Football in Greenland

Association football is the most popular and the national sport of Greenland. It was brought to Greenland by Danish settlers. Because of the climatic conditions, Greenland is unable to support any grass pitches so games are played on artificial turf. The national stadium is the Nuuk Stadium in the capital of Greenland, Nuuk. There is a proposal to replace Nuuk Stadium with a new stadium, named Arktisk Stadion.[1]

Football match in Uummannaq
Football field in Ilulissat

The Football Association of Greenland is not a member of FIFA or any of its confederations, but was a member of the International Football Union, secondary governing body of association football for nations and sub-national countries that are not FIFA members. Although the Faroe Islands, another dependency of Denmark, is a member of FIFA and UEFA, Greenland is considered part of Denmark for the purposes of international football.[2][3] However, Greenland have still been fighting to join UEFA and FIFA.[4] The Greenland football association and the Danish DBU entered into an agreement in 2015 to grow the sport of football in Greenland and work towards FIFA and UEFA membership by 2020.

National team

One of the biggest moments in the island's footballing history came in 2001 when the national team played a landmark fixture against Tibet in Denmark, the game went ahead despite great pressure by the Chinese Government and FIFA to have it called off.[5][6]

During the early 1980s, there was a football tournament known as the Greenland Cup.[7] The tournament was for non-FIFA nations, including Iceland and the Faroe Islands national teams.

Club football

The Greenlandic Men's Football Championship is the top football competition in Greenland. Because of high travel costs it is not played as a league with home and away matches. Instead it is played as a series of local tournaments and a final tournament, each around a week long.[8] First played in 1958 it has been organized by the Football Association of Greenland since 1971. The most successful club is B-67 who have won the competition on eleven occasions.

There has also been a campaign in recent years to enter a Greenland team into the Danish Superliga.

References
  1. "BIG, a football stadium in Greenland | Abitare". Abitare. 2017-08-20. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  2. Jamie Rainbow (2013-12-14). "Why Greenland will not be following Gibraltar into UEFA membership". Worldsoccer.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  3. "Greenland gripped by football fever". FIFA.com. 2010-09-15. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  4. "Greenland fights for the right to play international football matches". www.playthegame.org. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  5. Archived April 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  6. "CNNSI.com - Soccer - Greenland beats Tibet in unofficial friendly - Saturday June 30, 2001 01:27 PM". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. 2001-06-30. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  7. "Greenland Cups 1980-84". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  8. Scott, Chris. "Watching whales and icebergs -- and football?". CNN. Retrieved 2018-11-14.


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