Greenland Shocked by Treatment in Bid for CONCACAF Membership

The Greenland Football Federation is deeply dismayed by the way they have been treated in their attempts to gain membership in CONCACAF.

Greenland, a Danish territory, boasts a population of around 56,500. To put this in perspective, the Faroe Islands, another Danish territory, has a population just shy of 55,000 yet enjoys membership in both FIFA and UEFA, which oversee European football.

Last year, Greenland submitted its application for CONCACAF membership, the body that governs football in North and Central America and the Caribbean. Canada, its closest neighbour, is also mentioned in discussions about Greenland, with former U.S. President Donald Trump having indicated interest in the island.

CONCACAF’s decision on 9 June to unanimously reject Greenland’s application was a significant setback, hindering the territory’s hopes of playing official matches against other nations for the first time.

Morten Rutkjaer, the national team coach for Greenland since 2019, expressed his astonishment at the ruling.

“Greenland is now in a position where we may never have the opportunity to participate in an official international match. It’s unbelievable. It’s a great disappointment for the children and youth in Greenland, who now have nothing to aspire to or dream about. We believe it is unjust for us to be excluded from football,” Rutkjaer told TV 2 Sport.

This marked the first occasion a member of the Greenland Football Federation publicly discussed their application, especially after CONCACAF had cautioned them against making their ambitions known while the application was under consideration.

“CONCACAF instructed us not to express our desire to join the organisation in the media while our application was ongoing, warning that doing so might jeopardise our application. Essentially, we were told to remain silent. All we want is to play in international matches. It is contrary to my values as a human being to see things unfold this way. The process has illustrated how incredibly challenging it can be for nations that are not recognised as powerful in football,” Rutkjaer commented.

In May 2024, the Greenland Football Federation formally applied for membership and, over six months later, received an invitation to discuss the application with CONCACAF in Miami.

“It was a moment of celebration for us, but we soon realised that CONCACAF was displeased with the media coverage surrounding Greenland’s membership bid. We thought it was harmless. Following that, all communication from their side grew direct and negative,” Rutkjaer revealed.

Ultimately, the two parties never met, as CONCACAF continually postponed the meeting until it became too late. Subsequently, Greenland’s application was unanimously rejected by all 41 member nations, a decision that left Rutkjaer perplexed considering the positive feedback the federation had received from various countries regarding their intentions.

“I believe CONCACAF presented Greenland in such a way that the members felt they had no choice but to vote ‘no’,” concluded Rutkjaer.