Football in Greenland

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Football is one of the most popular sports in the Danish Overseas Territory 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 Nuuk.

The Football Association of Greenland is not a member of FIFA, but is a member of the International Football Union, secondary governing bodies of association football for nations and sub-national countries that are not FIFA members.

Greenland is neither a member of UEFA (as it is politically and historically tied to Europe) nor CONCACAF (as it is geographically part of North America), but has sought membership to UEFA in the past. Another dependency of Denmark, the Faroe Islands, is a member of FIFA and UEFA. The 2007 decision by FIFA to sanction the use of FieldTurf artificial turf for international matches, combined with Greenland's self rule beginning in 2009, has given hope that Greenland may be able to join FIFA and one of its continental confederations in the future.

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 a Tibet XI in Denmark, the game went ahead despite great pressure by the Chinese Government and FIFA to have it called off.[1]

Club Football

The Coca Cola GM is the top football division in Greenland. First played in 1958 it has been organized by the Football Association of Greenland since 1971. The most successful club is Nagdlunguaq-48 who have won the competition on ten occasions.

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

References