The pirate island team can’t find a rival
When, between the 16th and 17th centuries, pirates and corsairs sailed the waters of the Caribbeanno one wanted to face them. Something similar happens to the members of the VfL Fosite Helgoland. The isolated archipelago of Heligolandinhabited by about 1,500 people and located in the North Sea It is, administratively, part of the state of Schleswig-Holstein and they cannot find a rival with whom to play an official match although they have a playing field in good condition.
a little history
Heligoland It is located two hours by ferry from the mainland and in addition, the navigation conditions due to the strong winds make it very difficult for the team to participate in any regional competition. Likewise, no team wants to travel to the island that historically belonged to Denmark who gave it to Great Britain in 1814 until 1890 when it was exchanged for Zanzibar (German territory in Africa) and Germany He came to control it since it was a very advanced post on its coasts. In the Second World War It was occupied by the British who used it until 1952 to detonate, after evacuating the entire population, 6,700 tons of explosives, destroying the military installations on the island and modifying the landscape.
It is documented that between the 14th and 15th centuries, Catalan merchants who sailed through the English Channel to Witcheswere attacked by English, French and Danish pirates who used the island as a refuge although from the 18th century onwards, the inhabitants dedicated themselves to another lucrative activity that occupied them, apart from herring fishing: the looting of ships that were shipwrecked due to bad weather.
Ten friendlies and mixed team
He VfL Fosite Helgoland It was founded in 1893 by English sailors who stayed on the island (it is older than the German Football Federation), but he has never played in any league or played any international match. They usually play about ten friendlies a year against teams that go on vacation and the highlight a few years ago was that the Cuban team requested to play a friendly match but, unfortunately, Cuba They canceled the game a couple of weeks before it was scheduled to take place when someone tipped them off about the weather conditions they would have to face.
Another peculiarity of VfL Fosite Helgoland is that, due to the lack of male members sometimes to form a guaranteed eleven and have a bench, they incorporate women into the team. The club has about 500 members, which represents a significant mass of fans from the archipelago.
Even Sealand has been able to play
The team was part of the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (ConIFA) but they never moved or received other equipment.
The WithIFA is the football federation that brings together teams outside the FIFA. It is a non-profit organization that brings under its umbrella de facto states, regions, minority peoples and territories with little sports presence such as Cornwall (Great Britain), Chagos Islands (Indian), Tibet, Lapland (Finland), South Ossetia (Georgia), Abkhazia (Caucasus), the Mapuche tribe wave Aymara and until the Principality of Sealandthe oil platform in the North Sea that was declared an independent country in 1967 and that has played matches but on dry land and although there are only 5 registered inhabitants, you can form a team and play in the Bill Kyte Stadiumlocated in the city of Godalming, England.
Maybe official football in Heligoland late to arrive. However, they enjoy tax exemption and, together with the beauty and tranquility of the island, make it a very popular tourist destination, visited every year by thousands of people, mainly Germans and Danes. Despite the distance and the wind.
