No Place For Football – The Untold Story of Greenland B67’s Artic Champions Dream – review

Pato

Directors, Brandon Scott Smith and Derek Sullivan Smith

Brandon Scott Smith and Derek Sullivan Smith’s documentary ‘No Place For Football – The Untold Story of Greenland B67’s Artic Champions Dream’ premieres at DocLands Film Festival on Wednesday 3 May, 2026. Just before the Fifa World Cup kicks off on 11th June.

Nuuk

Nuuk

Of course, football is a global phenomenon and fans will travel from all corners of the world to support their teams. However, for political and geographical reasons Greenland is not a member of FIFA so is not a participant.  However, the country does have it’s own Greenland Football Championship where eight national teams compete over five days (surely the world’s shortest football season).

The documentary follows one of the most successful teams, the B67 based in Nuuk as they travel to Ilulissat, above the Artic Circle, to compete in the championship and face their main rivals, the N-48. We are introduced to the team, including their new coach Nicolai Nielsen, previously a Danish footballer, and their captain Patrick Frederiksen (Pato) and there are interviews with other team members. And we are shown the cameraderie that exists among the players and how they work together.

The film successfully draws you into the excitement of the team’s preparation for the championship and you slip into the role of  a B-67 fan with ease.  The sheer size of Greenland, the world’s largest island, with its  severe Artic climate means that journeys  by road are not an option and travel is very much dependent on the weather; when heading to the tournament the team splits up in the hope that at least one of their flights will make it through in time. Greenland’s climate also dictates the limited opportunities that exist for playing football, which is restricted to only a few months of the year.

B67 ice float

B-67 team – some time out facing vast ice float

Cinematography in the documentary is exceptional and captures the unique and beautiful landscape – the scale of the vast ice floats is breathtaking. And the cold, calmn beauty of the environment throws into vivid juxtaposition the intense energy of the match and the emotion of the players  in their bid to win the championship. (I loved the scene above where the off duty players simply stand together and take in the awe inspiring scene in front of them.)

greenland iceberg

Greenland frozzen and beautiful landscape

It is a remarkable and engrossing film giving unique insight into how football in one country demands momentous motivation by players, who face hazardous obstacles as they pursue glory tin the world’s shortest football season. Greenland’s B-67’s unpaid players encapsulate the meaning of what it is to be united in following a dream.

Interim coacch Nicolai Nielsen

Interim coacch Nicolai Nielsen – motivating players.

Joint Statement from the Directors, Brandon Scott Smith and Derek Sullivan Smith;

With all eyes on the upcoming FIFA World Cup, we’re excited to share the story of one country still waiting to get in.  Football in Greenland shows that in some places, it’s still all about playing for the love of the game, and we can’t wait for audiences to experience the story of their season in one of the most remote places on earth.”

Pat Byrne, June 2026. 

 

(The documentary is available to watch on digital streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV)

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Avatar of PatByrne Publisher of Pat's Guide to Glasgow West End; the community guide to the West End of Glasgow. Fiction and non-fiction writer.

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