June 16, 2026
FILM: NO PLACE FOR FOOTBALL
DIRECTED BY: BRANDON SCOTT SMITH, DEREK SULLIVAN SMITH
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I’m a big fan of World Cup soccer, or as the rest of the world appropriately calls it, football, which is currently taking place throughout North America. It is the biggest world-wide stage for the number one sport in most countries. One small nation though that is not a part of the big event is Greenland. You know Greenland…the place that our U.S. President decided he wanted to take over even though it is not ours to take… The new documentary No Place for Football examines the weeks before and during the country’s annual football tournament to determine the champion of the Greenland.
The title comes from a FIFA president who several years ago said that the country didn’t have what it takes to be a truly competitive and World Cup-ready team. This is partly due to the fact that Greenland only has about three months during the entire year to play outdoor football. (For those unaware, the country’s border reaches up into the Arctic Circle.) It is referred to as the shortest football season on earth. Even during the summer months, weather can still be tricky making it difficult for players to even travel across the country to the tournament. Greenland has no roads that connect its various towns. The only way to reach some of the destinations is by boat or plane. As it becomes clear in the film, sometimes flights get cancelled due to weather issues leaving players stranded in their home towns.
However, none of this is to say that there aren’t dedicated players and fervent fans. Filmmakers Brandon Scott Smith and Derek Sullivan Smith spend most of the time tracking a team from Nuuk, Greenland as it prepares for the tournament. B-67, as the team is called, has a major rival in N-48. The former gets its name from the year it first competed: 1967. The latter gets the N from its town’s name: Nagdlunguak. (Try getting that pronunciation right at least once.)
The filmmakers’ allegiance seems to be to B-67 as it gets most of the on-screen time. The team is led by a coach from Denmark who, as is mentioned in the film, resembles Jason Sudekis’s character in Ted Lasso. He’s committed and generally seems like a strong, smiling team leader.
Where the film falls a bit short is in its detailing of the team’s individual players. Some are interviewed but we don’t get to know them as well as we could. The film makes it clear that none of the players in Greenland get paid so they mostly have other jobs. What those are may be only vaguely alluded to during the film. It is those players and their unique personalities that I wanted to feel closer to than I did. Instead the filmmakers provide a lot of footage of training sessions, matches, and slow motion plays. This makes it more of a film for people who are interested in the competitions than they are in the players. What are their other jobs? Their dreams? Their family lives like? Not a huge issue, but an area that could have been enhanced.
I’d have also liked to learn a bit more about the history of the sport in Greenland which is touched upon but could use more elaboration. How often have they tried to be part of the World Cup competition? What would it take for FIFA to accept the country into its roster of possible eligible teams?
The film’s climax is of course the big final match between the rival teams which has its moments but isn’t as full of the stakes and drama that might really push the film into exciting, must-see territory. Without spoiling anything though, the match does end in a penalty kick-off, which for football fans is the most dramatic part of a tight game.
Greenland itself is beautifully shot, from the modest but colorful homes that dot the sea sides to the icebergs, glaciers, and mountains that also encircle the country. The film was made before Trump’s vocal interest in obtaining the country so that never gets mentioned. However, it does provide a better sense of just what Greenland feels like as a country both in terms of its weather but also its diverse population and its humble but driven athletes.
No Place for Football is currently available to rent/purchase on streaming sites such as Amazon Prime. It’s definitely worth a look for anyone interested in world football or the country of Greenland.
FILM: NO PLACE FOR FOOTBALL
DIRECTED BY: BRANDON SCOTT SMITH, DEREK SULLIVAN SMITH
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I’m a big fan of World Cup soccer, or as the rest of the world appropriately calls it, football, which is currently taking place throughout North America. It is the biggest world-wide stage for the number one sport in most countries. One small nation though that is not a part of the big event is Greenland. You know Greenland…the place that our U.S. President decided he wanted to take over even though it is not ours to take… The new documentary No Place for Football examines the weeks before and during the country’s annual football tournament to determine the champion of the Greenland.
The title comes from a FIFA president who several years ago said that the country didn’t have what it takes to be a truly competitive and World Cup-ready team. This is partly due to the fact that Greenland only has about three months during the entire year to play outdoor football. (For those unaware, the country’s border reaches up into the Arctic Circle.) It is referred to as the shortest football season on earth. Even during the summer months, weather can still be tricky making it difficult for players to even travel across the country to the tournament. Greenland has no roads that connect its various towns. The only way to reach some of the destinations is by boat or plane. As it becomes clear in the film, sometimes flights get cancelled due to weather issues leaving players stranded in their home towns.
However, none of this is to say that there aren’t dedicated players and fervent fans. Filmmakers Brandon Scott Smith and Derek Sullivan Smith spend most of the time tracking a team from Nuuk, Greenland as it prepares for the tournament. B-67, as the team is called, has a major rival in N-48. The former gets its name from the year it first competed: 1967. The latter gets the N from its town’s name: Nagdlunguak. (Try getting that pronunciation right at least once.)
The filmmakers’ allegiance seems to be to B-67 as it gets most of the on-screen time. The team is led by a coach from Denmark who, as is mentioned in the film, resembles Jason Sudekis’s character in Ted Lasso. He’s committed and generally seems like a strong, smiling team leader.
Where the film falls a bit short is in its detailing of the team’s individual players. Some are interviewed but we don’t get to know them as well as we could. The film makes it clear that none of the players in Greenland get paid so they mostly have other jobs. What those are may be only vaguely alluded to during the film. It is those players and their unique personalities that I wanted to feel closer to than I did. Instead the filmmakers provide a lot of footage of training sessions, matches, and slow motion plays. This makes it more of a film for people who are interested in the competitions than they are in the players. What are their other jobs? Their dreams? Their family lives like? Not a huge issue, but an area that could have been enhanced.
I’d have also liked to learn a bit more about the history of the sport in Greenland which is touched upon but could use more elaboration. How often have they tried to be part of the World Cup competition? What would it take for FIFA to accept the country into its roster of possible eligible teams?
The film’s climax is of course the big final match between the rival teams which has its moments but isn’t as full of the stakes and drama that might really push the film into exciting, must-see territory. Without spoiling anything though, the match does end in a penalty kick-off, which for football fans is the most dramatic part of a tight game.
Greenland itself is beautifully shot, from the modest but colorful homes that dot the sea sides to the icebergs, glaciers, and mountains that also encircle the country. The film was made before Trump’s vocal interest in obtaining the country so that never gets mentioned. However, it does provide a better sense of just what Greenland feels like as a country both in terms of its weather but also its diverse population and its humble but driven athletes.
No Place for Football is currently available to rent/purchase on streaming sites such as Amazon Prime. It’s definitely worth a look for anyone interested in world football or the country of Greenland.