Before President Trump began using the world’s largest island nation as a political football, even going so far as to threaten annexation, Greenlanders have long desired autonomy – including in the world of sport. The Football Association of Greenland (KAK), founded in 1971, represents and governs the sport in the country. As an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, yet geographically located in North America, Greenland has developed its own distinct football identity. The game is the most popular national sport throughout the country. Due to the harsh climate and vast distances for club teams, the Greenlandic Football Championship is unique, operating in only one location during the course of a week. Due to Greenland’s recent application for membership to the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf), this post explores Greenland’s ambition to become an independent nation in the world of football.
With Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) regulations now accepting artificial turf pitches (it is difficult to grow grass in the country), Greenland began to explore pathways for membership into the football community and compete in international competitions. However, to become a FIFA member, the KAK must first join one of the regional football confederations, i.e. the Union des associations européennes de football – UEFA or Concacaf, the regional organisation for North American national football associations. According to the FIFA Statutes, only after a national association successfully acquires membership in one of the regional confederations can an application be further considered by the FIFA Congress upon the recommendation of the Council.
As the Faroe Islands, another autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark, has been a FIFA member since 1988, and UEFA member since 1990, alongside Greenland’s neighbour Iceland, the prospects of UEFA membership would at first glance be a natural fit. However, like the beautiful game, international football governance is unpredictable.
The Laws of The Game
Pursuant to Article 1 of the UEFA Statutes, UEFA is a society entered into the register of companies under the terms of Article 60 et seq. of the Swiss Civil Code. According to the UEFA Statutes, the society must act politically and religiously neutral across all aspects of its work and organisation. With respect to the rules on UEFA membership, Article 5 of the Statutes states:
(1) Membership of UEFA is open to national football associations situated in the continent of Europe, based in a country which is recognised as an independent state by the majority of members of the United Nations, and which are responsible for the organisation and implementation of football-related matters in the territory of their country.
(2) In exceptional circumstances, a national football association that is situated in another continent may be admitted to membership […].
The above-updated membership rule came into effect before the admission of Gibraltar (2013) or Kosovo (2016). While Article 5(2) of the UEFA Statutes permits a country outside the European continent to join the confederation (such as Greenland), Article 5(1), which adopts a constitutive theory of State recognition, effectively blocks Greenland from now pursuing UEFA membership.
The constitutive theory of State recognition posits that formal or implied recognition from other States is a necessary element of statehood. According to the UEFA rule, recognition by a simple majority of UN member States is thus required. As such, new members can no longer be autonomous territories, such as Greenland, Gibraltar, or nations within the United Kingdom. The consequence of the rule not only creates a discrepancy between existing UEFA members that are not independent States but also hinders the expression of a people to social and cultural self-determination. Moreover, as widespread State practice supports the declaratory view of recognition, the UEFA rule seems to be an anomaly (Crawford, 2019).
With UEFA off the table, Greenland officially applied for Concacaf membership in May 2024. Joining the football community, where the United States, Mexico, Canada and Caribbean countries are members, remains a possibility for nations without full independent statehood.
Concacaf is a not-for-profit entity with its legal domicile in Nassau, Bahamas. Like UEFA, Concacaf is obligated to act neutrality in all political and religious matters. In addition, the confederation has incorporated all international human rights obligations via Article 3 of the Concacaf Statutes.
As to the requirements of Concacaf membership, a more declaratory approach to recognition is adopted. Article 9(4) of the Concacaf Statutes reads:
(a) […] The Concacaf Council shall determine whether an application for Full Membership shall be submitted to the Congress for consideration. Amongst others, the following factors must be taken into account by the Concacaf Council when deciding if an application for Full Membership shall be submitted to the Congress:
[The] political, economic and social structures of the applicant’s country or territory
[…]
By embracing a more flexible set of membership criteria, Concacaf continues to embrace a variety of independent States, self-governing territories (Puerto Rico), non-self-governing territories (Montserrat, British Virgin Islands), or regions part of a State (French Guiana, Guadeloupe). As such, recognition plays no legal role in the consideration of Concacaf membership. Therefore, by joining Concacaf, Greenland has the opportunity to participate in world football regardless of its status as a self-governing territory or independent State.
Assuming Greenland’s bid for Concacaf membership is accepted, the question then arises whether FIFA membership can be achieved. Like the regional confederations, FIFA has incorporated neutrality in all political and religious matters alongside internationally recognised human rights under its Statutes. While each of the four British associations are expressly recognised as separate FIFA members under Article 11(5) of the FIFA Statutes, all other membership applications are decided by the FIFA Congress upon the recommendation of the Council.
While current FIFA members include a wide range of international persons, from States to non-self-governing territories, the question of Greenland’s international status is determinative for FIFA membership. During FIFA’s 2024 Congress in Bangkok, an amendment was proposed requiring that new members must be first recognised by a majority of UN member States – embracing the constitutive approach.
According to Article 11 of the amended FIFA Statutes, any association which is responsible for football in its country may become a member association so long as they are first a member of a regional confederation. Unfortunately, a country has now been narrowly defined as a “State recognised as independent by a majority of members of the United Nations.” (Definitions, FIFA Statutes).
The new rules to UEFA and FIFA membership run afoul to Greenland’s right to pursue its own social and cultural development through sport. Moreover, by adopting a constitutive approach to national association membership, the obligation of neutrality in all political matters is undermined, as the confederations have emphasised the requirement of full statehood for entry to the international football community.
While a more declaratory approach to association membership is perhaps no less political, indeed, allowing countries short of full statehood to participate in international competitions is a matter of political choice, it does lead to more participation in the sport – which fundamentally are the objectives of the confederations. While UEFA and FIFA are Swiss-incorporated societies, and therefore, not the traditional international legal person, their decisions on State recognition decide who may join the international football community, and who is left out in the cold.