Greenland is an autonomous province of Denmark with a population of around 50,000. The Faroe Islands are an autonomous province of Denmark with a population of around 50,000. The Faroe Islands belong to FIFA; Greenland does not. A reasonable person might wonder why the Faroes are given membership into the international soccer governing body while Greenland is excluded. Such a reasonable person would not come up with anything resembling a reasonable answer. Greenland is one of the “countries” featured in Steve Menary’s new book Outcasts: The Lands That FIFA Forgot. The book is a whirlwind tour of forgotten lands scattered throughout the globe. During his visits with teams from places as diverse as Greenland, The Falklands, Northern Cyprus, Zanzibar, and Occitània, Menary introduces us to players, coaches, and officials struggling for international soccer recognition for their countries which, according to FIFA, don’t exist.

The Tibetan national team (photo: Kaos Pilot)

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Growing up in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Raad Qumsieh probably never dreamed that his life would include a stop in Kansas. He has led a nomadic life not uncommon of Palestinians today. But Qumsieh is different than most Palestinians. A gifted soccer player from a young age, he has played for the under-17, under-20, and full national teams of Palestine. For the past three years, he has been in the United States playing college soccer. He hopes to make a career as a professional player and to represent the Palestinian national team.

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When Tim Vickery went to Brazil in 1994 he was, like many people traveling to a new land, overwhelmed by a sense of “straight off the boat surprise.” Everything was new, and he loved the feeling of being immersed in it. Vickery, who had never left England until he was 23, quickly came to realize that “discovery is the best thing in life.”

Since 1994, Vickery has been discovering more and more about South American soccer and writing about it for the BBC, The World Game, Sports Illustrated, and World Soccer magazine. He was kind enough to take the time to speak with me recently about soccer in Brazil, the country where he is based.

Tim Vickery (photo: Tim Vickery)

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This is part 2 of this article. Part 1 can be read here.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there was a dramatic change in American soccer. It moved out of its almost exclusive home in ethnic communities and was adopted by suburban families across the country. Soccer became the sport of choice for many suburban parents, who gave the sport a unique character. In his book Soccer in a Football World, David Wangerin writes about the ideals that some suburban soccer messiahs brought to the game.

It would be an exaggeration to claim soccer for the counter-culture, yet the sport often found its most fertile soil among those with egalitarian leanings. In 1964 a Californian named Hans Stierle founded the American Youth Soccer Organisation, which treated the game more as a highly participative, fun activity than a competitive sport. Its ‘everybody plays’ motto contrasted sharply with the win-at-all-costs philosophy of other youth sports. Kids were guaranteed to appear in at least half of every AYSO match, and to avoid lopsided scores leagues spread their talent equally across the teams. Though many perceived this as patently un-American, others were inspired. Soon soccer organizations with similar philosophies emerged across the country, signing up children by the thousands. (149)

AYSO Soccer (photo: Christopher Michael Darrouzet-Nardi)

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Note: This article ended up being quite long. As a result, I have broken it into two parts, the second of which will be published tomorrow.

A book came out shortly before the 1994 World Cup whose title almost perfectly summed up many Americans’ ideas of soccer. It was called Twenty-Two Foreigners in Funny Shorts. Something about soccer has always been, to many in this country, a bit foreign. Perhaps even un-American. Why is this? I believe there are several reasons.

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People of Croatian ancestry make up less than one-half of one percent of the population. But the influence of this small Balkan country on soccer in the land of Oz has far exceeded their numbers. Of the 23 players on Australia’s 2006 World Cup squad, 7 had Croatian heritage. Croatia’s team had 3 Australian-born players.

Croatian-Australian Mark Viduka (photo: Getty Images/ABC)

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