May 29 (Bloomberg) -- Greenland, the self-governing territory of Denmark, recently made a formal application to join the
North and Central America
and the Caribbean Football Association (CONCACAF). The news has attracted a lot of attention, as Greenland had previously wanted to join FIFA and UEFA, but was unable to do so due to various constraints.
Greenland is the largest island in the world, with a population of more than 50,000, and is located within the Arctic Circle, where it is bitterly cold all year round and more than 80% of the land is covered by an ice cap. Despite this, Greenland has an undiminished passion for soccer, with nearly 40 clubs across the island and more than 5,000 registered players, accounting for 10% of the resident population.
One of the main challenges Greenland faces is infrastructure constraints. According to regulations, Greenland needs to have a stadium with a capacity of 3,000 spectators. In addition, the existing airport in Nuuk, Greenland, struggles to accommodate visiting teams to play in Greenland unless it is remodeled and expanded. These infrastructure issues were a major reason for Greenland's previous unsuccessful attempts to join FIFA and UEFA.
Nevertheless, the development of soccer in Greenland has not stopped. This application to join CONCACAF is a new step for Greenland to realize its dream of an international soccer stage. If the application is successful, Greenland will be able to participate in more international tournaments, improve their own soccer level, and demonstrate their passion and dedication to soccer in a cold environment.
