For the record, French Polynesia and New Caledonia both are FIFA members while also being part of overseas France.
Right but they are semi-independent "collective territories" and have their own flags and currency, unlike the departments mentioned above which are French departments and are treated the same as Burgundy or Provence. I think they changed the Constitution to give French Polynesia and New Caledonia special status rather than lose them to independence.
you are 50% right- its ownership + a suitable STADIUM/STADIUM deal that creates a positive revenue stream
Not that I doubt, @Paul Berry, but... Paging our friend and South Pacific expert @Sounders78 to give us a long and detailed, but eminently readable, monologue about French Polynesia and New Caledonia and their relationship to the French Constitution In 3...2...1...
Trying to understand the French constantly changing determinations with their overseas communities requires much more time than I have invested in it. It was so much easier in the DOM-TOM days (overseas departments vs overseas territories). I don't think NC and FP have the same status anymore, with NC (sui generis collectivity) being a step closer to independence than FP (overseas collectivity). I will say that while New Caledonia and French Polynesia don't use the Euro, they do both use the CPF franc which is fixed to the Euro. They are both part of France but outside the Schengen zone, so you do have to declare things when moving there even if you are French (including your iPhone, which you might lose possession of for a period of time - I had both on my list of possible places to relocate to, so I looked into such things). The health care system also operates separately to that in France I believe that like the other overseas locations, they both do have representation in the French National Assembly, although they are able to make their own laws, with limitations. Also, players born in either location are able to play for the French national team (from memory Christian Karembeu was an example, being from New Caledonia).
It's so annoying that someone from Mayotte or Saint Pierre and Miquelon can wander around the EU at will but as a resident and citizen of an island 20 miles off the French coast I have to arrange and post my travel plans in advance. How I am I supposed to smuggle amphetamines? Stupid Brexit!
I so agree! (My life would be so much less complicated if the French were as good with coeliac disease as the Brits. But, alas, asking the French to accommodate food issues is akin to asking the American government to accommodate lesbian Muslim terrorists - it's just not going to happen).
I mean it's a well known scientific fact that the most likely period in a soccer match to have a goal is when you need to go to the bathroom.
But that goal will ONLY happen IF you actually GO to the bathroom. If you hold it, or pee your pants in place, then no goal will occur. Science.
I like Hawaii's flag. For me, it's as distinctive as the flags of Alaska, Arizona, Maryland, New Mexico, Ohio, or Texas.
Minnesota's new one is unique as well, although apparently half the people don't like it. EDIT: Also missed that Utah recently remade theirs...the beehive is kind of awesome:
One time I drove to Vermont, stopped at a McDonalds and was confronted by a giant Grand Union Flag which took up the whole wall opposite the door. No explanation as to why it was there.
Lots of choices: "Player eligibility is based on Hawaiian Nationality not on ethnicity or race. Any player who is the direct descendant of an individual born in the Hawaiian Kingdom before January 17, 1893, is a Hawaiian Subject and thus eligible to represent Nā ‘Ālapa Hawai‘i."
Where all the action begins ✨ pic.twitter.com/3BqDqYQ47z— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) June 22, 2026
Demolition greets Sweden at World Cup camp during FC Dallas renovation project https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/d...-during-fc-dallas-renovation-project/4041736/
The preliminary one with the stripes for Minnesota was way better than the flag they ended up with. I don't know what happened in between.