Football On Napoleon’s Prison
Napoleon Bonaparte, a famous and successful General during the French Revolution. Known for his diminutive height, although this is a common misconception as he was actually of average height for the time.
Regarded as one of the greatest military leaders in history he led France to countless victories in warfare. Not actually French but Corsican, he showed the power of the French and history will never forget what he did for the nation. Why is he important in this story though?
The History
In April 1814 Napoleon was abdicated and exiled to the island of Elba. Less than a year later and with a plan in mind he managed to escape and returned to France to regain his status. Only a short return followed though as in 1815 Napoleon was captured after defeat in the battle of Waterloo.
The British government considered Napoleon a threat and once again sent him into exile, this time to the island of Saint Helena, a remote land in the South Atlantic Ocean. He remained here until 1821 until his death.
The Island
Saint Helena is a tiny island with a population hovering around the 5,000 mark and lies over 1,200 miles from the nearest mainland. How then does a land so distant from anywhere play football? Do they have a football league? Do they play international games?
The answer to these questions is yes, there is a league in place, they have a representative team and they do travel the globe playing football games.
Cricket is arguably the most popular sport on the island, but football is just as loved. With access to Premier League football on television, many islanders adopt the best of the English teams to support with many residents supporting Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and so on.
Saint Helena Football League
The Saint Helena Football Association was founded in 1922 meaning there have been over 100 years of football on the island. The island currently has six teams competing in the top division with Rovers Saint Helena being the most prestigious club with 20 league titles including their title-winning campaign in 2024.
All the teams play in the same location on Francis Plain and in 2015 the first-ever floodlit game was held using lights from the Saint Helena Airport.
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Affiliation?
So, the island has its own football league and a successful one at that, what about international football though? The Saint Helena FA is not currently affiliated with any other governing body and in fact, the island is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom.
This does not mean that players are restricted to playing for England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The island instead elects to have a representative team, similar stories are that of the Shetland Islands, The Falklands and Ynys Mon.
The National Team
In 2019 Saint Helena sent its first representative team to the Island Games. A competition held for small island nations with specific restrictions regarding populations and other rules. Saint Helena does meet the criteria and can compete.
Before playing in the tournament in 2019 Saint Helena played two warm-up games, one against a club team named Holyhead Hotspur Reserves and the island team came out victorious with a 2-0 win. Two days later they played another friendly against Ynys Mon, hosts of the Island Games that year, in their first recognised international game, although a 7-2 defeat isn’t one to be remembered.
Following on from these two warm-up games, Saint Helena was grouped with Shetland and Guernsey, succumbing to back-to-back defeats. These defeats left the representative team in the 9th place playoff with the Western Isles.
A representative team from the Western Islands of Scotland, unfortunately losing 2-1 and finishing 10th overall in the 2019 edition of the Island Games. After their first experience of international football, the team could look forward to improving on their next voyage.
Second Bite At The Cherry
The 2021 Island Games were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the tournament was to return in 2023 with Saint Helena once again sending a team to compete. Would they see an improvement from 2019?
Unfortunately for Saint Helena they were grouped with eventual champions Jersey as well as Maltese islanders Gozo and Spanish representatives from the island of Menorca.
In this rendition, unlike 2019, Saint Helena failed to score in the group stage losing all three games and conceding 13 goals in the process. This placed them in the 15th-place playoff against Frøya of Norway.
Although scoring twice and taking the lead after five minutes, they would eventually fall to a 4-2 defeat and finish bottom of the Island Games football in 2023. An outside viewing could perhaps see this as a failure, but for the island of Saint Helena, it is an amazing achievement.
To even send a team from their tiny South Atlantic Ocean home is incredible. Something that should not be overlooked. The cost of the trip alone is a barrier, very expensive flights, which require flying to Johannesburg in South Africa before flying to Heathrow in London, and funding accommodation as well as paying for kits and equipment becomes a huge cost for an island of their size.
Financial Obstacles
The island did not receive any formal funding for the trip with the island’s local government being the largest contributor granting £5,000 for the venture. The rest of the funding comes from fundraising and shirt sales.
The average income on the island is around the £150 per week so the finances for this trip were always going to be an obstacle to overcome.
After talking with the Saint Helena Football Association, it came to light that they would not be sending a team to the 2025 Island Games being held in Orkney citing that it is simply too expensive to send a team to every rendition of the competition.
However, the FA are focusing on sending a team to the 2027 edition being held in the Faroe Islands. The 2027 was scheduled to be held in Ynys Mos but financial pressures took their toll, and the games were changed to the Faroe Islands.
The Future
Will we see a rejuvenated Saint Helena representative football team compete in the 2027 Island Games? Hopefully yes, and perhaps we will see the islanders win their first competitive games at the competition.
A place known for the exile of histories Napoleon Bonaparte, but an island, far away from anywhere else with a footballing culture and a team determined to win an official Island Games match. The Saints will march on, even if that march takes them thousands of miles in travelling for every tournament.
Written and Researched by BSc Cavan Campbell
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