National group rejected by UEFA apply for CONCACAF membership with followers shocked
International football could be set to welcome its latest team as Greenland seek to join CONCACAF.
CONCACAF oversee the footballing landscape in North and Central America. Greenland, who have never played competitive international football on the biggest stage, is a territory of Denmark but is geographically part of North America.
Greenland had looked to join UEFA, but their application was rebuffed as UEFA could only admit federations “based in a country which is recognised as an independent state by the majority of members of the United Nations”. However, CONCACAF’s regulations aren’t as strict.
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Greenland’s manager Morten Rutkjaer admitted it would be a dream to play international football. He told the BBC: “It is very important for me that the youth and young people in Greenland have something to look forward to. They have to dream big.”
But he then admitted: “It’s very difficult to play football when there’s a lot of snow. Grass can only grow in south Greenland.”
Would you like to see Greenland play international football? Let us know in the comments section
(Image: Greenland Football Association)
“Imagine a Caribbean team playing a winter break qualifying natch there in December,” one fan joked. While a second said: “Greenland vs the U.S. Virgin Islands 2030 World Cup qualifying first round…sign me up!”
“I guess I never realised they’re considered part of North America. That’ actually pretty awesome,” a third admitted. And another added: “A hard to get to sparsely populated island with a unique pitch where the elements play a part of the game. Yeah they were built for CONCACAF!”
According to the official Greenland tourism website the country has 76 football clubs and 5,500 registered players, around 10% of the population.
However, these players, due to the harsh Arctic climate, are only able to play outdoors for five months a season when the sun shines on the world’s most northerly capital.
