...Antarctica, a group have set up their own country – and launched a football team
WEIRD WORLD OF FOOTBALL
Antarctica isn’t exactly known for its distinguished football heritage – but that could be set to change. Sort of.
Seven countries – Argentina, Australia, Norway, France, Chile, New Zealand and the UK – claim expanses on the continent, but a 620,000 square mile area titled Marie Byrd Land remains vacant, despite it being bigger than Iran.
Fifteen years ago, a Belgian named Niels Vermeersch tried to take ownership of five islands within that territory, as you do, declaring his micronation to be the Grand Duchy of Flandrensis.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, that request hasn’t been recognised by any country, and Vermeersch hasn’t actually paid a visit, what with it being unoccupied land at the other end of the planet, only inhabited by penguins.
However, the micronation does boast in excess of 700 remote ‘citizens’, essentially members, and now even its own football team – on the 15th anniversary last month, the Flandrensis FA and an accompanying national team were launched.
Based in Belgium, they hope to begin playing next year, but have importantly clarified that they are ‘not a member of FIFA’, in case someone like Germany was thinking of pitching up in the Antarctic, expecting a game.
The penguins would probably give them a decent test, if recent form is anything to go by.
“NOT THE FACE, OFFICER!”
AIK fans have had plenty of run-ins with the law this year, so they’ve handed Swedish riot police a guide of where to hit them using batons.
In May, ultras of the relegation-threatened club felt the police’s wrath at Djurgarden – admittedly, they did lob fireworks and spark a blaze. Believing their treatment has been heavy-handed, fans published a diagram before the recent game at Hammarby, asking to be whacked in the ‘soft parts’ – the top of the arm or leg – rather than on the head. More tr
