Association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
is the most popular and the national sport of
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
. It was brought to
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
by
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
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
Nuuk Stadium is a multi-purpose venue in Nuuk, Greenland. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It has a capacity for 2,000.
FIFA 2-star artificial turf was installed on the pitch in July 2016. The 2-star rating is the highest achi ...
in the capital of Greenland,
Nuuk
Nuuk (; da, Nuuk, formerly ) is the capital and largest city of Greenland, a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the country's largest cultural and economic centre. The major cities from other coun ...
. There is a proposal to replace Nuuk Stadium with a new stadium, named
Arktisk Stadion
The Arktisk Stadion (Arctic Stadium) is a proposed association football stadium which would replace Nuuk Stadium as the national stadium of Greenland. The stadium is proposed, in part, to allow Greenland to participate in FIFA and UEFA as the orga ...
.
The
Football Association of Greenland
The Football Association of Greenland ( Greenlandic: ''Kalaallit Nunaanni Isikkamik Arsaattartut Kattuffiat''; da, Grønlands Boldspil-Union) (KAK) is the governing body of association football in the island country of Greenland. The KAK was foun ...
, founded in 1971, is not a member of
FIFA or any of its confederations, but was a member of the
International Football Union and
ConIFA
The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) is the international governing body for association football teams that are not affiliated with FIFA.
Competitions
Women's football
All members of CONIFA are encouraged to inv ...
, secondary governing bodies of association football for nations and sub-national countries that are not FIFA members. Although the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
, another dependency of
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
, is a member of FIFA and
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
, Greenland is considered part of Denmark for the purposes of international football. However, Greenland have still been fighting to join UEFA and FIFA. 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 2022. With the update of UEFA's statutes to forbid the admission of football associations from non-independent regions,
Greenland found their path to UEFA membership closed. As of 2022, they have decided to apply to the other confederation which they would be eligible to do so,
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch language, Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CON ...
, in the hopes that this would prove more successful.
League History
While evidence of league football can be found as early as 1954, the
men's league became a consistent presence from the mid to late 1960s, with an edition of the
Greenlandic Football Championship
The Greenlandic Football Championship ( kl, Isikkamik Arsaalluni Pissartanngorniunneq, GM, da, Grønlandsmesterskab i fodbold) is the premier men's football competition in Greenland. It was established in 1954 and since 1971, it has been organi ...
annually since 1969. The difficulty and expense of travel on the island means that to this day it is formatted with local qualifying rounds, leading to a final tournament in a single host location. This has given risen to the popular statement that the season lasts only a week, something true only for that final round. While teams from the capital,
Nuuk
Nuuk (; da, Nuuk, formerly ) is the capital and largest city of Greenland, a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the country's largest cultural and economic centre. The major cities from other coun ...
, have mainly been successful, winners have come from across the island. However, 9 of
B-67 Nuuk's record 13 titles have come since 2005.
The
women's league system follows the same pattern, though it took a lot longer to form, with a league being trialled by the association in 1986. Since then it has also run annually, with many familiar teams from the men's league also competing. Here the capital teams have not been as successful, with the record title holders being
Ilulissat-69, 3 titles ahead of
Nuuk Idraetslag
Nuuk Idraetslag (also known as NÛK or Nuuk IL) is a sports club from Greenland based in Nuuk. They compete in men's and women's association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played ...
and the two teams taking home over two thirds of the competitions to date.
Data on the futsal, youth and veterans leagues is much more sporadic but have been similar in years past. They are typically played earlier in the season than the main leagues to prevent overlap.
There has also been a campaign in recent years to enter a Greenland team into the
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each ye ...
.
The National Teams
Without
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch language, Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CON ...
or
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
membership, opportunities are limited for any Greenlandic national sides. In the 1980s they organised 3 editions of the
Greenland Cup
The Greenland Cup ( da, Grønlands Cup, kl, Kalaallit Nunaat Imertarfik) was an association football friendly knock-out tournament controlled by the Football Association of Greenland. The Greenland National Football Team competed as a regular i ...
with the tournaments being hosted by
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
,
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
and the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
.
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
missed the 1983 edition, but otherwise the three sides all competed. Further opportunity came with the introduction of
football to the
Island Games
The Island Games (currently known as the NatWest International Island Games for sponsorship reasons) are biennial international multi-sports events organised by the International Island Games Association (IIGA). Competitor teams each represent d ...
in 1989. Greenland would enter the inaugural tournament and finish 4th from 5 teams, with them appearing at every edition since, except for the
2007 Games. The men have twice come 2nd at the games, last in
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
, though once was in the small 4-team edition in
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = "Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, es ...
at the
Football at the 2013 Island Games – Men's tournament. The team also occasionally travel to compete against more varied sides, with matches against Icelandic club and youth national sides having come in the past and Danish club sides more recently. One of the biggest moments in the island's footballing history came in 2001 when the
national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
played a landmark fixture against
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...
in
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
, the game went ahead despite great pressure by the
Chinese Government
The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, m ...
and
FIFA to have it called off.
The
Island Games
The Island Games (currently known as the NatWest International Island Games for sponsorship reasons) are biennial international multi-sports events organised by the International Island Games Association (IIGA). Competitor teams each represent d ...
would also eventually provide opportunities for the
women's national team, with the inaugural tournament coming in 2001. However, Greenland would not compete until
2007, sending the women's team instead of the men to the tournament. While 2013 would prove similar to the men's tournament, with the team finishing 2nd in part due to the small scale of the edition, they have also managed a 3rd place finish at the
2011 Games. They are also regulars at the
Island Games
The Island Games (currently known as the NatWest International Island Games for sponsorship reasons) are biennial international multi-sports events organised by the International Island Games Association (IIGA). Competitor teams each represent d ...
since their debut.
Youth international teams have also been set up, with men's U21 and U19 sides having trained previously, though there is not significant evidence beyond that.
Futsal, considering the usual weather, is a prominent sport, with the
Greenland national futsal team competing where possible in Futsal Week tournaments and the
Nordic Futsal Cup
The Nordic Futsal Cup is the Nordic countries futsal Championship competition hosted by UEFA.
History
The Nordic Futsal Cup had its inauguration edition in 2013 in the Danish city of Nykøbing Falster. Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden partic ...
, though similarly to the football sides, their participation is limited by their lack of
FIFA membership. They have even expanded into youth futsal, with the U19s taking part in the 2022 Futsal Week competition.
2022 Futsal Week U19 Summer Cup
/ref>
Football stadiums in Greenland
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Football In Greenland