Sport in Greenland
{{short description|Sports traditions in Greenland}}
Sport is an important part of Greenlandic culture, as the population is generally quite active.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58ZHaTMk0j4C|title=Cultures of the World: Iceland|author1=Wilcox, Jonathan|author2=Latif, Zawiah Abdul|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7614-2074-3|ref=Wilcox|page=109}} The main traditional sport in Greenland is Arctic sports.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/21/sport/arctic-winter-games-greenland/index.html|title=Sports you'll never see at the Olympics|first=Ollie |last=Williams|work=CNN|access-date=2018-02-22}}
Popular sports include association football, track and field, badminton, handball, golf, and skiing. Handball is often referred to as the national sport,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58ZHaTMk0j4C|title=Cultures of the World: Iceland|author1=Wilcox, Jonathan|author2=Latif, Zawiah Abdul|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7614-2074-3|ref=Wilcox|page=110}} and Greenland's men's national team was ranked among the top 20 in the world in 2001.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/these-football-times/2014/oct/22/unlikely-success-story-football-greenland|title=The unlikely success story of football on the massive island of Greenland|date=2014-10-22|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-02-22}}
Greenland has excellent conditions for skiing, cross country skiing, kayaking, fishing, snowboarding, ice climbing, ice skating, and rock climbing, although mountain climbing, mountain biking, and hiking are preferred by the general public. Although the country's environment is generally ill-suited for golf, there are nevertheless golf courses on the island. Greenland hosts a biennial international the world's largest multisport and cultural event for young people of the Arctic for the second time in 2016.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58ZHaTMk0j4C|title=Cultures of the World: Iceland|author1=Wilcox, Jonathan|author2=Latif, Zawiah Abdul|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7614-2074-3|ref=Wilcox|page=111}}
Football
The Football Association of Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaanni Arsaattartut Kattuffia), has a national football team but is not yet a member of FIFA because of ongoing disagreements with FIFA leadership and an inability to grow grass for regulation grass pitches. As a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Danish men's and women's teams represent Greenland as well (although not the Faroe Islands).{{Cite news|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-greenland/danish-fa-supports-greenlands-bid-to-join-uefa-fifa-idUKKCN0SN1WY20151029|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803194256/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-greenland/danish-fa-supports-greenlands-bid-to-join-uefa-fifa-idUKKCN0SN1WY20151029|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 3, 2018|title=Danish FA supports Greenland's bid to join UEFA, FIFA|last=Homewood|first=Brian|work=U.K.|access-date=2018-10-09|language=en-GB}} However, it is the 17th member of the N.F.-Board. DBU president Jesper Møller visited Greenland in 2015 and the Danish and Greenlandic associations signed a cooperation agreement which aims to encourage the game at grass roots level and build four to six artificial pitches. The FIFA Goal programme sponsored the Qaqortoq Stadium in Qaqortoq, which has an artificial grass pitch. Greenland holds the Greenlandic Football Championship annually. They previously held the event known as the Greenland Cup. They also are a member of CONIFA and compete in the Island games Football, finishing as runners-up to Bermuda in 2013.
Skiing
The oldest sport association in Greenland is the Greenland Ski Federation (GIF), founded in 1969. This happened when the then-President of the GIF Daniel Switching took the initiative to found federations and institute reforms. Greenland Ski Federation is further divided into Alpine and cross-country selection committees. The federation is not a member of the International Ski Federation (FIS), but Greenland skiers participated in the Olympics and World Championships under the Danish flag at the 1968, 1994, 1998 and 2014 games.{{cite web|url=http://www.gif.gl/da-dk/specialforbund/skiforbundet.aspx|title=Ski forbundet|work=gif.gl|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150211230548/http://www.gif.gl/da-dk/specialforbund/skiforbundet.aspx|archive-date=2015-02-11|url-status=dead}}
Arctic sports
Greenland competes in the biennial Arctic Winter Games (AWG). In 2002, Nuuk hosted the AWG in conjunction with Iqaluit, Nunavut.{{cite web|url=http://www.gif.gl/program/index.php?sprog=3&t_id=113&keyword=&action=none&skiftsprog&music=1&nyhed_id=2|title=Arctic Winter Games|publisher=Gif.gl|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070325214906/http://www.gif.gl/program/index.php?sprog=3&t_id=113&keyword=&action=none&skiftsprog&music=1&nyhed_id=2|archive-date=25 March 2007|url-status=dead|accessdate=6 August 2011}} In 1994 and again in 2002, they won the Hodgson Trophy for fair play.
Other sports
Greenland takes part in the biennial Island Games, organized by the International Island Games Association.{{Cite web|url=https://www.iiga.org/member_profile_12356.html|title=Greenland|last=IIGA|date=|website=www.iiga.org|access-date=2018-02-22}}
Greenland took part in the 2007 World Men's Handball Championship in Germany, finishing 22nd in a field of 24 national teams.{{cite web|url=http://www.arcticwintergames.org/Hodgson_Trophy.html|title=Hodgson Trophy Winners|publisher=Arcticwintergames.org|accessdate=6 August 2011}}
Greenland took part in badminton in the European Men's & Women's Team Championships in 2018 and won the first match ever in international badminton team championships against Hungary.{{Cite web|url=http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/team.aspx?id=388325EE-F35A-4A7F-8294-AF9D60F228A8&team=21|title=2018 European Men's & Women's Team Championships: Teams|last=|first=|date=|website=www.tournamentsoftware.com|access-date=2018-02-22}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/teammatches.aspx?id=388325EE-F35A-4A7F-8294-AF9D60F228A8&tid=22|title=2018 European Men's & Women's Team Championships: Matches|last=|first=|date=|website=www.tournamentsoftware.com|access-date=2018-02-22}}
Greenland took part in the table tennis event at the multi-sport 2022 European Championships in Munich, Germany.{{cite web | url=https://results.mun.mev.atos.net/ECM2022/en/results/all-sports/nation-entries-greenland.htm | title=Nations Entries - Team Greenland | European Championships | access-date=2022-08-16 | archive-date=2022-08-14 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814145219/https://results.mun.mev.atos.net/ECM2022/en/results/all-sports/nation-entries-greenland.htm | url-status=dead }}
Membership of international sports federations
Greenland has gained membership of, or is in the process of applying to join, the following federations:
References
External links
{{National sports teams of Greenland}}
{{Sports governing bodies in Greenland}}
{{Americas topic|Sport in}}