I know that Greenland want to be a member of the FIFA, like the Faroer Islands for example....according to its geographical location to wich Confederation should belong Greenland? I think it would be very interesting to see Greenland playing against Canada or Cuba .....
I dont know a lot about football from Greenland but im guessing that there best chances of ever qualifying would be from CONCACAF. If they were in UEFA, they would almost always finish down there with the Andorra's, Malta's and Latvia's of the world.
I mean, if it were just about not getting embarassed in qualifying, countries like Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan would have chosen to join AFC instead of UEFA. They feel they get more exposure by not only playing 14 games against top European opponents but also getting spots in the Champions League and UEFA Cup. However, Greenland is VERY tiny and whatever FA they have is very bare bones, they'd be a micronation in FIFA (they have like 50,000 population). Therefore, it's likely they'd want to join CONCACAF and just play two qualifying games every cycle since it doesn't seem like they have the money to survive a full qualifying schedule. And Greenland doesn't strike me as a nation that could pull off the occasional good result (like Kazakhstan upsetting Serbia). I would personally like to see Greenland in CONCACAF. A Bermuda vs. Greenland tie would truly be a sight to see.
Latvia had a pretty decent showing in Euro 2004. After taking the lead against the Czech's early on, they were unlucky to lose 2-1, and managed a draw with Germany. If Greenland were ever to become a FIFA member, they would have to be part of UEFA.
Just for reference, the Greenland handball team plays in the Americas zone. And they're pretty good too, they finished 3rd in the Americas qualification behind Brazil and Argentina.
UEFA won't accept Gibraltar because Spain and a host of other countries either do not recognize their UK territory status or do not want to be involved in a big political battle by approving them. Their small size has nothing to do with their lack of UEFA membership. Equally small countries like San Marino, Andorra, and Faroe Islands have been approved in the last 20 years.
If/when they join Greenland would be part of CONCACAF. It is a better fit both geographically and as far as competition level.
I thought so at first too, but then the Dutch Antilles qualify out of CONCACAF even though they are still under Dutch rule. I don't see why Greenland has to be in UEFA just because it's still officially a part of Denmark. They would have virtually no chance to qualify out of any region (including Oceania) so I'm not sure those considerations have anything to do with it. Latvia has close to 50 times the population of Greenland and a climate far more favorable to the sport. The suburb I currently live in has twice as many people as Greenland. I was wondering how they go about playing the sport there on the tundra (my dad was stationed there in the service), so looking at Wikipedia it appears they would need field turf for their home stadium. Wikipedia says they've played the Faroes eight times and have 2 draws and six losses, so that should give you a general idea of where they would size up. Not American Samoa or Guam bad, but generally a speed bump for any decent team. Though I suppose they might enjoy a sizeable home field advantage in winter .
Before this argument can seriously begin FIFA will have to accept Field Turf as a playable surface, because Greenland can't maintain a grass surface at FIFA's standards. However, if they are admitted they should be a member of CONCACAF, although some people consider Greenland to be part of Scandinavia. Not that it matters. I'd love to see them play in CONCACAF! That'd be crazy to have an away leg in Greenland.
FIFA does allow Fieldturf now. National team matches in places like Russia, Canada, and Costa Rica have been played on Fieldturf. The problem is that the Greenland FA can't afford it, and that's been the holdup in becoming a FIFA member. They need to find several million dollars just for the field.
Anyone have any info on what kind of team they would be able to field? Obviously, they're a minnow. But are we talking American Samoa? Or Andorra?
Well they recently drew with Zanzibar in Northern Cyprus and also lost to them in Hamburg, 4-2. I mention this because Zanzibar actually plays quite a few matches against other African countries who are full members. They've played Tanzania and Burundi about even in recent years and the last ratings I did put them in the mid 120s amongst official national sides, which in CONCACAF terms is around where St. Vincent and the Grenadines are. Greenland looks to be a little worse than Zanzibar (but not a ton) so that might put them in the 150s or 160s. That would put them in CONCACAF terms around St. Lucia or Nicaragua, and in UEFA terms the Faroes or Andorra. All of those teams would crush American Samoa or Guam and would easily beat someone like the U.S. Virgin Islands. So not the worst teams in the world, but not anyone in any danger of qualifying for a World Cup, at least not currently.
Greenland being part of the Danish Kingdom is meaningless to FIFA. Look at the British Commonwealth, it plays in almost every confederation. Guam plays in the AFC despite being American, New Caledonia in OFC despite being French, ect. Greenland's record win is a 16-0 demolition of tiny Sark in the Island Games. Useless fact: I heard the match live on BBC Radio. Useless fact 2: Sark is the last official Feudal society on earth.
Useless fact 3: Sark will abandon feudalism become fully democratized by 2012, under pressure from the European union
Simple solution to this question. The Greenland FA is not going to be chartering planes so if there are more scheduled flights to Europe than there are to Canada, US or any other part of North America than Greenland should join UEFA.
My guess is that although Greenland is geographically part of the Americas, and most of its people are Inuit (Eskimos), it would make far more sense for Greenland to play in UEFA. It's far easier to get from Nuuk to most of Europe than it is to get to Toronto or New York, let alone Montevideo or Buenos Aires.
No problem there. "Come and see the violence inherent in the system! Help, help! I'm being repressed!"