【Greenland joins FIFA, the dream of African refugee coaches】
Gebrelule, a refugee who fought in Eritrea's War of Independence, was arranged by the United Nations at the age of 14 to move to Denmark, where he married and became a physical education teacher and football coach. But he became famous in Denmark more because he became the head coach of the Greenland representative team and was committed to promoting Greenland to join FIFA and have a greater presence in international football.
With a population of less than 59,000, Greenland covers an area of 2,166,300 square kilometers and is a Danish overseas self-governing territory like the Faroe Islands, which joined UEFA. However, due to the cold climate in the Arctic, outdoor football matches can only be played from June to August every year. In 2013, Gebrelule became the head coach of the Greenland team and began to try to completely change the local football ecology. He applied the rules of coaching local clubs to the representative team, requiring players to eat a balanced diet, prohibit smoking and drinking, and strictly follow their own training plans to train and cultivate team spirit.
Indoor futsal is very popular in cold Greenland, and most of the players of the Greenland 11-a-side team also come from here. Greenland football has made great strides under the leadership of Gebreul, winning the men's silver medal at the 2017 Island Games. However, he was later fired by the Greenland Football Association to coach a 5-a-side football team in Sweden to protest the racist words and deeds of local players against him. The Greenland Football Association then realized the mistake and invited him again to coach the Greenland team. He accepted the position of assistant coach for the Greenland futsal team, but still lives in Sweden.
Because global warming has led to rising temperatures, Greenland's climatic conditions are more suitable for football than ever before. At present, There are 16 artificial turf courts in Greenland, but there is still no stadium with spectator stands, which is a necessary hardware condition for joining FIFA. People can only watch the game on the hillside near the stadium, which is very dangerous. Due to its geographical location, Greenland cannot join UEFA like the Faroe Islands, but has begun to try to join CNLA. In September, Greenland will play a warm-up match with The Kosovo team, which, despite the huge expenses, can win more international attention and realize the dream of joining FIFA. #Greenland #UEFA # #国际足联 #
