2018 CONIFA WORLD FOOTBALL CUP: HOSTS BARAWA HOPING TO PUT ON A GOOD SHOW

The 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup will be taking place in London between 31 May and 9 June, and will involve 16 teams from near and far, from the Isle of Man (represented by Ellan Vannin) to Tuvalu. Although it will be taking place in the UK, the tournament will be hosted by the Barawa FA, representing the town and district of the same name, which is situated in the southern Somali region of Lower Shabelle.

The Barawa FA was founded in 2016 by a group of Barawani living in the UK, chiefly through the efforts of Haji Munye and Abdikarim Farah, who now fill the respective roles of BFA president and team manager. The organisation decided to apply for ConIFA membership in mid-2016, and their application was accepted. 

The team quickly set about finding opponents, and their first-ever match was a 5:1 defeat against Cricklewood Wanderers on 7 August 2016. Three weeks later, they took part in the first World Unity Cup, which was a qualifying tournament for this year's World Football Cup. They lost their first match 5:0 to Tamil Eelam - who represent the Tamil homeland on the island of Sri Lanka as well as the Tamil diaspora - and also went down 3:2 against the Chagos Islands.

The team picked up their first-ever victory after their participation in the tournament ended, defeating a Tamil XI 3:2 on the day Tamil Eelam secured their qualification for WFC 2018 by defeating Chagos Islands in the World Unity Cup's final match. They've played several friendlies since then, but more on that anon.

According to Haji Munye, the Barawa FA is not a merely football-orientated body, but is also something which can bring Barawani together, wherever they may be. "Our aims are to create awareness and unite all Barawani people and help be part of the rehabilitation of our region. We aim to use football as a tool to share our heritage with the rest of the world and to also develop football back home in Barawa. We are like-minded people who have come together to make a change and we have found an organisation that has given us a platform to be able to accomplish our goals.

"We are based in London but currently have players coming from all over England and was planning on using players from USA and around the world for the main event. We are planning on bringing 3-5 players from Barawa and the surrounding area to be part of our team.

"Omar Ali Sufi is our captain and an integral part of our playing team, he was born in London and has never visited back home due to the civil war and Barawa being unsafe, he is an outstanding player and leader who takes enormous amount of pride [in putting on] the Barawa shirt."

Since its inception, the Barawa FA have invested a lot of time and effort in getting organised football off the ground in the region; a league, consisting of ten clubs, has been created and a group of referees has been trained. Although the BFA have played matches in England, there is one thing missing, according to federation president Manye. "We aspire to building a national stadium in Barawa some time in the future but currently we have no stadium, we have played the majority of our games at Haringey Borough football club and the people there have been amazing and we feel at home."

There is, however, a small football ground near one of the main mosques in Barawa town. It was hosting a match on the afternoon of 12 April between Elman and SYT when a remote-controlled bomb was detonated in the VIP section, which had allegedly been buried there before kick-off. Five people were killed and around a dozen wounded in the attack, responsibility for which was eventually claimed by Somail-based terrorist group Al-Shabab. According to a report carried by Reuters news agancy, it was the first time that they had attacked a football ground. None of the players were hurt in the attack.

The US Mission to Somalia condemned the "deliberate and cowardly attack"via Twitter, adding: "This horrific incident shows desperate attempts by the terror group Al-Shabab to instill fear in the youth who are enjoying their lives. Sports is regarded as a viable tool to promote a healthy and peaceful society."

On a more positive note, Munye and his colleagues within the Barawa FA are proud of their being designated hosts for the 2018 World Football Cup. 

"[Being chosen as] the hosts of the World Football Cup 2018 in London is the one of the biggest accolades we have achieved..We at the BFA have been part of a working committee alongside members of the exco from ConIFA to bring to reality this WFC 2018 and it's been an unbelievable experience. We have had to work daily on so many different aspects of making such an event real. London being a host city has brought up so many barriers but we have managed to overcome them and today we are [a short time] away from seeing 16 nations compete in our World Football Cup."

On the pitch, Barawa have been busy preparing for the tournament, playing a series of friendlies with mixed results. So far this year, they have drawn 0:0 with Hashtag United, a team which combines football with E-sports, defeated the Chagos Islands 4:1 after going a goal down, but lost 7:2 to Yorkshire IFA in a match that was, according to many observers, much closer than the scoreline suggests. They play Surrey IFA in a friendly at the beginning of next month which will be Surrey team's first-ever representative match.

Irish betting company Paddy Power, head sponsors of the World Football Cup (that concludes the free advertising in this article), have placed Barawa as joint third favourites for the competition, but that may give rise to unrealistic expectations. 

Munye himself has more modest aspirations, in no small part due to the fact that, like virtually all Somalis, his players are all practicing Muslims; the competition will be taking place during the Muslim month of Ramadan, and that will mean that they will be taking total fasts from just before sunrise until sunset. 

"This World Cup will be our first ConIFA competition and we are no way near winning the competition. We are so proud at the exposure we received so far for being the host team and just want to ensure the competition passes smoothly and enjoyably. We will be fasting during the competition and that makes it near enough impossible to compete. 

"We have been paired with Ellan Vannin, Tamil Eelam and Cascadia. We have played both Tamil Eelam and Ellan Vannin but have no idea of Cascadia. So we know two opponents very well, having lost to both but beating Tamil Eelam on the return leg."

In conclusion, Manye said that: "Our aim is not to be embarrassed by other teams as we are far behind development [compared to] a lot of the other teams [but] we hope to deliver an excellent competition."They will struggle to get out of their group, having been drawn with two of the most powerful sides playing football under the ConIFA umbrella, as well as an unknown quantity in Cascadia. 

Barawa's aim during the tournament is a modest one indeed, but they have been winning friends both on and off the pitch, as well as bringing attention to the ongoing struggles faced by their kith and kin back home in Barawa and attempting to help them in all manner of means. That, in the long run, may be the most important thing the Barawa FA will achieve as hosts in London.

BARAWA FA STAFF

PRESIDENT: Haji Munye

MANAGER: Abdikarim Farah

TECHNICAL STAFF: Adam Savvides, Yusuf Sufi, Daniel Owolabi, Saeed Sufi

CHIEF SCOUT: Haji Mohammed

___________________________________________________________________________________________

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Many thanks to Barawa FA president Haji Munye for his assistance with the above article. Some of the other information was taken from sources as diverse as Reuters, Twitter, Wikipedia, ConIFA and various news websites.

INDOMITABLE IT-79 MAKE HISTORY THE HARD WAY

There is a new name on Greenland's national championship trophy after Nuuk side IT-79 won the title for the very first time when they defeated cross-town rivals B-67 on penalties at the end of a pulsating final last August (they worked footballing miracles to get that far, too, but that shall be dealt with a little later). The final stages of the competition were held in the northern town of Qeqertarsuaq, situated at the southern end of Disko Island, several hundred kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, on the town's brand spanking new artificial pitch, which was installed in 2016. G-44, who finished fourth in Nuuk last year, hosted the tournament. The championship was the culmination of the competition which began in early July with the regional qualifying rounds.

Seven of the eight teams taking part this year also featured in last year's edition, although K-1933, who had won the southern zone section, withdrew just a few days before the tournament began due to financial constraints. Their place was taken by Siuteroq-43. The other team participating this year were débutants Terianniaq-58 from Upernavik Kujalleq, a village with a population of just over 200 people, who surprisingly won the northern zone section. Sadly, for the second time in three years, no team from the east of the country took part. GBU general secretary Nike Berthelsen later confirmed that the absences of K-1933 and a representative from eastern Greenland were both due to financial constraints.

The tournament kicked off with T-58 up against hosts G-44 in Group B, and the match went pretty much as expected. The honour of scoring the first goal of GM 2017 went to G-44's Innooraq Svendsen with a lovely finish from just inside the penalty-area. Two up by half-time, G-44 scored another three without reply in the second half. The second game of the day saw Kâgssagssuk take on Nagdlúnguak-48, runners-up last year, and this game also turned out to be a goal-fest. Marco Leibhardt put N-48 ahead with a fourth-minute tap-in after a lung-bursting run, but Phillip Holmene levelled for Kâgssagssuk from the spot ten minutes later. Nick Reimer stylishly restored N-48's lead within four minutes, and a further three goals in the first-half had them out of sight by half-time. Holmene completed a hat-trick with two goals in the second-half - including another penalty - but Lars Erik Reimer also scored a hat-trick for N-48 to help his team to a 9:3 win, his third and N-48's ninth being a thing of beauty. 

Kâgssagssuk were the first team to be effectively eliminated from the GM when they lost their second game, against G-44, by three goals to nil. Zakorat Zeeb slotted home the first after 61 minutes, his second goal in two games; John Ludvig Broberg doubled his team's advantage eight minutes later after fine work down the right by brother Steve, and they combined superbly for John to fire home the third in the 73rd minute.
Kâgssagssuk's elimination was confirmed when N-48 thrashed T-58 12:0, also eliminating the débutants in the process. 

Nick Reimer headed home the first after 128 seconds, and went on to score a first-half hat-trick as N-48 rattled in six goals before half-time. It was a good day for the Reimer brothers, as Lars Erik added two more goals to his overall tally in the second half. In addition to setting up a couple of goals, Markus Jensen, perhaps the most talented footballer in Greenland at the moment, grabbed a second-half hat-trick as T-58 were simply demolished. 

T-58 had nothing to play for but pride as they kicked off their final group game (the final game in the group itinerary), a battle to avoid the wooden-spoon against Kâgsagssuk. It took a little while to warm up, but when it did, it was worth the wait. Erneeraq Christensen thought he had put T-58 ahead when his shot was fumbled by Kâgssagssuk goalkeeper Albrecht Lyberth, but the keeper recovered to stop the ball trundling over the goal-line in the 21th minute. But, it was the team from Maniitsoq who drew first blood seconds later when Søren Kreutzmann latched onto Phillip Holmene's cross-field ball to slot the ball under T-58 goalkeeper Jesper Petersen. 

Tumu Grim equalised stylishly for T-58 in the 32nd minute before joining his team-mates to celebrate by having their photo taken. He then ran on to a through ball three minutes later, beat two defenders and scored with the help of another fumble by Lyberth, to put his side ahead. It didn't take Kâgssagssuk long to draw level, and Holmene was involved again. He muscled two T-58 players off the ball 25 yards from goal and passed to Jakob Petersen, who ran on into the box and fired gleefully home. 

T-58 had a seemingly legitimate claim for a penalty turned down in first-half injury time, but the Upernavik Kujalleq side got their penalty in the 48th minute when one of their players was hauled down inside the box by Kaaleeraq Pavia Lyberth. Grim made no mistake from the spot, sending Lyberth the wrong way to put T-58 back in front. Jørgen Peter Petersen's header clipped the top of the T-58 crossbar before he took part in a one-two with Søren Kreutzmann, who strolled through the T-58 defence to level things up once again almost on the hour.

Christensen was at the wrong end of another controversial refereeing decision with less than twenty minutes remaining as he prodded home a low cross which had gone across the face of the Kâgssagssuk goal, only for the goal to be given offside. Replays suggested that he was level with at least one Kâgssagssuk defender when the ball was played across goal, and the linesman raised his flag only after the ball crossed the line. 

Kâgssagssuk hit the front with nine minutes to go through Hans Ole Kleist, who was given the freedom of the T-58 defence to connect with a loose ball and let go a shot which should have been better dealt with by goalkeeper Petersen, who flapped at the ball, let it bounce underneath him and into the net. Moments later, Christensen eventually got his goal, equalising for T-58, though Kâgssagssuk 'keeper Lyberth was at fault for fumbling Aputsiaq Grim's cross-shot, and for letting Christensen have too much room at his near post to turn and shoot past him. A topsy-turvy game was decided in the 86th minute by Kâgssagssuk's Inuuteq Kreutzmann, who left two T-58 defenders in his wake before firing the ball past Petersen, who seemed to prefer to half-heartedly dive away from the ball instead of towards it.

A game with lots of goals and open football, indeed, but it was symptomatic of the frailties of both teams throughout the tournament, especially in defence. T-58 allowed themselves to be muscled off the ball too easily, and were caught too often on the break. Kâgssagssuk's defence was too cumbersome, too often, and both goalkeepers made costly mistakes. And, the referee made a couple of poor decisions which potentially altered the outcome of what was still a very entertaining match, one which neither team deserved to lose.

The other Group B game (the first game of the day, in actual fact) was between G-44 and their bitter rivals from Ilulissat, Nagdlúnguak-48, and it was, as was expected, the group decider. It was also a game which had been keenly anticipated by the locals, and it attracted a fairly large and vociferous audience. They did not have to wait long for something to shout about. Ninety-nine seconds after kick-off, the ball was in the N-48 net. G-44 seized on some hesitant defending as Pavia Mølgaard and Mads Andersen rampaged through the N-48 defence; Mølgaard's shot came to team-mate John Ludvig Broberg, who had wandered into the penalty-area after being involved earlier in the move. Broberg simply steadied himself, shrugged off defender Minik Svendsen and shot into the far corner.

N-48 equalised in the 11th minute, and it was through a quite audacious effort from Markus Jensen; he feinted to cross in a free-kick, but instead bent the ball round G-44's one-man wall, deceiving goalkeeper Knud Brandt who had anticipated a cross into the area. Broberg put G-44 back in front, benefitting from some slack defending and a rush of blood to the head from N-48 goalkeeper Gabriel Petersen. Kaali Lund Mathæussen bravely dived in to head home the equaliser less than two minutes later, before Jensen walloped in another free-kick to put N-48 in front with help from defender Lars Peter Broberg, who had blocked Brandt's view of the ball after wandering forward from his position on the goal-line. Jensen simply put his free-kick through the gap and into the net. John Ludvig Broberg scored his third of the game from the penalty-spot with five minutes of the first half left after namesake Steve had been bundled over by Bruno Sandgreen.

Forty-four seconds into the second half, Jensen also got his third of the game when he ran on to a loose ball, sprinted into the box and shot low and hard past Brandt. G-44 equalised yet again in the 53rd minute; Pavia Møllgaard's speculative shot from the edge of the area somehow squeezed under Petersen's body and squirmed over the line, much to the 'keeper's disgust and to the dismay of his defenders. Kunuuteeraq Isaksen almost put G-44 in front late on, but his shot hit the outside of the post, and Knud Brandt somehow stopped N-48 scoring a late winner in injury-time by pulling off an excellent save from a header from close range.
    
Over in Group A, proceedings got under way with what turned out to be a tight derby between B-67 and IT-79, and it was decided by a measured (if slightly scuffed) goal from Malik Juhl in the 16th minute. Kugsak-45, who qualified from the Diskobugten section by finishing ahead of N-48 on goal-difference, then played Siuteroq-43 and ran out comfortable enough winners; they were 3:0 ahead at half-time through goals from Kuka-Lars Jeremiassen, Arkalo Zeeb and Ado Løvstrom, and sauntered their way through the second half without causing any further distress to the Siuteroq defence.

One of the strangest own-goals seen in recent years in Greenlandic football was scored by Kugsak-45 defender Jan Jensen in his side's match against B-67. Malik Juhl chipped a clearance by Kugsak-45 'keeper Knud Petersen back towards goal, but the ball came off the crossbar and was heading back towards the six-yard line; Jensen, springing backwards to cover his line, was unaware as to where the ball was. As he sprung backwards, he cringed as the ball came off the top of his shoulder and fell over the goal-line. The goal cancelled out Arkalo Zeeb's opener for Kugsak; B-67 eventually won the match by 2 goals to 1, the winner coming from Rene Olsen Dahl.

It was scoreless for twenty-seven minutes between IT-79 and Siuteroq-43, but once Abilinnguaq Sandgreen's scorcher hit the back of the net to put the Students ahead, the floodgates opened. Peri Fleischer doubled IT-79's advantage two minute later, and Morten Fleischer added a spectacular third in the 40th minute (his celebration wasn't bad either) before Julius Motzfeldt finished off a fine team move a minute before the break. 

There was no let-up in the second half. Nikku Mathiassen went on a lung-bursting run to get to a Motzfeldt through ball, and calmly slid the ball past Aqissiaq Semsen to make it 5:0 after 48 minutes. Straight from the restart Siuteroq lost the ball and it ended up with Motzfeldt, who completed a one-two with Hans Karl Berthelsen before beating the onrushing Semsen at his near post. Kuluk Ezekiassen missed the easiest chance he might ever get on a football pitch, before making amends soon after with two goals in as many minutes. Eight-nil after 62 minutes, and IT-79 were able to pull up the handbrake and coast to the finish. Siuteroq did get a consolation goal in the 89th minute through Jonathan Motzfeldt, who lashed in a rebound after Malik Mikaelsen saved Minik Stephensen's shot. 

Suiteroq did not play as badly as the scoreline suggests, but were caught time after time by counter-attacks. The only thing about IT-79's performance which one could criticise was their needless bout of showboating during the latter stages of the game, which proved rather irritating to watch.

Suiteroq-43's suffering was not yet at an end; they were up against B-67 in their final match and when Ari Hermann put B-67 ahead in the 15th minute, there was only going to be one winner. Inunnguaq Geronne thrashed home a loose ball for the champions' second in the 39th minute, and Peter Knudsen scored a delightful third midway through the second half. Semsen's attempted punch clear fell to Knudsen on the left-hand side of the penalty-area, and he chipped the ball over the goalkeeper and six outfield Siuteroq players into the far corner of the net. Geronne stroked in his second after 75 minutes, and deftly scored his third and B-67's fifth three minutes later. Hermann tapped the ball into an empty net with five minutes left to complete the scoring.

The group's final match, between Kugsak-45 and IT-79, was one to look forward to as it would decide who would finish second to B-67 and therefore progress to the semi-finals. IT-79 only needed to draw to progress due to their superior goal-difference, but they fell behind to Ado Løvstrøm's free-kick after less than four minutes on the clock. IT-79 player/co-manager Kaassannguaq Zeeb started his first game of the tournament against Kugsak-45, and it was his strong run and pass which enabled Berthelsen to find space and fire home the equaliser with half-time looming. It was an absorbing first-half with plenty of chances for both teams, and the 1:1 scoreline at the break boded well for the second half.

Kugsak-45 started the game strongly, and they roared out of the blocks at the start of the second half, too. Arkalo Zeeb took advantage of poor defending to put them ahead 98 seconds after the restart, and Amos Rosbach half-volleyed home Alapa Thorning's fiercely-hit cross-shot in the 51st minute to leave the team from Qasigiannguit dreaming of a second semi-final in three years. Those dreams received a jolt with 20 minutes left, however. IT-79's Zeeb was bundled over by Lars Nielsen in the box: penalty. Peri Fleischer rolled home the spot-kick, and it was, as they say, game on. A few minutes later, it was all square and IT-79 were back in the driving-seat. Berthelsen sent in a cross-shot which caught goalkeeper Knud Petersen unawares and flew in via the gap between 'keeper and near post. IT-79 substitute Anguteq Grønvold was red-carded in the 89th minute for a tackle which connected with both man and ball, but it ultimately mattered not. 

IT-79 held on to gain the most valuable of points, one which saw them through to the semi-finals, something which seemed out of reach at one stage. Elimination was a bitter pill for Kugsak-45 to swallow after being the better team for so long against IT-79 and having given as good as they got against B-67. They were left with only the fifth-place play-off to look forward to.

Before the play-offs came the semi-finals, the first of which was B-67 against G-44. If it was spectacle you were looking for during the first half of this game, you would have needed the Greenland police force's entire contingent of sniffer dogs to help you find it. There were only two things to note about the first half: the terrific backing given to G-44 by their predominately female support, and the equally redoubtable Ari Hermann putting B-67 ahead with six minutes of the first half remaining with a fierce drive from inside the box.

The second half was much livelier than the first, but things looked pretty horrid from a G-44 point of view when B-67 moved further in front two minutes after the break. Niels Svane's free-kick bent round G-44's seven-man defensive wall and was palmed on to the post by Knud Brandt. Unfortunately for the prone Brandt, the ball bounced outwards, hit his thigh and flopped over the line before he could react. G-44 thought they had found a way back into the game when Pavia Mølgaard pounced on a rebound following a Looqi Svane save and fired home, but he was ruled offside.

With twenty minutes left, Svane spilled a corner-kick and Zakorat Zeeb stabbed the ball home from close range to give the hosts hope. G-44 threw the kitchen sink, the fridge and the dog's kennel at the B-67 defence for the rest of the match, but could find no way through. They deserved an equaliser, but almost conceded a third in the seventh (and final) minute of injury-time, but Brandt came to the rescue with a good block and an even better sliding tackle. However, G-44 could not get the ball back downfield for a final assault on Svane's goal and B-67 were through to yet another final. Brandt was despondent at the final whistle, but he need not have berated himself too much. His own goal was a stroke of bad luck, pure and simple.

The other semi-final paired IT-79 with Nagdlúnguak-48, and the Students had a score to settle with the team from Ilulissat; they were on the wrong end of a 5:0 hammering against N-48 in last year's tournament. It was scoreless until the 18th minute, when Hans Karl Berthelsen burst into the N-48 penalty-area only for his progress towards goal to be crudely curtailed by Kaali Lund Mathæussen. A penalty was the result, and Peri Fleischer duly did the needful to put IT-79 ahead. Four minutes later, Mathæussen turned hero when he headed in the equaliser; Markus Jensen sent in a free-kick, Lars Erik Reimer sneaked in round the back of the IT-79 defence to send a header across goal, and Mathæussen nodded home from two yards.

A quarter of an hour later, N-48 were in front. Aputsiaq Gabrielsen sent in a slightly wayward low cross, which fortuitously deflected off Kaassannguaq Zeeb into the path of Peter Leibhardt, who was loitering with intent at the far side of the penalty-area. Leibhardt sent the ball past Mikaelsen and into the top corner. N-48 moved further in front in the final stages of the first half when Markus Jensen picked up a loose ball on the left wing, dummied Stefan Boller and beat Mikaelsen from the edge of the area.

IT-79 should have been awarded a second penalty four minutes before the break when Nikku Mathiassen was on the end of a goat-charge from Peter Rosbach. Referee Brandt was perfectly placed, and decided to wave play on, much to the annoyance of the IT-79 players, who went in 3:1 down at the break and were staring elimination in the face as they did so. They could hardly complain about the scoreline; they had been outplayed for most of the half.

But, if IT-79 had any sense of grievance about the penalty claim, they left it in the dressing-room as they came out to start the second half and put on a determined display. They dominated possession but had made no inroads into the N-48 defence until the 64th minute, until Aqqalu Kreutzmann, who had come on as substitute for Nuka Peter Ottosen some 16 seconds earlier, unmolested in the penalty-area, chested down a corner and volleyed the ball into the far corner. They levelled with twelve minutes left thanks to Jens Ole Isaksen, who climbed above two defenders and sent a looping header into the far bottom corner of the net. Both teams huffed and puffed, but there were no more goals, and so extra-time beckoned.

And, three minutes into the first half of extra-time, IT-79 completed another improbable comeback by going in front. a one-two between Kuluk Ezekiassen and Julius Motzfeldt led to Ezekiassen beating Petersen with a fierce strike from the edge of the D. There was no way back for N-48, who really should have killed the game off in the second half. and are probably still lamenting their profligacy in front of goal even now.

On to the play-offs now, and in the play-off for the wooden-spoon, Siuteroq-43, who were out of their depth in Group B, prevailed against T-48, and in some style, although after a fashion. It was 2:2 at one stage, but Siuteroq-43 ran away with it in the second half and ran out 8:2 winners. The fifth-place play-off between Kugsak-45 and Kâgssagssuk proved to be a much tighter affair, with Kugsak-45 winning it thanks to a goal from Peter Frederik Samuelsen.

The third-place play-off was a re-run of the Group B clash between G-44 and Nagdlúnguak-48, and it was just as breathless an affair as their first joust. Both teams should have scored early on; N-48's Nick Reimer put his header wide of an empty net after Knud Brandt completely missed his punch, whilst, at the other end, G-44's Steve Broberg's shot was headed off the line by Marco Leibhardt. And so it went on, though G-44 were clearly the better side. Zakorat Zeeb, Mads Andersen and Pavia Mølgaard all missed good chances for the hosts, but, at the other end, Nick Reimer and Markus Jensen had chances to put N-48 ahead, but were denied by Brandt in the G-44 goal.

N-48 began the second period brightly, but fell behind in the 50th minute when Steve Broberg's sumptuous long ball, executed with the outside of his right foot, was chested down by Inooraq Olrik, who chested the ball down, then let it bounce before delightfully lifting it over the onrushing Gabriel Petersen and into the net. G-44 doubled their advantage with a quarter of an hour to go, and Olrik was instrumental in making it happen. He won the ball in midfield, passed to Mølgaard - who beat two opponents - who in turn laid the ball off to Zeeb, and the G-44 number 26, who had strolled into the box unmarked, stroked the ball past Petersen, much to the joy of the locals in attendance. 

Nick Reimer brought the team from Ilulissat back into the game with three minutes left, unleashing a stupendous shot from fully 25 yards out which left Brandt grasping at thin air as the ball sailed into the top corner. Seconds later, local hearts were in mouths as Markus Jensen was centimetres away from equalising, but his shot from inside a crowded penalty-area cannoned off the crossbar with Brandt flailing. It was all hands on deck at the back for G-44 in the closing minutes as N-48 kept up the pressure, but they managed to hold on to their lead to end the tournament in a deserved third place. Better still, it was G-44's first victory at a national tournament against N-48 since they beat their bitter regional rivals 1:0 in their 2010 semi-final.

Recent finals have been in the main less than enthralling, but the decider between B-67 and IT-79 was anything but, and the fun started in the fourth minute when B-67 defender Aputsiaq Birch almost put through his own goal from thirty yards out, but the ball trickled just wide. From the resulting corner, Hans Karl Berthelsen rattled a volley goalwards, but Birch more than made amends for his mistake by heading the ball of the line.

B-67 went on to dominate the first half in terms of shots on goal, coming close to taking the lead through attempts from Ari Hermann, Niels Svane, Johan Bidstrup and Patrick Frederiksen, amongst others, but IT-79 held firm, thanks in no small part to Malik Mikaelsen in goal, and looked dangerous on the counter-attack.

The pattern continued during the second half, with efforts raining down on Mikaelsen's goal until, with 21 minutes left, substitute Karsten Møller finally put B-67 in front when he rose at the far post to nod in Hermann's corner-kick. They deserved the goal, but were rather fortunate in the 81st minute to escape conceding a penalty when Peter Knudsen handled Berthelsen's header by jumping in the way and blocking the ball with his upper arm; referee Albrecht Brandt ruled that there was no intent to handle the ball, and waved for play to continue.

Things looked increasingly desperate for IT-79 as the game entered five minutes of injury time; they sent on Anguteq Grønvold and Malik Kristensen to add impetus to their attempts to force a last-gasp equaliser. And, equalise they did with the last touch of the game, Steffen Boller bravely diving in to head home Berthelsen's corner from 10 yards out.

Extra time followed, and it started in controversial fashion when Aputsiaq Birch put B-67 in front with a shot from right on the goal-line which had seemingly, somehow, squeezed been Mikaelsen and the near post. IT-79 defenders furiously claimed that the ball had gone through a gap in the net. Brandt went to check the net, looked to have disallowed the goal, and then, to the consternation of Mikaelsen and his team-mates, changed his mind a second time. (They're probably still discussing the goal in Nuuk, some seven months later.)
IT-79 improved after the goal, but could not find a way through to sufficiently trouble Looqi Svane; on the other hand, B-67 were unable to make the game safe, but they had a chance to do so in the 102nd minute when Hermann and Bidstrup broke away; Bidstrup hit the bar and Hermann the post, and then were given offside.

B-67 were proving equally difficult to break down in the second period, thanks in no small part to Niels Svane's no-nonsense approach, but IT-79 finally found a way through with six minutes left, and Hans Karl Berthelsen can claim much of the credit for the equaliser. He received the ball on the half-way line from Anguteq Grønvold, turned round, left Hermann and Knudsen in his wake and, on the edge of the area, passed to Grønvold, who stroked the ball into the path of Kuluk Ezekiassen, who had been loitering just outside the box, and it was he who coolly delivered a slide-rule finish to beat Svane from 15 yards.

Suddenly, B-67 looked shell-shocked and IT-79 began to dominate, with players in purple getting to every loose ball first. Chances were at a premium, but Ezekiassen had a chance to win the match with two minutes left when he was on the end of another good ball from Berthelsen. However, his angled shot from the right-hand side of the penalty-area was too gentle and too close to Svane, who saved easily.

Three previous finals had been decided on penalties, the most recent of which was in 2011. Then, B-67 took on G-44 but lost the shoot-out 7:6 after the teams were tied at 1:1 after 120 minutes. This time, they would have to get past IT-79, who had staged their third comeback of the tournament and had their tails up going into this shoot-out.

IT-79's Hans Karl Berthelsen had had a comparatively quiet game by his standards, but he had still delivered when it mattered. He was first to take a penalty, but his shot was tame and Looqi Svane got down well and beat it away. Niels Svane was next, taking B-67's first penalty, but he shot too close to Mikaelsen, who kept it out, diving to his right.

Morten Fleischer was next up to try his luck, but saw his penalty saved by Svane. Luckily for the IT-79 man, referee Brandt (correctly) adjudged Svane to have moved before the kick was taken, and signalled for the kick to be retaken. Fleischer made no mistake with his second attempt, thumping the ball to the goalkeeper's right to put the Students ahead for the first time in the match. Aputsiaq Birch restored parity, though Mikaelsen almost managed to keep it out.

Joint manager Kaassannguaq Zeeb then sent Svane the wrong way to put IT-79 in front, and Maasi Maqe did likewise to Mikaelsen to level things up again before Ezekiassen rolled the ball past Svane into the middle of the net. Ari Hermann was next, and, like both Berthelsen and Niels Svane, he is a player you would normally depend on to dispatch a penalty with the minimum of fuss. But, like both Berthelsen and Niels Svane, Hermann, too, would see his spot-kick saved, Mikaelsen diving to his right to keep out his effort.

It was up to IT-79's Peri Fleischer to decide matters, and his penalty, swept high to the right of Svane and into the net, was a moment of history in the Greenlandic game, a moment when heaven and earth collided. B-67's long reign as champions of Greenland was over, and IT-79 had won the national championship for the very first time.

Defeat must have been hard on B-67 manager Tekle Ghebrelul and his team, having come agonisingly close to retaining their title. He had endured a difficult enough 2017 up to that point, having suffered racial abuse on social media following an altercation in Manitsoq, and was then sacked as Greenland national manager during the run-up to the national championship. If it is any consolation to Ghebrelul, his team probably deserved to win the final; Ari Hermann and Niels Svane were excellent throughout the tournament, and Hermann was player of the tournament in the eyes of this scribe. B-67 will be there or thereabouts in 2018.

IT-79's triumph was as much because of an indomitable spirit amongst the team as it was due to the individual contributions of players such as Hans Karl Berthelsen, Steffen Boller, Peri Fleischer and the hero of the hour, goalkeeper Malik Mikaelsen, who, along with G-44's Knud Brandt, was outstanding in goal throughout the tournament. Both goalkeepers deserve fulsome praise for their performances.

Arkalo Zeeb and Ado Løvstrom were outstanding for Kugsak-45, who can count themselves unfortunate not to progress to the semi-finals, whilst the usual suspects - Markus Jensen and Lars Eric and Nick Reimer - impressed for Nagdlúnguak-48. Apart from Brandt, Arkalo Zeeb, Inooraq Olrik and Steve Broberg more than looked the part for G-48, whose supporters once again stole the show.

The standard of play at recent national championships has improved immensely over the past couple of years, and GBU/KAK general secretary Berthelsen had no doubt as to why: "The standard is getting better and better, the artificial grass is working its magic. The standard will only be better in the future." Malik Mikaelsen concurred. He described the tournament as "instructive", and added that it was a "special tournament" for him. "We (IT-79) had a great time at Qeqertarsuaq with exciting matches. The tournament has many good players in this year, and I think personally that GM2017 was the hardest tournament I have participated in, compared with previous years." 

The introduction of artificial pitches across Greenland has perhaps been the biggest reason for the dramatic improvement in the standard of local football, and it is heartening to see the likes of Berthelsen, Jensen, Hermann, Arkalo Zeeb and Steve Broberg consistently producing good performances on the national stage. It was also good to see a new team lifting the national championship. Edvard Skade and Kaassannguaq Zeeb have both taken over where former boss (and now Number One supporter Allan Geisler left off) and have improved IT-79, instilling a never-say-die attitude and lifting the club to the top of Greenland's footballing tree. The big question is: can they stay there? 

GROUP A

06/08/17 15:00 B-67 1:0 IT-79 (Juhl)
06/08/17 19:00 Kugsak-45 3:0 Siuteroq-43 (Jeremiassen, Zeeb, Løvstrøm)
07/08/17 13:00 Kugsak-45 1:2 B-67 (Zeeb; Jensen OG, Olsen Dahl)
07/08/17 15:00 IT-79 8:1 Suiteroq-43 (Motzfeldt 2, Sandgreen, Peri Fleischer, Morten Fleischer, Mathaissen, Møller, Ezekiassen)
08/08/17 13:00 B-67 6:0 Siuteroq-43 (Geronne 3, Hermann 2, Knudsen)
08/08/17 17:00 Kugsak-45 3:3 IT-79 (Løvstrom, Zeeb, Amos Rosbach; Berthelsen 2, Peri Fleischer)

TEAM	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	PTS	GD
B-67	3	3	0	0	9	1	9	8
IT-79	3	1	1	1	11	5	4	6
Kugsak-45	3	1	1	1	7	5	4	2
Siuteroq-43	3	0	0	3	1	17	0	-16

GROUP B

05/08/17 15:00 T-58 0:5 G-44 (Svendsen 2, Olrik, Mølggard, Zeeb)
05/08/17 17:00 Kâgssagssuk 3:9 Nagdlúnguak-48 (Holmene 3 (2 pens); Leibhardt 2, Nick Reimer, Lars Erik Reimer 3, Gabrielsen 2, Markus Jensen)
06/08/17 13:00 G-44 3:0 Kâgssagssuk (Zeeb, John Ludvig Broberg 2)
06/08/17 17:00 T-58 0:12 Nagdlúnguak-48 (Nick Reimer 4, Gabrielsen, Mathæussen, Peter Leibhardt, Lars Erik Reimer 2, Markus Jensen 3)
08/08/17 15:00 G-44 4:4 Nagdlúnguak-48 (John Ludvig Broberg 3, Mølgaard; Markus Jensen 3, Mathæusen)
08/08/17 19:00 T-58 4:5 Kâgssagssuk (Timo Grim 3, Kristensen; Søren Kreutzmann 2, Jakob Petersen, Innuteq Kreutzmann, Hans Ole Kleist)

TEAM	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	PTS	GD
N-48	3	2	1	0	25	7	7	18
G-44	3	2	1	0	12	4	7	8
Kâgssagssuk	3	1	1	1	8	16	3	-8
Terianniaq-58	3	0	0	3	4	22	0	-18

SEMI-FINALS

10/08/17 17:00 B-67 2:1 G-44 (Hermann, Brandt OG; Zeeb)

B-67: 12 Looqi SVANE; 2 Mika DAVIDSEN, 3 Niels SVANE, 7 Nikki PETERSEN, 8 Johan BIDSTRUP, 10 Maasi MAQE, 11 Ari HERMANN, 13 Aputsiaq BIRCH, 14 Rene OLSEN DAHL (19 Karsten MØLLER ANDERSEN), 21 Patrick FREDRIKSEN, 23 Johannes GROTH

G-44: 1 Knud BRANDT; 4 Nukannguaq ZEEB, 7 Steve BROBERG (32 Maasinnguaq BRANDT), 9 John Ludvig BROBERG, 11 Mads ANDERSEN, 19 Jan LYBERTH, 20 Zakorat ZEEB, 21 Lars Peter BROBERG, 22 Inooraq SVENDSEN, 23 Kunuuteeraq ISAKSEN, 26 Inooraq OLRIK (10 Pavia MØLGAARD)


10/08/17 19:00 Nagdlúnguak-48 3:4 IT-79 (AET; FT: 3:3) (Mathæussen, Peter Leibhardt, Markus Jensen; Fleischer, Kreutzmann, Isaksen, Ezekiassen) 

NAGDLÚNGUAK-48: 1 Gabriel PETERSEN; 2 Minik SVENDSEN, 4 Aqqalutti JENSEN (16 Hansinnguaq LENNERT; 13 Arkalunguak HENNINGSEN), 5 Lars Erik REIMER, 6 Aputsiaq GABRIELSEN (15 Karl Louis SANDGREEN), 7 Nick REIMER, 8 Markus JENSEN, 9 Peter LEIBHARDT (17 Marco LEIBHARDT), 10 Bruno SANDGREEN (19 Hans Peter PARS), 14 Kaali LUND MATHÆUSSEN, 22 Peter ROSBACH

IT-79: 1 Malik MIKAELSEN; 4 Nuka Peter OTTOSEN (32 Aqqalu KREUTZMANN), 7 Hans Karl BERTHELSEN, 13 Jens Ole ISAKSEN (17 Malik KRISTENSEN), 19 Abilinnguaq SANDGREEN (10 Julius MOTZFELDT), 20 Morten FLEISCHER, 22 Nikku MATHIASSEN, 25 Stephen BOLLER, 33 Kaassannguaq ZEEB, 39 Gedion KLEIST, 46 Peri FLEISCHER
 

7TH-PLACE PLAY-OFF

11/08/17 19:00 T-58 2:8 Siuteroq-43


5TH-PLACE PLAY-OFF

11/08/17 17:00 Kugsak-45 1:0 Kâgssagssuk (Samuelsen)


3RD-PLACE PLAY-OFF

12/08/17 13:00 Nagdlúnguak-48 1:2 G-44 (Reimer; Olrik, Zeeb)

NAGDLÚNGUAK-48: 1 Gabriel PETERSEN; 2 Minik SVENDSEN, 5 Lars Erik REIMER, 7 Nick REIMER (13 Arkalunguak HENNINGSEN), Markus JENSEN, 9 Peter LEIBHARDT, 10 Bruno SANDGREEN (19 Hans Peter PARS), 14 Kaali LUND MATHÆUSSEN, 16 Hansinnguaq LENNERT (6 Aputsiaq GABRIELSEN), 17 Marco LEIBHARDT, 22 Peter ROSBACH

G-44: 1 Knud BRANDT; 4 Nukannguaq ZEEB, 7 Steve BROBERG (6 Aputsiaq HANSEN), 10 Pavia MØLGAARD (32 Maasinnguaq BRANDT), 11 Mads ANDERSEN, 19 Jan LYBERTH, 20 Zakorat ZEEB, 21 Lars PETER BROBERG, 22 Inooraq SVENDSEN, 23 Kunuuteeraq ISAKSEN (8 Aputsiaq OLSEN), 26 Inooraq OLRIK (17 Inuk KNUDSEN; 18 Hans Jørgen ZEEB)

FINAL

12/08/17 15:00 B-67 2:2 IT-79 (AET; FT: 1:1 - IT-79 won 4:2 on pens) (Møller Andersen, Birch; Boller, Ezekiassen) 

ORDER OF PENALTY-KICKS (IT-79 first): 0:0 Berthelsen (IT-79, saved); 0:0 Svane (B-67, saved); 1:0 Fleischer (IT-79); 1:1 Birch (B-67); 2:1 Zeeb (IT-79); 2:2 Maqe (B-67); 3:2 Ezekiassen (IT-79); 3:2 Hermann (B-67, saved); 4:2 Fleischer (IT-79)

B-67: 1 Brian ROSING KLEIST (12 Looqi SVANE); 2 Mika DAVIDSEN, 3 Niels SVANE, 7 Nikki PETERSEN (24 Hans BRUMMERSTEDT), 8 Johan BIDSTRUP, 10 Maasi MAQE, 11 Ari HERMANN, 13 Aputsiaq BIRCH, 21 Patrick FREDERIKSEN, 23 Johannes GROTH (5 Peter KNUDSEN), 31 Poul Thomas KUKO (19 Karsten MØLLER ANDERSEN)

IT-79: 1 Malik MIKAELSEN; 7 Hans Karl BERTHELSEN, 10 Julius MOTZFELDT (22 Nikku MATHIASSEN), 13 Jens Ole ISAKSEN (9 Anguteq GRØNVOLD), 19 Abilinnguaq SANDGREEN (11 Kuluk EZEKIASSEN), 20 Morten FLEISCHER, 25 Steffen BOLLER, 31 Aqqalu KREUTZMANN (4 Nuka Peter OTTOSEN), 33 Kaassannguaq ZEEB, 39 Gedion KLEIST (17 Malik KRISTENSEN), 46 Peri FLEISCHER

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Apologies for the comparative lack of statistics (not to mention the length of time between competition and article); some of the information contained in the above article was gleaned from the KNR, Sermitsiaq and the RSSSF websites. Many thanks to GBU/KAK general secretary Nike Berthelsen and IT-79 goalkeeper Malik Mikaelsen for their contributions.