Pictures: Emily Chalk.
She may be fearless on the football field, but Betsy Hassett admits she was nervous bringing her baby son from one side of the world to the other to meet her family in NZ for the first time.
For the past seven years, the Football Fern midfielder – who’s played 157 games for Aotearoa – has lived in Iceland, where she plays professional soccer. In August, Betsy and her Icelandic partner Gummi welcomed their first child, Nói (pronounced No-ee), at home in Reykjavík.
It meant the world to Betsy to bring her growing family to New Zealand for a very special reunion at Christmas – but she knew it would be a challenge flying across the globe, over 16,000km, with a four-month-old.
Betsy, Gummi and Nói finally landed in Auckland on Christmas Eve after 37 hours in the air and a 20-hour layover in China.
“I felt quite nervous travelling with Nói for the first time. Particularly knowing it was going to take us about three days to get here,” admits the three-time Olympian. “But he was just amazing – he slept a lot of the way in the bassinet. It was much better than I expected.”
It turned out to be a precious, relaxed three weeks at home for Betsy. She spent the holiday with all her family, celebrating the marriage of one of her three older brothers and soaking up the summer sun after coming from a polar, gloomy Iceland winter.
“It’s been lovely to have all my family back together,” tells Betsy. “All of my brothers live overseas – two in Australia and one in Amsterdam – and we’ve all got children now. We hadn’t been together since we’d had kids, so it’s been pretty entertaining to have four little ones under five running around.”
Betsy reveals she finds it difficult returning home to New Zealand after losing her mum Noelle 15 years ago.
She explains, “It’s really sad Mum couldn’t meet Nói, but I know she would have been very proud.
“It’s always sad coming home without her here. But it’s been a long time now and I’m really lucky to have all of my family around me. My partner’s family in Iceland, too, who are very supportive. I couldn’t do it without them.”
Betsy says she feels like she had a slight head start on motherhood, having worked for a kindergarten in Iceland for two years.
“It’s been very helpful,” says the qualified early childhood teacher. “I learned a lot about the young ones. It gave me an insight into how to change nappies and put them to sleep.
“And it was also very good for learning a little bit of the language because the Icelandic language is very difficult. I wouldn’t say I’m fluent now, but I can get by. I understand a lot more than I can speak back, so no one can talk behind my back now! We think it will be good for our little one to grow up learning two languages.”
After a testing first month, Nói has settled into a happy, healthy little boy.
“He’s super-smiley, except when he’s hungry or tired,” grins Betsy. “Otherwise, he’s really chill and perfect.”
Staying with her father and stepmother at their beachside home in Ōmaha, north of Auckland, during their stay meant Betsy could run along the white-sand beach each day, building up her strength to return to the football field – not only for her club in Iceland, but also, she hopes, for New Zealand.
Nói was delivered by Caesarean, so Betsy has been carefully following the guidelines to returning to full fitness.
“I have to take it slowly because the muscles in my core are still healing,” she shares. “But my body is feeling good and I’m back into training for football again. It’s the off-season in Iceland, but I’ll be full-on into it when I go back.
“It’s been so good running in the Kiwi summer because it’s dark and freezing in Iceland. I’ve done my first long runs on the beach while I’ve been here.”
Betsy will play for her Stjarnan club in Iceland, having first been lured to play there back in 2017. She fell in love with the country first, then with Gummi, a graphic designer. The couple met at a party four years ago.
“I love the Icelandic seasons because they’re so extreme,” says Betsy, who’s lived all over the world playing for some of the best football clubs.
“In summertime, it’s absolutely beautiful. It’s light for 24 hours of the day, which still feels very unusual.
“The winters are completely opposite – very dark and cold, but cosy. It’s a very beautiful country, similar to New Zealand but with less trees.”
Although very few Kiwis live in Iceland, Betsy was surprised to discover her neighbour in Reykjavík is from Aotearoa.
While she’s committed to playing in the small but strong Icelandic Premier Division, which kicks off in April, Betsy hasn’t ruled out returning to represent one of the two New Zealand teams – Wellington Phoenix or Auckland FC – in next season’s A-League Women. She played for the Phoenix in their second season in 2022-23.
“I’d love to play in New Zealand again,” she enthuses. “It’s so cool they have two teams in the professional league now. But I’m going to see how it goes this season in Iceland. We’ll see how my body is and what it’s like going to practice with a baby.
“But I can definitely see myself still playing for the Football Ferns. I haven’t finished up with the team yet. I just had to stop playing while I was pregnant.
“So it depends who the new national coach is going to be as to whether I get selected, but I’d like to keep going if I can.”
Betsy has achieved everything in football she’d set her mind to as a little kid, playing at three Olympics, four World Cups and in the Champions League. She’s played university football in the US, and turned out for English giants Manchester City, Germany’s Werder Bremen and Ajax in the Netherlands.
Another highlight was wearing the New Zealand captain’s armband against Argentina in 2023. She confesses, “I’ve played all over the world, but I’d really like to finish off my career playing a few more games with the Football Ferns.
“If I could make the 2027 World Cup, that would be awesome. I don’t know if I can make it that far – I’m getting old! But it’s a goal in the back of my mind and I’ll take it year by year.”
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