Greenland Cup

The Greenland Cup was an association football friendly knock-out tournament controlled by the Football Association of Greenland.[1] The Greenland National Football Team competed as a regular in its short-lived running. Despite being the representing country, Greenland never won the Greenland Cup. It ran from 1980 to 1984, with 3 tournaments overall.[2]

It was contested by the Greenland, Faroe Islands and Iceland senior male national teams who, at the time, were not affiliated with FIFA. The Faroe Islands and Iceland were the only teams to win the tournament. Both countries have since gone on to become UEFA and FIFA members.[3][4]

Greenland Cup
Founded1980
Abolished1984
RegionEurope
Number of teamsVaried
Most successful team(s)Faroe Islands
Iceland
(2 titles each)
Greenland Cup

Overview

The Greenland Cup tournament was created in 1980. The tournament used knock-out rules or a round robin system. The tournament matches did not have extra time, nor did they go to a penalty shootout. Matches were replayed if drawn, as in the 1983 final.

The first tournament was held in Sauðárkrókur, Iceland. The hosts beat the Faroe Islands 2-1 in the first match, on 30 June 1980. Greenland lost their first game 6-0 to the Faroes,[5] and, in the last match, Iceland's national team beat Greenland 4-1 – Iceland's Marteinn Geirsson, Páll Ólafsson, Lárus Guðmundsson, and Guðmundur Steinsson scored a goal each, however, Greenland forward Kristofer Ludvigsen scored the last goal.[6]

Two years after the first edition, 1983 saw the second Greenland Cup. The match for the cup between Greenland and the Faroe Islands ended in a 0-0 draw. The match was then replayed several days later. The rematch saw the Faroe Islands beating Greenland in a close 3-2 victory in the Greenland capital city of Nuuk.[7]

The third and last Greenland Cup tournament was in 1984, when Iceland made a comeback to the tournament. Greenland lost to both the Faroe Islands and Iceland in 1-0 results, putting Greenland in third place.[8] The Faroe Islands and Iceland met in the final, sharing the cup after the match came to a draw. After this tournament, the Greenland Cup was abolished due to a lack of quality from Greenland's national team. The Football Association of Greenland's president, Lars Lundblad, mentioned the interest in reviving the Greenland Cup after the improvement of Greenland's team and would be possible if Greenland joins FIFA.[9][10][11]

Winners
Year Winner Runners-up Location
1980[12] Iceland Faroe Islands Sauðárkrókur, Iceland
1983 Faroe Islands Greenland Nuuk, Greenland
1984 Faroe Islands
Iceland
(Shared)		 — Klaksvík, Faroe Islands
  1. The first 1983 Greenland Cup final ended in a 0-0 result between Faroe Islands and Greenland, so the match was replayed.

See also

References
  1. FIFA.com. "FIFA Associations and Confederations - FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  2. "Greenland Cups 1980-84". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  3. UEFA.com. "Faroe Islands - Member associations - Inside UEFA". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  4. UEFA.com. "Iceland - Member associations - Inside UEFA". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  5. JOSEVSKI, ALEKSANDAR (27 Dec 2017). "Fra én fodboldbane til 11 på to år: Nu vil Grønland være en fodboldnation". DR (broadcaster). Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  6. "Iceland national team v Greenland*, 3 July 1980". eu-football.info. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  7. "Greenland National Team". polar-bamserne.wifeo.com (in French). Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  8. "Greenland - List of International Matches". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  9. "Greenland seizes sports moment as Iceland plays in World Cup". OlympicTalk. 2018-06-22. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  10. FIFA.com (2014-11-06). "Greenland's great footballing dream". FIFA.com. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  11. Homewood, Brian. "Danish FA supports Greenland's bid to join UEFA, FIFA". U.K. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  12. "Fixtures Greenland 1980". polar-bamserne.wifeo.com (in French). Retrieved 2018-08-16.
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