From this article today... https://beta.bold.dk/fodbold/nyheder/groenland-soeger-om-optagelse-i-concacaf The Greenland Football Association is applying for membership of the North and Central American football association Concacaf. The Greenlandic national team may eventually play qualifying matches against North and Central American national teams. In any case, the Greenland Football Association, KAK, plans to join Concacaf in the future, and the application process is already under way. It is almost impossible to become a member of the European football association UEFA without the support of the Danish football association DBU. KAK has therefore decided that we will prepare the application process to Concacaf ourselves, says the chairman of the application committee Tønnes Berthelsen to the Greenlandic media Sermitsiaq. Greenland does not have a football stadium that can be approved according to the international requirements. Therefore, the team's home matches may be played abroad. Home matches in the USA, Canada or Iceland are mentioned by Berthelsen as possibilities for Greenland. Greenland has a Danish national coach in the form of Morten Rutkjær. He sees great prospects in Greenland's expected admission to Concacaf. It is clearly realistic that we are admitted, and I have great ambitions for Greenland's football. The possibilities are endless, and with the foundation we are building, we are ready to take on the challenge. We will take on the great nations. It is also of great value that we showcase Greenland and that there is a huge support from the entire population. We may not win many battles in the beginning, but it means a lot that it is a common mission and we stand together as a nation. The whole country is ready, says Rutkjær. Morten Rutkjær has a past as a coach in several Danish division clubs and explains that the Greenland national team level is very similar to what he has worked with in the past. The level of the team is similar to the 3rd division or the top of the Denmark Series, but with the right amount of training and a boost of the coaches and training facilities in Greenland, our goal is that the players will be lifted to a higher level. Our players play primarily in Greenland, but we also have some in Denmark, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. The goal is to send more out in the coming years. We will make a big effort to find players in Denmark who have Greenlandic roots and who can play for the national team, Rutkjær explains. Would love to see it happen. Their new national stadium they're building in Nuuk could look stunning...
Would they be like Guadalupe, a concacaf member good for Gold cups and champions league, but not for WC qualifying. Imagine a champions league game in Greenland in February.
It's tricky. Greenland is going to have a hard time joining FIFA. They have tightened the requirements for non-independent countries to join. It is different than the situation with Guadalupe. They are blocked by France who considers their overseas possessions as part of the nation. It is more likely that Greenland would only be a CONCACAF member so they would not be participating in World Cup qualifiers.
No new information since this past summer. Not even a squeak. Is it safe to say "Greenland to CONCACAF" is most likely never going to happen?
Assuming Greenland can get a national team up and running with a great home stadium, I do wonder if it will be possible to create a professional team that is effectively one and the same as the national team. And maybe play in the Canadian Premier League. That would be quite a bit of travel, but that league has oddly good access to CONCACAF Champion's League. They need more teams- they're looking to expand as much as they can. There's no pro/rel and the cost of getting in is not much. Even if they can't do WCQ, that would still put a lot on their plate.
The only way Greenland could have a CPL team is if they join FIFA and get the World Cup pay-outs. Even then, Bermuda and Antigua & Barbuda both tried to do that within the USL/PDL system. They couldn't sustain it, and the financials will be even more difficult for Greenland. There are no commercial flights between Greenland and CONCACAF nations. Greenland is only looking at CONCACAF as a back-up plan anyways. They would very much prefer to be in UEFA.
Now it is official... 🇬🇱 Greenland has officially applied for membership of CONCACAF.A letter on the Greenland Football Association's Facebook page confirms the historic application has been made.Greenland's path to UEFA is blocked by current rules but CONCACAF is theoretically an open route. pic.twitter.com/NRLbM5LCQd— The Sweeper (@SweeperPod) May 28, 2024
I can not wait for the Nations League matches between them and other C League teams. I am actually really excited about it. That is going to be a hefty travel bill, will CONCACAF subsidize it?