Huge country ‘banned’ from World Cup as manager speaks out after having dream crushed

One of the biggest countries in the world has been banned from qualifying for the World Cup after being rejected as an affiliated member.

Two countries have already been barred from competing in the United States after their respective federations withdrew them from the qualifying process.

Eritrea have not played an international fixture since 2020, with their federation repeatedly cancelling matches due to reported fears that players could defect.

And Congo pulled out of qualifying after its federation, FECOFOOT, was suspended by FIFA in February. The suspension was later lifted but it was too late for the nation to re-enter qualifying.

Now, another nation has had their ‘dream’ of playing at a future World Cup extinguished, after their application to become a member of CONCACAF was turned down.

According to Statista, Greenland is the 12th-biggest country in the world in terms of square kilometres.

It is larger than the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany combined.

However, it only has a population of 56,583, making it the 210th most-populated country in the world.

The reason for that is due to the country’s freezing temperatures, which can reach in excess of -20°C in the winter months.

Around 80 per cent of the land is covered by ice and snow, making it inhabitable.

In terms of football, Greenland has long had a national team that competes in non-FIFA affiliated competitions.

They regularly compete in friendlies against domestic sides from across Europe, and fielded a team in the most recent edition of the Island Games.

They twice defeated Gibraltar in the 1990s, but while Gibraltar became a member of UEFA in 2013, Greenland are still waiting for their admission to CONCACAF.

While politically a part of Europe – it is an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark – Greenland is part of the North America continent, leading to its application to be recognised by CONCACAF.

But CONCACAF stated that the application had been ‘unanimously rejected’.

“Based on a thorough assessment conducted by the Concacaf administration and Council, and in accordance with Concacaf Statutes, the Member Associations reviewed the membership application submitted by the Greenlandic Football Association and unanimously rejected it.”

In response, the chairman of the Greenland FA, Kenneth Kleist, said in a statement on Facebook: “We’ve requested a meeting this month with [Concacaf] general secretary Philippe Moggio, so we can discuss the rejection and the process, as we have several comments on the procedure that was used.

“We’ve had clubs, other specialist organisations, politicians, and ambassadors for Greenlandic football committed to this application.

“We’ve developed a highly elaborate strategy for all teams across all age groups, for training coaches, referees and leaders – not to mention the mapping of infrastructure, finances, marketing, sponsorships, rights and conditions for opponents and officials.

“This represents years of work, which has been dismissed without further explanation.”

Speaking in February, Kleist said of comments made by US President Donald Trump, in which he stated his plans to buy Greenland: ‘”In some way, it’s hurting our case a little bit. There are so many journalists asking Concacaf and us about Trump.

“But in the big picture, I think it’s good for us because everybody’s talking about what’s next for Greenland.”

National team coach Morten Rutkjaer added: “We are on par with other small nations in Concacaf – in both structure and quality of play. That’s why we’re puzzled we haven’t been given the chance to prove ourselves, for example through a two-year associate agreement, which Concacaf has the option to offer.”