last year, to land them in the top half. They were then a thorn in the side of all but the champions and have managed to carry that momentum into the new season. To take 4 points from last years’ top 2 teams is exceptional, and their next test is against fellow hot-starters FH.
B11’s player to watch: Unnur Dóra Bergsdóttir played her whole career and was captain for Selfoss, and for the first time now finds herself playing for a new club.
Tindastóll
Location: Sauðárkrókur
Home venue: Sauðárkróksvöllur
Head Coach: Halldór Jón Sigurðsson
2024: 8th
First 5 Games: WLLLL – 9th place, 3 points
Tindastóll were simply better than the two relegated clubs in 2024, but they managed just 6 points against the other teams all year. To their credit in the start of this year, they’ve only had one loss decided by more than 1 goals. They’ve also only scored 4 goals. Survival should be the only goal this year, but it will be harder this time to find other strugglers to beat.
B11’s player to watch: Hrafnhildur Salka Pálmadóttir is one of the most exciting youngsters in Besta deild this year, and is on loan from Valur having been snapped up by them from Stjarnan.
Valur
Location: Hlíðarendi, Reykjavík
Home venue: N1-völlurinn Hlíðarenda
Head Coaches: Kristján Guðmundsson & Matthías Guðmundsson
2024: 2nd
First 5 Games: DWWLL – 5th place, 7 points
The Pétur Pétursson era at Valur is over, and it’s not that too many cooks spoil the broth, but the incoming pair of coaches have gotten off to a rougher start than this club is used to. There is so much young and experienced talent at the club for them to keep struggling for long. Tonight’s game against blikar is already a key one for Vals if they want to keep the title hopefuls within reach.
B11’s player to watch: Ragnheiður Þórunn Jónsdóttir is one of the many young talents that Valur have been able to persuade to their cause from other clubs, and 2025 will be the second season as a regular starter in Besta deild for the U19 international. She’s still only 17-years-old but I’m hopeful that this could be a breakout season.
Víkingur reykjavík
Location: Fossvogur, Reykjavík
Home venue: Víkingsvöllur
Head Coach: John Andrews
2024: 3rd
First 5 Games: LWLLL – 8th place, 3 points.
I still think fewer people should have been surprised with how well Víkingur did in the league last year, especially given their Milk Cup win in 2023. Some degree of struggle to build on that 3rd place finish should be even less surprising, however it’s been a difficult start to 2025. Three of those losses have been to teams among the early top 4, while their lone win was a 6-2 slugfest in which they scored 3 times within the first half hour.
B11’s player to watch: Þórdís Hrönn Sigfúsdóttir is possibly the most important signing Víks have made this winter. The versatile player represents experience, having played over 150 First Division games for various clubs, as well as having multiple spells abroad.
Home Venues marked with a * indicate that they are temporarily used by that team due to renovation or poor weather making their main home unfit for use.
- Þór/KA: Their first two home games were moved to Boginn due to weather. This is an indoor facility adjacent to their main venue, which is due to be back in action for their home game on May 24th.