Football is the most popular sport in Greenland, but because of its Arctic climate (average temperatures rarely exceed 50° F in summer) Greenland is unable to support grass pitches. That’s a bit of a problem when you consider how popular the “beautiful game” is with its 56,000 inhabitants. Instead, matches are played on artificial turf, and its football season is the only one to take place inside the Arctic Circle.
But Greenland can’t compete at the international level because it’s not a member of FIFA, football’s governing body, and it lacks the facilities to host international games. Nevertheless, according to FIFA, the island still dreams of stepping onto football’s main stage, but “it will be a while before this nation, which is geographically part of North America, will be able to face major sides like Germany, Argentina or the Netherlands.”
