NUUK, Greenland — For most of the year, Greenland is covered in ice and snow and its locals retreat indoors. But for three short months beginning in June, everyone heads outside — day and night — to watch or play soccer, the island’s favorite sport.
On an island of roughly 56,000 people, about 5,500 — nearly 10% of the population — are registered soccer players. So it was a crushing blow in early June when the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, or CONCACAF, unanimously rejected the Greenlandic Football Association’s application to become a member.
Some blamed politics for the decision in light of U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated wish to take control of the strategic, mineral-rich island. CONCACAF is one of six continental federations under FIFA, soccer’s world governing body that oversees the World Cup.
The U.S. president hasn’t ruled out military force despite strong rebukes from the governments of Denmark, a NATO ally, and Greenland. Danish and Greenlandic leaders say the island is not for sale and have condemned reports of the U.S. stepping up intelligence gathering on the semiautonomous Danish territory.
But Patrick Frederiksen, captain of the national team, thinks CONCACAF’s rejection came down to money.
“We all know it’s really expensive to travel to Greenland,” he said.
Earlier this month, the first direct flight from the U.S. to Greenland by an American airline landed in the capital, Nuuk. The one-way ticket from Newark International Airport in New Jersey cost roughly $1,200. The return flight from Nuuk had a $1,300 to $1,500 price tag. Other flights require a layover in Iceland or Copenhagen, Denmark.
CONCACAF didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Greenland, technically European territory, might have been expected to seek membership in UEFA. But the European federation only allows members from countries recognized as independent per sovereignty rules introduced in 2007. CONCACAF has no such restrictions.
Despite the recent headlines, the Arctic island’s inhabitants are more concerned this summer with getting to the nearest field. They want to take advantage of the 24-hour sunlight even if the temperatures hover around 5 to 10 degrees Celsius (41 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit) in Nuuk.
“We meet outside and play football all night long,” player Angutimmarik Kreutzmann said. “It’s not getting dark and we have so much freedom.”
From youth clubs to the national team, soccer energizes the entire island.
Picturesque outdoor fields, featuring views of drifting icebergs and snow-capped mountain peaks even in late June, range from artificial turf to dirt to real grass, though older players remember dribbling across gravel pitches.
“You should come watch a game,” said Oscar Scott Carl, coach of the B-67 club in Nuuk. “You can see how much people go into the game, how much cheering from the attenders.”
“It’s also a big part of creating unity in the country, having a sport to gather around and celebrate wins and being a part of something bigger than only football, to be honest,” he added.
The Kalaallit Arsaattartut Kattuffiat, Greenland’s national football association, was founded in 1971 and regulates multiple men’s and women’s teams. Community projects are also important to the island’s soccer culture and national team players serve as role models for local youth.
“They want to take pictures with us or get our autograph,” Frederiksen said. “We get a lot of attention and a lot support from the kids.”
During the long winter, many players turn to futsal. The sport is a form of indoor soccer, generally played with a special ball on a handball court with five players on a side.
Even the national team plays: They traveled to Brazil in March for the Intercontinental Futsal Cup.
The national team of the Faeroe Islands, a semi-independent Danish territory in the North Atlantic, is a member of FIFA and UEFA, which oversees European soccer.
It’s a sore spot for Greenlanders, especially after CONCACAF’s decision. The Faeroe Islands team joined the tournaments more than three decades ago, before there were requirements such as a stadium with tens of thousands of seats, among others.
Visit Greenland, the government’s tourism agency, said that a national stadium has “long been on the wish list for many in Greenland.” But with such a small population, an arena with a minimum of 40,000 seats — more than 70% of the island’s inhabitants — “is sadly not in the pipeline,” the agency wrote on its website.
Still, Jimmy Holm Jensen, chairman of Nuuk’s B-67 club, wishes Greenland’s teams could at least play in international soccer tournaments. Right now, they only can compete in friendly matches abroad.
“I think we have something to show the world,” he said.
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AP journalists Stefanie Dazio and Ciarán Fahey contributed to this report from Berlin.
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