Greenland manager Morten Rutkjaer says Concacaf membership would be “huge” for the Arctic island after it applied to become a member of football’s governing body for North and Central America.
Greenland, which has never played competitive international football, is a sovereign territory of Denmark but is geographically part of North America.
It has only 57,000 inhabitants, but that is larger than some existing Concacaf members, including Montserrat and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
“Our aim is to build an organization and then in eight to 10 years’ time be able to play with a competitive team,” Rutkjaer told Reuters. “There is still a long way to go to countries like the US and Mexico, but we can dream.”
Greenland cannot participate in UEFA because the European governing body only admits countries recognized by the United Nations, but Concacaf has no such requirement.
“This is huge for Greenland,” Rutkjaer added. “It may well be that we will have a hard time in the Games, but it is about us daring to compete against bigger countries and being proud to play for Greenland.”
Greenland is the largest island in the world, covering an area larger than Western Europe, but 81% of its landmass is covered in ice.
According to the official Greenland tourism website, the country has 76 football clubs and 5,500 registered players, approximately 10% of the population.
However, the harsh Arctic climate means that football can only be played outside for five months a year, on gravel fields or artificial grass.
Head of the Greenland Football Association Kenneth Kleist said there are plans to build more indoor pitches and that a partnership deal with Iceland could see the Scandinavian country host home matches.
“National pride has a lot to do with the idea of independence, so being able to play international football matches will mean a lot to Greenland,” Kleist told Reuters.
Rutkjaer’s team will take on Turkmenistan in Turkey on Sunday.
