“We use 95 per cent of our funds on travelling”
Greenlandic football Above, clockwise from top left: the diminutive Man of the Match trophy; an Ek’aluk-54 training top with the logo of sponsor Faxe Kondi – a very popular soft drink in Greenland; the official corner flags failed to arrive, so replacements were made from yellow cloths and metal broom handles bought in a local hardware store; assistant coach Janussen talks tactics at B-67 HQ. Opposite: <strong>The</strong> Sisimiut pitch, surrounded by the rocky terrain that is almost symbolic of Greenlandic towns of B-67’s star players was stuck at an airport without his ticket. With no money to buy a replacement – and no roads linking remote towns – the team had to send him back home. Even when finally assembled, B-67 became stranded at Kangerlussuaq airport, the remote stopoff between Nuuk and Sisimiut. After calling all his contacts, including members of the Greenlandic FA, Jensen eventually secured passage for the team on a boat. Six hours later, they arrived in Sisimiut – had it been in service, the plane would have had them there in 30 minutes. To avoid extortionately priced internal flights, another team, G-44 from Qeqertarsuaq – an island town to the west – had to book passage on a weekly ship circumnavigating Greenland, which got them to Sisimiut a gruelling 22 hours later. Until Greenland earns the significant investment needed to capture the attention of the global football community, the Grønlandsbanken Final 6 tournament is the most important – and only – event on the football calendar. “Outdoor football is difficult as we don’t have more matches, but there’s a lot of raw talent,” Jensen says. “We had the Pan-American handball tournament recently and it brought the whole country together. We’re not used to that; it’s always been this town against this town. Sports can really unite us.” Later, Lars Petersen, head secretary of the Greenlandic Football Association, offers his analysis via email. He believes that despite the sport’s economic troubles, Greenlandic football is on the up. “It’s important to have this tournament,” he says. “We’re working on [getting more funding] but, in the meantime, this tournament helps show football is important and that there’s an audience for it. We have ambitions to further develop our tournament, and a proper league with a first and second division.” At 42, Jensen, youthful with just a streak of grey in his hair, also has to contend with a depleted team. When previous coach Ghebrelul left, many of the older players departed for greener pastures in Denmark. “I don’t think it’s a problem that people want to go to Denmark,” says Jensen. “When we started the youth department, one of our goals was that in 10-15 years we’d like a Greenlandic player to be playing for one of the best Danish clubs. If someone was successful there, it would shine a light back on football here.” Mikki Brønlund, B-67’s 25-year-old left-winger, has first-hand experience of Danish football. “A lot of us study there and compare ourselves to Danish players,” he says. “We are far better than them technically, but it’s the football IQ that is lacking, because we can only play inside for the majority of the year.” Faced with a depleted squad, Jensen and assistant coach Janussen were forced to dip into the under-19s. In many cases, Jensen had to write to the school principal to ask for special dispensation so the teenagers could play in the tournament. Yet he’s hopeful that some of these newcomers will make their mark. Before the match against N-48, Jensen, THE RED BULLETIN 77