Football In The Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. Most people understand the situation regarding the war and the constant debate between the United Kingdom and Argentina. The islands are located roughly 300 miles to the east of the coast of Argentina, with the capital being Stanley. The Falklands famously has a large population of sheep and sheep farmers with the bulk of the economy coming through this route of trade. Several hundred thousand sheep reside on the island producing thousands of tons of wool each year along with large quantities of mutton. As the islands are part of the United Kingdom, executive authority is in the British Crown, with the island’s government being appointed by the British Crown.
So how does a British overseas territory become so intwined in football? The Islands with a population less than 4,000 has an admiration for the sport, this is primarily associated with the British overseas troops stationed on the island’s prior to the first world war. Games between stationed troops would be arranged, this led to the creation of Stanley FC (now the nickname of the islands representative national team), a sponsored all-star team that collectively represents the islands in international competitions. Don’t expect to see the Falklands competing in the World Cup though, the islands are not FIFA registered and in turn compete in smaller competitions such as the Islands Games. A competition played between 28 islands including Shetland, Jersey, Isle of Man and the Åland Islands. The 2025 Island Games will be hosted in Orkney.
The competition includes a variety of sports from Archery to Golf, but it is the Football we are focusing on. The Falklands don’t have the best record in the competition having only placed with a Bronze medal once for football back in 2013 with the Islands not finishing any higher than 10th in every other rendition of the competition they have entered. The overall record in the Island Games comes in with 33 games played, six wins, one draw and twenty-six losses, scoring 35 goals in the process but conceding 130.
The league on the islands differs very much so from the traditional league systems seen around the world. The majority of the teams in the league are made up of Garrison teams who typically overshadow the teams that consist of island natives. Currently, as of August 1st 2024, the islands are playing a 4-a-side indoor league competition, teams such as Fortuna Mustangs and Workboat Services vying to be crowned champions. Notably teams tend to be based on local businesses. The islands have been struggling in recent times to get attendance for the games and are exploring avenues of how to improve this.
A boost for the Falklands in regard to their football could be that of one ex-Chelsea manager Graham Potter. In early 2024 Potter took a trip to the islands and paid a visit to the local football scheme. He was kind enough to give a talk on football for all the interested islanders who must have been awe-struck to see someone of such fame visit their remote home. The day was a huge success with a meet and greet being arranged and a few friendly games being played, crossbar challenge and a penalty shootout being the highlights, with Potter in goal for the kids’ shootout of course. Potter took his talk to the Falklands College, he discussed management and leadership and how it can impact on people’s mental health. The talk was well received with people coming from all over the Islands to catch a glimpse of Potter and listen to his wise words which have led him to the very top of football management.
What are the next steps for the Falklands then? In a similar vein to Greenland they are in a unique position, they can apply for two individual confederations if they chose to do so. The location of the Falklands allows them to apply for the CONMEBOL confederation, however this comes with huge stipulations. The vast majority of South American nations are refusing to recognise the Falklands as a nation, with the ongoing dispute with the United Kingdom being the huge factor behind this. In fact, South Americans don’t even call the islands the Falklands, instead they go by Islas Malvinas.
The second option they have is to apply for UEFA confederation, they can do this because, just like Greenland, they are part of a kingdom that resides in Europe, this being the United Kingdom. Just like Greenland though an application to join a confederation will require the Falklands to become a semi-independent nation, they would have to become self-governing with assistance from the United Kingdom in the background. Only independently recognised nations can apply to become FIFA members.
So, for the meantime, and possibly for a long time, unless some political controversies throw themselves up it is highly unlikely, we will see the Falklands become an independent nation or even a semi-independent nation. Even if this occurred it is again highly unlikely, they will pull up any trees on the world stage. The player pool would be shrunk to just the natives of the Islands, again these aren’t even the best players on the Islands. A nation pool smaller than San Marino mixed with the independence and entry into FIFA could result in a new so called ‘worst team’ in football. For now, it is likely the Falklands will continue to compete in, and be pretty unremarkable, in the Island Games.
Researched and Written by BSc Cavan Campbell
