The Cook Islands, San Marino, Macau, Aruba, American Samoa and Liechtenstein. All these countries, whether recognized by the United Nations or not, have the chance to play at the football World Cup, no matter how unlikely. But that's not the case for Greenland.

The vast island, which is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, is home to 57,000 people and some of the most extreme weather on the planet, with about 80% of its landmass made up of an ice sheet. Such conditions make outdoor sports, such as soccer, impossible for 10 months of the year, even on artificial pitches. But, despite the popularity of indoor sports like handball, futsal (small sided indoor football) and badminton, football is number one. How so?

"The Greenlandic sports system is a mirror of the Danish system," Professor Ramus Storm of the Danish Institute for Sports Studies, told DW. "They have a structure with sports federations and different sports get a large amount of public subsidies from Denmark. So they are, relative to their size, quite well financed."

Top-level football looks impossible

Nevertheless, the climate of the country, and the difficulty of travel within it, makes progress at the top level impossible.

"There are very, very limited possibilities to develop an elite football team in Greenland," said Storm, who has written extensively on sport in Greenland and traveled to the country to study it.

"If you took the best players, move them to Denmark and have them participating in in the tournaments in Denmark, they might be able to develop a more continuous training situation, could perhaps level up a bit. But to do that in Greenland is close to impossible."

Those that do show promise at a sport will usually have to move to Denmark to fulfil their potential. A handful of Greenland-born footballers have made it to the top level, most notably ex-Chelsea and Ajax player Jesper Gronkjaer, who was born in Greenland before moving away as an infant. Gronkjaer won 80 caps for Denmark, with all Greenlanders eligible to play for Denmark automatically.

The pathways are a little easier in handball, futsal and sports where money from the Danish system can help with indoor facilities in Greenland. But wintersports are not as common in Greenland as some might imagine. The climate is too harsh even for skiing or other snow sports for most of the year.

Success easier in other sports

Despite their current status as an autonomous Danish territory, Greenland do have a national team in a number of sports. They have qualified for the men's and women's World Handball Championship in the past and compete in international futsal tournaments. But football's status as a global sport means that entry to FIFA is the big prize for sport in the country.

While Greenland is tied to Denmark, it is geographically closer to North America. As such, the country are trying to be recognized by CONCACAF, the FIFA confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean. It is unable to join European governing body, UEFA, because UEFA only admits countries recognized as such by the UN. CONCACAF has no such stipulations.

"It is very important for me that the youth and young people in Greenland have something to look forward to," national team manager Morten Rutkjaer told the BBC last year. "They have to dream big. They can look at us and see it is possible to be a football player at a high level in Greenland.”

Could Trump be fueling Greenland's CONCACAF aspirations?

The battle plays into the independence debate in Greenland that has intensified since US President Donald Trump declared his desire to take control of the territory. Leaders of both Denmark and Greenland have been irritated by the announcement of a plan by a US delegation, now including Vice President J.D. Vance, to visit a US military base there this week.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday that the visit would put "unacceptable pressure" on both Greenland and her country.

Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who following the March 11 parliamentary election is expected to become Greenland's next prime minister, has also criticized the visit.

"We must not be forced into a power game that we ourselves have not chosen to be a part of," he said on Monday.

Professor Storm believes that Trump's pressure on Greenland could actually strengthen the push to join CONCACAF. He pointed to a recent poll that indicated "significant opposition" towards the United States and its desire to take over Greenland. 

 "Later, I believe, this can potentially spark a sport nationalistic gathering around all that represents Greenland and being recognized through a national football team -–or other sports – would be highly relevant to many Greenlanders." 

This article was originally published on January 10, 2025. It was updated on March 25, following the announcement that a US delegation intended to visit the territory. 

Edited by: Chuck Penfold