Why Don't Greenland Have An International Football Team?

Greenland is the largest island in the world, and has a larger population than the likes of Gibraltar, San Marino, and the Faroe Islands, all of whom have FIFA and UEFA affiliated national teams.
So in this short documentary, HITC Sevens takes a look at this often overlooked part of the world, it's unique climate and demographics, and why the Danish overseas territory doesn't yet have an official international football team capable of competing in the World Cup or European Championships.

[@fabzinho4830]

Because they don’t want anyone to find that end of the world bunker

[@agatafedunkow]

Lmao. Tbh I only know that since the film Greenland

[@TheMcCats]

@@agatafedunkow yeah that's where I'm sure he got it from too

[@agatafedunkow]

@@TheMcCats probaly

[@0ex3ex2]

I know the reference noice

[@Triantalex]

false.

[@Doc0811]

It's a nice surprise seeing you talk about my country and a bit funny hearing you try to pronounce some of our cities

[@mickmccarthy8219]

If u are from Greenland, thats amazing

[@sanin3213]

Bro I know u irl

[@adamingi]

Denmark is a nice country I agree

[@areebsiddiqui758]

Are you a polar bear?

[@justhuy7960]

Do you consider yourself Greenlander or Danish ? Just wondering, no offense

[@akinfenwathewycombelegend6799]

Day 6 of asking for the 7 best relegation escapes (dosent matter which league).

[@lukeypat]

HITC please do this

[@prometheustv6436]

Lol

[@akinfenwathewycombelegend6799]

@@lukeypat : )

[@faytachiMPS]

Could probably fill them with just Sunderland seasons lmao

[@justtheon5903]

7-2 Sunderland honourable mention Leicester 1 Sunderland

[@bulletvivace]

Played with a goalkeeper from Greenland once, we where in the lower leagues in Denmark, but he was considered a reserve on the national team. Serie 4/5 for those knowing the Danish system.

[@Bakazinha]

That's 10-11 best league for anyone who don't know

[@michaelplaysbass]

"More grass at one of Snoop Dogg's house parties" LMAO Alfie coming in with the comedy stylings!

[@TheMugge522]

I am a Greenlandic, and I am honored that you made this video Alfie, also baptized in that church at 4:37 - in Ilulissat...just random fact.

[@Dan-qp5tq]

oh wow, how is life in greenland

[@hermsfresh9066]

Wow! Polar bears have phones and can text.

[@seanmccombie6379]

Nice. One day Greenland may have a team

[@seanmccombie6379]

@Liberal Tears makes sense considering that's where they're from would be a stretch for them to ever make the world cup but people were saying that about iceland for years

[@seanmccombie6379]

@Liberal Tears yeah they could as part of Denmark and not too far from Europe really Australia also now playing in Asia what next Gibraltar to Africa lol

[@luxmatrix2619]

As a geography and football fan these kind of videos are my favourite. Well done mate

[@brovegas1597]

The greenland national coach is actually my former coach.. it's pretty cool

[@connor4223]

Day 1: the Ghana team that got to the quarters in world cup 2010, where are they now

[@youtubewatcher703]

Retired

[@connor4223]

@@youtubewatcher703 he could go over there careers before they retired.

[@bricktop.]

Ghana probably

[@jeffrey5976]

I love videos focused on obscure footballing nations. I'd like one about the Faroe Islands.

[@connoraxon8741]

When I was at primary school my English teacher moved to the Faroe Islands and eventually played for the national team, it was cool because he was on the south Africa 2010 fifa game

[@lordforareason9440]

@@connoraxon8741 yooo that's cool :O

[@yourdadhasadogfilter2505]

@@connoraxon8741 What was his rating?

[@Matt_matt1]

Alternative title: Does greenland have enough flat ground for a football pitch? (btw loving the videos)

[@gianvh7834]

Day 7: Request: What on earth is going on at FC Basel. From beating both Manchester clubs and Bayern in the Champions league in the last decade, as well as winning the swiss league 8 consecutive times to losing 6-2 at home to second tier Winterthur as well as being 16 points off top spot

[@P3TER_Official23]

Also can do this on Anderlecht

[@tiorammcdonough7666]

7clubs with stadiums that can seat more people than the town/city they're in. Eg. Ross county and Dingwall

[@TheMcCats]

and soon to be the arctic stadium

[@DanThebluebrick]

Can you do an eligible XI if Monaco had a national football team?

[@maccabees1000]

Oliver Boscagli, Torben Joneleit, Tom Hateley all born there

[@DomenBremecXCVI]

As Pingu once said: "Nuuk nuuk!" (I know penguins are in the south)

[@berzerkisnotaqt1250]

*Putin

[@mirzaahmed6589]

Pingu was made in Switzerland.

[@jt21788]

Hi Alfie! I think your content is brilliant! I recommend you make videos about the 19th Century FA Cup competitions because there are many enthralling stories surrounding them! Hopefully this gets enough likes for you to see it.

[@LechuKawaii]

19th century football is so interesting

[@SamOGr]

This is a great video Alfie, most people don't really know what's happening in greenland and you explained it really well, these types of videos are some of the best football content out there, keep up the fantastic work

[@lihtsaltkristjan7331]

Wait a minute? The requirement that UEFA introduced is bonkers. Let me remind you all that Gibraltar, The Faroe Islands, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all UEFA members

[@RandyMahnke]

Haven't watched the video yet but have you heard of the “FIFI Wild Cup“? It was an alternative world cup for nations not recognized by fifa, hosted in Germany in 2006, prior to the world cup. Greenland participated in this. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFI_Wild_Cup

[@Ulkomaalainen]

Been there and watched two games (Greenland vs Sansibar 2-4; Tibet vs Gibraltar (pre UEFA entry) 0-5). I only ever watched 7 national sides live in the stadium (the others are more common: Germany, Ukraine, Albania), so Greenland are part of quite some exclusive club ;)

[@dazzathakilla6364]

Short answer: hardly any grass

[@mickmccarthy8219]

And a very low population density

[@dereswatregae8430]

Not a great year for kerry this year?

[@Sean-fu1nw]

@@dereswatregae8430 haha yh up the dubs ;)

[@dereswatregae8430]

@@Sean-fu1nw nah cavan all the way

[@dereswatregae8430]

@@Sean-fu1nw danny grant is some player in fifa

[@kaloyan89]

Great content, I really enjoyed this video, hope they continue to evolve and achieve the goals and progress they strive for, feelgood video!

[@jv4200]

As a resident of Greenland, I'm quite impressed with your research. Good video and much appreciated you devote time om your channel to Greenland, it's a great place with a great people Best regards

[@andris1634]

Day 14: the brief history of the Saarland national team

[@big-dofficial9830]

I mean, it’s not a country

[@andris1634]

@@big-dofficial9830 It was a country between 1947 and 1956, it was more or less a sovereign state under French controll after WW2 until it was reunited with West Germany

[@stender420]

@@big-dofficial9830 they even played in the qualification for wc 1954 against western Germany

[@mats7492]

@@stender420 and all the Saarland Players stated that they were happy to lose against Germany so that they could advance.. they felt as Germans, not saarlanders

[@Triantalex]

hm??

[@conormccallion7185]

Best xi outside of FIFA’s top 100 but only 1 per nation

[@georgejohnson4329]

Awesome video, i hope they get the funds they need sooner rather than later, love their passion for Football.

[@danielsmartinez3021]

Thanks so much accepting my request by doing this🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@BOABModels]

This is the kind of video which really sets your channel apart from the rest. 👍

[@Otto910]

Very nice video!

[@mmmcounts]

I heard that Greenland is on its way to joining CONCACAF, although I'm not sure if full FIFA membership is in the cards. It will be nice to see them in Nations League play though. I sure do hope they can have a pro team that is basically the same as their national team, and if they do I'd like to see that pro team in the Canadian Premier League. If it isn't much good, there's no worries because there isn't any relegation. But such a team might actually be very good, because Denmark can potentially give them some players.

[@jamiec2138]

An excellently researched video: fun and educational, thank you!

[@inlizwetrusst7904]

Amazing video! I love your documentaries

[@topgun_7]

im from Greenland and thank you for making the video mate xD

[@Chr010]

Nice video, very informative. Thanks a lot ;)

[@NordicStadiums]

Another great and informative video. Thanks mate!

[@dhruvrapheal428]

i just lov this channel.....keep up the good work

[@mauricecarvalho4122]

Thanks for the history lesson, never thought I needed it but I'm glad I watched this video

[@Inuit1982]

Hi HITC! So so awesome you made this! Can say I am from Greenland and now live in Europe :) .... Can add that the most winning team is B67 from the Capital Nuuk, it enjoys a fierce rivalry with I-69 from Ilulissat and K-33 from Qaqortoq as well ;) ... Plus really enjoyed the intro you gave as well which was as historically correct as it could get :D Again thanks so so much for it and please keep up the good work! ;D

[@nicocorbo4153]

The snoop dogg joke got me. Another great video, Alfie.

[@tommyvinceze6249]

Great video

[@originz7427]

Maybe because 90% of the country is ice

[@tomwright3599]

Never stopped Steve Freeze.

[@zachgravatt5571]

More like 99.9%

[@felixbache5369]

that still leaves more room for football than the entirety of wales

[@protschkopf]

79%

[@finlaycraig1810]

No thats Iceland

[@tonfisk9807]

Thanks so much for posting this - hoping to visit one day and it would be so fun to play a pickup match here. I hope they can get an indoor artificial turf built sooner than the larger stadium!

[@OrdinaryFifaGuy]

Brilliant video

[@ejnarsorensen2920]

I've actually watched a Greenland game in person before. They lost to Jersey, which maybe says something about the calibre of players they can produce.

[@TheMcCats]

well considering they get 2 months of practice a year

[@bricktop.]

They should play in the SPL, give rangers and Celtic a challenge.

[@catdaddy5472]

What was the score

[@brendonutjita]

@@bricktop. 😂😂

[@ejnarsorensen2920]

@@catdaddy5472 It's been a while so I don't remember, but I think it might have been 2-0 or 2-1. It wasn't a thrashing or anything (and it was a semi-final of a tournament)

[@louiskennedybbx]

Amazing video

[@AdamMiligan]

Videos like this are the reason I love so much this channel and the reason why is the best one. Alfie, you're a genius. Day 3 of asking for Democracia Corinthiana.

[@yupidoda]

I love these kind of videos

[@billyhopwood3398]

Loving the videos pal, been a fan off this channel since it started and honestly love it, also suggestion, do a rise and fall of Stockport County video, i think you;ll find there story over the last 15 years highly interesting and as being a hull fan think you will understand the pain and struggle we've felt!

[@qwert28077]

But yall got the Stockport iniesta

[@qwert28077]

@Abhirup Nath foden

[@demareatunes]

the streets need that Elias Figueroa documentary best defender to ever do it

[@thomaskendell8146]

No he isn't

[@kieronparr3403]

Great vid

[@mrgreatbritain]

I knew the Island Games would be mentioned at some point! In fact I was counting how long it would be until you mentioned the words haha (6 mins 23 seconds). I’m a massive fan of the Games and the Greenland football team had a really good run in Gotland 2017. Great research as always. Also unrelated but I liked the use of the picture of England against Scotland women too. If you read this I’d love to see a bit more of women’s football on the channel! I know you’ve done the odd video in the past. Keep up the good work diving into the topics that so few others will

[@glennaldosf]

because they are currently living in ice-olation... seriously though, went to Greenland back in 2008. It's a really fascinating place. Stayed in Tasilaq and Kulusuk in Eastern Greenland for about a week, and actually got stuck there as flights back were grounded due to heavy fog. Greenland is really amazing, take a fishing boat through iceberg filled fjords while humpback whales come right up to your boat. The locals also love to party (maybe a little too much), and love their football too. Would love to see them compete and wish I'd picked up a Greenland soccer shirt, but shopping choices were pretty limited. It's a really beautiful and gem of a place...

[@michaelmearney5721]

Great video man. If you could please do a video on The F.A.I and just how bad things got here in Ireland

[@jolobor6686]

Would be cool if you started making more videos about American football (mls, Ncaa (college soccer), usl, Nisa etc) Would be interested I think would be interesting if you explained how transfers worked there and different league systems. tbh that would be a good idea in general. Could start explaining different leagues and how they work (playoffs and these sort of things) would be interesting

[@krisr3868]

Good video. Your videos on these obscure subjects within football are always interesting. But I felt some information about the sports where Greenland is considered independent was missing (I can only think of biathlon and handball). Especially considering which confederation they would have to join, should they gain FIFA recognition. UEFA wouldn't be as obvious as one might think. They way want to follow into the footsteps of their handball team, which is in the pan-American confederation (and has qualified for the world championships three times - 2001, 2003 and 2007).

[@no92108]

This was so cool I’m not going to lie!

[@yisraelbrooke1481]

You should do another video about the best footballer in every country!

[@arz5530]

Video idea: make the best team made up of only players born from a certain month e.g. January XI. This could either be present players or past and present players, including either a current or past and present manager. You could make this a mini series and maybe even put them in a little cup competition at the end and predict which team would come out on top

[@lewl284]

This is class

[@Dazza768]

This is so interesting I’ve always wondered about Greenland it just seems like such a bizarre place. Let’s hope in the next decade they will indeed have a national team

[@delfincastellino-dominguez1607]

Day 25: Top 15 ranked National teams' golden generations if they were compiled into a league format

[@youssefremy6173]

Request : Top 7 Worst Premier League Defending Champions Attempt 3

[@aidanm5849]

Can you do a video about the San Marino national team?

[@Taderbaraeg]

Well covered, very interesting. And I'm Faroese

[@alastairbrewster4274]

Pls do a video about the Island Games and their football competition?

[@DynamoTwentyTwo]

I kind of expected this video to have been made in response to the news that Greenland was applying for Concacaf membership when I saw it in my recommendeds so I was surprised to find out it was just a random Greenland Football video from 2 years ago. Here's hoping they get approved!

[@JoSe8Y]

Now that we are on obscure places in the world, please do a video on the 7 best players from Centra America & the Caribbean

[@dozzee23]

day 4 of asking alfie to make a video about 7 best circumcised and uncircumcised footballers. or circumcised XI vs uncircumcised XI.

[@nomnomoreos1604]

You should do a sequal about the Faroe Islands

[@nathanbrewer6781]

Lmao. That Snoop Dogg joke was great

[@switchblade185]

Good interesting watch. Thinking of other Island football teams, do the Falkland Islands have any teams or national side? (Bit like Gibraltar)

[@THENAGES]

Great History Lessons

[@ethangraham3806]

You should do a video on the world's smallest football league on the isles of scilly, I used to play in it before I moved to university, it would make a good video

[@Inveterate-introvert]

They have a pretty decent biathlete in Ukkaleq Slettemark. Always love seeing the flag. Actually saw Greenland play at the Island Games years ago...

[@rokasgrajauskas4091]

Since my country - Lithuania - is really terrible at football on all international levels, we have developed a sort of ironic pride in being able to name all the European microstates and world countries that do not boast a strong national team that we have managed to lose against. Since becoming independent in 1991 we have given the rarest of rare victories to Faroe Islands, Cyprus (2/3 games played against), Liechtenstein, Luxembourg (2/4), Malta, Moldova, Kuwait and Jordan, and we have secured astonishing friendly draws against world-football-super-powers Indonesia, United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka. Is there any other national team - European or not - witch such an "impressive" record against teams with such a low winning percentage? Love the work that you do on your channel, it's both informative and inspiring! Best of luck in everything you do!

[@orvura]

You should do a video of our national team and our league. The Faroe Islands, we have defeated teams like Greece twice and Austria. We also were higher than Wales in the Fifa rankings not so long ago :)

[@3pieceandsoda708]

Imagine playing on that pitch with your mates on a summer's night 6:08

[@OfficialFingazMC]

Just watched the latest video (the first time winners of the world Cup, and he mentioned this one) and Alfie sounds like he's on 1.5x speed.. Or just on speed in this video!

[@justhuy7960]

Damn this video is contagious, now I want to live in Greenland too lol

[@hansinguaqfleischer9058]

I do live there

[@andrealmeida852]

Day 4: 7 best international tournaments ever (world cup,euro,etc.) in your opinion

[@yupidoda]

Video Suggestion for exploring Conifa?

[@jackgannon8154]

You should do a documentary on John Delaney and the Fai.

[@ryanmkeen445]

alfie with the essex influenced video title

[@sameerbernard1167]

It’s me Figgmatt Figgmattnevic 169 year old manager from Greenland 🇬🇱 checking in wit da HITC Empire

[@martintielemans]

Alfie: uploads a video with a quirky idea Me: That's my boy!

[@dmlstvv]

Day 1: Teams from the final Soviet Union season where are they now

[@aonghastheyouthful4624]

A Norseman Erik founded a settlement in Greenland after a few exiles from both Norway and Iśland (Iceland) in the mid-10th century, His son, Leif, went on a voyage with a few other people. And they ended up in a land which they called “Vinland”, but due to Erik’s passing, Leif had to return to rule the settlement, and his brother, Thorvald, went to fill in his place, and Thorvald was the first European who ended up in the Americas, in around 1000. (This is just a short Description of what I know on Norse-Greenish history)

[@owenjones9385]

u should carry on with the history

[@ephraimlokuagabana5450]

Day 2 of asking: rank pele's 125 greatest living players

[@11Skill]

do a video on auckland city fc's run in the club world cup in 2014, where they finished third. being a completely semi professional team.

[@ggamingtech1381]

Video idea . What if every country in Europe had the players of there neighboring contries players and will they bed good to win a world cup in a particular time

[@shyamsundar4264]

I would love to see a Greenland team or just one player in any league

[@hermsfresh9066]

Is simple, because polar bears are not yet eligible to play for FIFA. Imagine a game pitting Antarctica Penguins against Greenland polar bears.

[@lucianionescuro]

Air Bud reference: Ain't no rules says a polar bear can't play football.

[@rickygrimshaw1255]

It would end in a blood bath for the Antarctican Penguins 😂

[@hermsfresh9066]

@@rickygrimshaw1255 do not underestimate those little adorable, well dressed birds, they can put up a fight

[@rickygrimshaw1255]

@@hermsfresh9066 Noot Noot 🐧

[@aidanwienand5053]

I was literally wondering about this the other day 😂😅

[@florianmaier6286]

Day 6: 7 worst players who scored a hattrick in either the premier or champions league

[@frazmcbob1205]

Maceda

[@madsin6516]

Bendtner

[@protschkopf]

Luiz Adriano in the UCL

[@tomatagamers7110]

@@madsin6516 ?

[@MyThoughtsAreBelow]

Kurzawa?

[@yung_jono]

You should make a video about conifa

[@rasmussvenningsen4754]

Once in 2010, my local team in Denmark which played in the 8th tier of danish football, played a friendly vs the greenlandic national team. Greenland won 3-0. I think it however is just an unofficial national team, sometimes playing friendlies in Denmark, Iceland and the faroe islands

[@moinak9323]

Day 3: Sir please make a video on AFC Champions League

[@joenewman5985]

Could we have the Stan kroenke arsenal video please?

[@RosyMiranto]

I wonder if you will do a What happened to Football in Indonesia video especially after making that joke comparing Indonesia and Greenland's size and population. Definitely look forward to your take on how did the fourth most populous country with a very passionate football fan doesn't make it bit in the international stage especially in the past few decades.

[@aeronomalley6256]

can you do a video on what’s happening at sheffield wednesday, it’s my team and it looks like we’re going down to league one for the 3rd time this century, when in the 120 years previously we only went down once. they’s a lot of problems like ticket prices, like your team hull city, nobody would probably watch it but would be a interesting video for english football fans with the history of wednesday.