Women's EURO series EQUALS: Episode 2 – From the North

The second episode of EQUALS, free to view on UEFA.tv, hears from stars of the women's game past and present as they discuss what has made the Nordic region so successful.

They discess the culture and football in the region and how this can be linked to aiding the development of young players.

Norway's Ada Hegerberg, Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness, Finland's Linda Sällström, Denmark's Pernille Harder, Sweden's Magdalena Eriksson and Iceland's Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir share their thoughts.

Ada Hegerberg
"It's all about this culture, keeping it going and pushing so that young girls growing up today in Scandinavia can actually dream of having this professional environment, where they feel that they can make [their] dreams happen with hard work. We've still got a long way to go but this feeling of democracy in Scandinavia is also very important to bring into the world of sport."

Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir
"We always want to do our best and we're physical. If I speak for Iceland, we've always been known for being physical. But we're also developing our game and we want to play good football now and that's also [true] for every other country in the Nordics."

Linda Sällström
"Nordic people in general are very hard-working and we're used to things being a little bit rough, with the weather conditions and everything around. We learn to not put too much energy into the things around [us] but just focus on the job and do what we're expected to and what we're told. There's also a big history of equality in Nordic countries. We've been trendsetters for a long time in society and that also reflects the sport aspect; for a long time, women have been able to do sports in Nordic countries and also play football."

Pernille Harder
"As players, we are now role models for a lot of young girls, and that is really positive. We can only be that because TV stations started to show our games; the national team games, but also my games for Chelsea. Girls in Denmark can actually look at those games, and it creates so many dreams for them. Then it's just about the federation making it possible for all these girls to fulfil their potential because I see a lot of good talent in Denmark."

Magdalena Eriksson
"My biggest passion, or my biggest feeling about equality in football, is equal opportunity. As a girl, if you already at a young age notice that boys are getting better opportunities than you, you'll always belittle yourself, you'll always feel like you're not worth more than them or [not] equal to them. Giving girls and boys an equal opportunity to start with is extremely important."