Greenland has had its application for membership of Concacaf unanimously rejected.
Larger than the whole of Western Europe, 81% of the Arctic territory belongs to Denmark but is unable to join UEFA because the European body only admits countries recognised by the United Nations.
Concacaf though, which governs football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, doesn’t have this restriction, so Greenland applied to join them in the hopes of playing competitive international football for the first time.
However, the territory has been had its membership application “unanimously rejected” by the CONCACAF ruling committee
In a statement, they revealed: “Based on a thorough assessment conducted by the Concacaf administration and Council, and in accordance with the Concacaf Statutes, the Member Associations reviewed the membership application submitted by the Greenlandic Football Association and unanimously rejected it.”
Despite boasting a population of just 57,000, Greenland, which has never played a sanctioned international match, has 5,500 registered footballers.
Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has made repeated calls for the US to take control of Greenland, called which have been furiously rejected by both Greenland and Denmark.
Next year, the World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Trump has suggested Russia would be allowed back into the competition if they ended their conflict with Ukraine.
During his administration’s World Cup taskforce meeting last month, Trump sat beside FIFA president Gianna Infantino to discuss Russia’s potential involvement in the beloved sporting event.
“They are banned for the time being from playing, but we hope that something happens and peace will happen so that Russia can be readmitted,” claimed Infantino, per BBC.
“That’s possible,” added Trump. “Hey, that could be a good incentive, right? We want to get them to stop. 5,000 young people a week are being killed – it’s not even believable.”
The tournament kicks off on June 11, 2026 with the final set to be contested on July 19.
Related: Greenland humiliates Trump by agreeing lucrative minerals deal with Europe