1.
Faroe Islands Football Association
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The Faroe Islands Football Association, or FSF, is the governing body of all domestic football in the Faroe Islands, the highest level of which is the Faroe Islands Premier League. It also runs the Faroe Islands national teams for men and women, established in 1979, it is based in Tórshavn. Organized football has played in the Faroes since late 19th century. The first Faroese national football league was held in 1942, from 1942 until 1978 all Faroese football was governed by ÍSF. On 13 January 1979 the Faroese Football Association was established, at first it worked with organising Faroese football. The first Faroese national football league for women was held in 1985, in the 1980s the Faroese Football Association started training coaches and managers. At first it was done with help from Denmark, but since the mid-1990s this training has been under full Faroese responsibility, on 2 July 1988 the Faroe Islands gained membership of FIFA, and on 18 April 1990 they gained membership of UEFA. Since then the Faroes have participated in football competitions. Faroe Islands national football team results Official website Faroe Islands at FIFA site Faroe Islands at UEFA site
2.
UEFA
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The Union of European Football Associations is the administrative body for association football in Europe, although several member states are primarily or entirely located in Asia. It is one of six continental confederations of world footballs governing body FIFA, UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Until 1959 the main headquarters were located in Paris, and later in Bern, in 1995, UEFA headquarters were transferred to Nyon, Switzerland. Henri Delaunay was the first general secretary and Ebbe Schwartz the first president, UEFA was founded on 15 June 1954 in Basel, Switzerland after consultation between the Italian, French, and Belgian associations. The European football union began with 25 members, that number doubled by the early 1990s, UEFA membership coincides for the most part with recognition as a sovereign country in Europe, although there are some exceptions. Some UEFA members are not sovereign states, but form part of a recognized sovereign state in the context of international law. Some UEFA members are transcontinental states, countries which had been members of the Asian Football Confederation were also admitted to the European football association, particularly Israel and Kazakhstan. Additionally some UEFA member associations allow teams from outside their associations main territory to take part in their domestic competition, saarland Football Union 1954–1956 German football association of the German Democratic Republic 1954–1990 Football Federation of the Soviet Union 1954–1991, in 1992 became Russian Football Union. The newly independent 14 Soviet Republics created their own football associations, Football Association of Yugoslavia 1954–1992, became Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia became independent, Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro 1992–2006, became Football Association of Serbia. Montenegro, which became independent, created its own football association, the main competition for mens national teams is the UEFA European Football Championship, started in 1958, with the first finals in 1960, and known as the European Nations Cup until 1964. It is also called UEFA or the EURO, UEFA also runs national competitions at Under-21, Under-19 and Under-17 levels. For womens national teams, UEFA operates the UEFA Womens Championship for senior sides as well as Womens Under-19. UEFA also organized the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup with CAF for youth teams in an effort to boost youth football, UEFA launched the UEFA Regions Cup, for semi-professional teams representing their local region, in 1999. In futsal there is the UEFA Futsal Championship and UEFA Futsal Under-21 Championship, the Italian, German, Spanish and French mens national teams are the sole teams to have won the European football championship in all categories. A second, lower-ranked competition is the UEFA Europa League and this competition, for national knockout cup winners and high-placed league teams, was launched by UEFA in 1971 as a successor of both the former UEFA Cup and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. A third competition, the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, which had started in 1960, was absorbed into the UEFA Cup in 1999, in womens football UEFA also conducts the UEFA Womens Champions League for club teams. The competition was first held in 2001, and known as the UEFA Womens Cup until 2009, the UEFA Super Cup pits the winners of the Champions League against the winners of the Europa League, and came into being in 1973
3.
Europe
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Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
4.
Lars Olsen
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Lars Christian Olsen is a Danish former footballer and manager, who currently coaches the Faroe Islands national football team. He started his career with Randers in 2003, guiding them to promotion for the Danish Superliga. He led the team to the 2006 Danish Cup trophy, and he then coached Odense BK from 2007 to 2010. In his active career, Olsen played in the defense position. He won six Danish championships with Brøndby IF and the 1992 Turkish Cup with Trabzonspor, Olsen played 84 matches and scored four goals for the Denmark national football team from 1986 to 1996, and was named 1988 Danish Player of the Year. He was team captain of the Danish national team in a record 69 matches, born in Glostrup, Olsen started his career at local Danish 3rd Division team Glostrup IF32 in 1980. He was selected for national youth teams, and moved to top-flight Danish 1st Division team Køge BK before the 1981 season. He stayed four years at the club, playing 105 games, before the 1985 season, he moved to league rivals Brøndby IF. In his first year at the club, he helped secure Brøndbys first Danish championship and he won both the 1987 and 1988 Danish championships, and following several games as captain of the national team he received the 1988 Danish Player of the Year award. Having won the 1989 Danish Cup trophy as well as a further two Danish championships, he left Brøndby in 1991, Olsen moved abroad to play for Trabzonspor in Turkey, with whom he won the 1992 Turkish Cup. He moved on to Belgian club R. F. C, seraing in the summer of 1992, before playing for Swiss side Basel from 1994 to 1996. He moved back to Brøndby in 1996, where he finished his career winning the 1996 Danish championship and he played his last Brøndby game in November 1996. Olsen was called up by Danish national team head coach Sepp Piontek in April 1986 and he played his second national team game in May 1987, and went on to become a constant player in the starting line-up. He was selected to represent Denmark at the 1988 European Championship, lars Olsen came on as a substitute in Denmarks first game, and went on to play the remaining two games, though Denmark were eliminated from the tournament. In June 1992, he captained the team of manager Richard Møller Nielsen in Denmarks first trophy win at the 1992 European Championship. While at Basel, he lost his place in the Danish national team in November 1994 and he re-entered the Danish national team in April 1996 and Olsen was chosen to help Denmark defend the trophy at the 1996 European Championship. He did not play any games at the tournament, and he ended his career in 1996. Following his retirement from his career, Olsen managed various teams at Brøndby
5.
Captain (association football)
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The team captain is usually identified by the wearing of an armband. The only official responsibility of a captain specified by the Laws of the Game is to participate in the toss prior to kick-off. Contrary to what is said, captains have no special authority under the Laws to challenge a decision by the referee. However, referees may talk to the captain of a side about the general behaviour when necessary. At an award-giving ceremony after a fixture like a cup competition final, any trophy won by a team will be received by the captain who will also be the first one to hoist it. The captain also generally leads the teams out of the room at the start of the match. The captain generally provides a point for the team, if morale is low. Captains may join the manager in deciding the first team for a certain game, in youth or recreational football, the captain often takes on duties, that would, at a higher level, be delegated to the manager. A club captain is usually appointed for a season, if he is unavailable or not selected for a particular game, then the club vice-captain will be appointed to perform a similar role. The match captain is the first player to lift a trophy should the team win one, a good example of this was in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final when match captain Peter Schmeichel lifted the trophy for Manchester United as club captain Roy Keane was suspended. In the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, match captain Frank Lampard jointly lifted the trophy for Chelsea with club captain John Terry, a club may appoint two distinct roles, a club captain to represent the players in a public relations role, and correspondent on the pitch. After Neville retired in 2011, regular starter Nemanja Vidić was named as club captain, são Paulos Rogério Ceni is the player who has worn the captains armband the most times. A vice-captain is a player that is expected to captain the side when the captain is not included in the starting eleven, or if, during a game. Examples include Manuel Neuer succeeding Philipp Lahm at Bayern Munich, Marcelo attaining from Sergio Ramos at Real Madrid C. F, gary Cahill being the understudy of John Terry at Chelsea FC and Lionel Messi taking over from Andrés Iniesta at FC Barcelona. Similarly, some clubs also name a 3rd captain to take the role of captain when both the captain and vice-captain are unavailable, during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Germany had three captains. Michael Ballack had skippered the team since 2004, including the successful qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. Lahm ended up becoming the permanent captain of Germany, as Ballack was never called up for the national team
6.
Atli Gregersen
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Atli Gregersen is a Faroese international footballer who plays for Víkingur as a defender. He has been capped for the Faroe Islands at senior and youth level, Gregersen spent his early career playing in both the Faroe Islands and Denmark, for Randers FC, Lyngby BK, GÍ Gøta, IF Skjold, BK Frem and Víkingur. He signed for Scottish club Ross County in June 2010, before leaving the club in February 2011 and he captained the Faroe Islands a second time, against Liechtenstein on 29 March 2016, in a 3-2 win
7.
Cap (sport)
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In British sport, a cap is a metaphorical term for a players appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in a match of association football. An early illustration of the first international match between Scotland and England in 1872 shows the Scottish players wearing cowls, and the English wearing a variety of school caps. These to be termed International Caps, the act of awarding a cap is now international and is applied to other sports. Thus, a cap is awarded for each game played and so a player who has played x games, the practice of awarding a physical cap varies from sport to sport. It may be awarded prior to a debut or, particularly for national teams. As an example, the England mens association football teams still awards physical caps, Players are awarded one cap for every match they play — unless they play in a World Cup or European Championship finals tournament. Then they are given a cap for the competition — with the names of all their opponents stitched into the fabric of the cap itself. In mens association football, the record belongs to former player Ahmed Hassan of Egypt, the first footballer to win 100 international caps was Billy Wright of Englands Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wright went on to appear 105 times for England,90 of them he obtained whilst he was a captain, however, it is a players choice to refuse to play for or retire from his or her national team. In cricket, there are two types of caps, firstly, there is the international type, as described above. Some countries also award a domestic type generally known as a county cap, the latter system is most commonly applied in English county cricket. Most counties do not automatically award caps to players on their first appearance, instead, indeed, one can play at the highest domestic level for several years, and have a quite significant career in first-class cricket, without ever winning a cap. The world record for the number of caps in Test cricket is held by Sachin Tendulkar of India, Tendulkar also holds the record for One Day Internationals, with 463 caps. In rugby union,35 players have reached 100 international caps as of 5 June 2012, Players from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland are eligible for selection to the British and Irish Lions touring squad. Lions matches are classed as full international tests, and caps are awarded, the Pacific Islanders team, composed of players from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Niue and Cook Islands have a similar arrangement, although no players involved have so far reached 100 caps. Players still active at Test level are in bold type, the record for most caps is held by former Australian Kangaroos player & captain Darren Lockyer with 59 games and second place is former New Zealand Kiwis player & captain Ruben Wiki with 55 games. Players still active at Test level are in bold type, mens Records and Facts FIFA Players with 100+ Caps RSSSF Picture of International Football Cap National Museum of Scotland Gallery of International Caps and Honours Caps
8.
Kit (association football)
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In association football, kit is the standard equipment and attire worn by players. The sports Laws of the Game specify the minimum kit which a player must use, footballers generally wear identifying numbers on the backs of their shirts. Professional clubs also usually display players surnames or nicknames on their shirts, Football kit has evolved significantly since the early days of the sport when players typically wore thick cotton shirts, knickerbockers and heavy rigid leather boots. The Laws of the Game set out the equipment which must be worn by all players in Law 4. Five separate items are specified, shirt, shorts, socks, footwear, goalkeepers are allowed to wear tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts. While most players wear studded football boots, the Laws do not specify that these are required, shirts must have sleeves, and goalkeepers must wear shirts which are easily distinguishable from all other players and the match officials. Thermal undershorts may be worn, but must be the colour as the shorts themselves. Shin pads must be covered entirely by the stockings, be made of rubber, plastic or a similar material, and provide a reasonable degree of protection. The only other restriction on equipment defined in the Laws of the Game is the requirement that a player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player. In the event of a match between teams who would wear identical or similar colours the away team must change to a different colour. The England national team plays in red shirts even when it is not required. Many professional clubs also have a kit, ostensibly to be used if both their first-choice and away colours are deemed too similar to those of an opponent. Most professional clubs have retained the basic colour scheme for several decades. Teams representing countries in international competition generally wear national colours in common with other sporting teams of the same nation, shirts are normally made of a polyester mesh, which does not trap the sweat and body heat in the same way as a shirt made of a natural fibre. Depending on local rules, there may be restrictions on how large these logos may be or on what logos may be displayed, competitions such as the Premier League may also require players to wear patches on their sleeves depicting the logo of the competition. The captain of team is usually required to wear an elasticated armband around the left sleeve to identify him as the captain to the referee. Most current players wear specialist football boots, which can be either of leather or a synthetic material. Modern boots are cut slightly below the ankles, as opposed to the high-ankled boots used in former times, studs may be either moulded directly to the sole or be detachable, normally by means of a screw thread
9.
FIFA World Rankings
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The rankings were introduced in December 1992, and eight teams have held the top position, of which Brazil have spent longest ranked first. A points system is used, with points being awarded based on the results of all FIFA-recognised full international matches, the ranking system was most recently revamped after the 2006 World Cup, with the first edition of the new series of rankings issued on 12 July 2006. The most significant change is that the rankings are now based on results over the four years instead of the previous eight years. Alternative systems have been devised, such as the World Football Elo Ratings, based on the Elo rating system used in chess and Go, ranking teams. In December 1992, FIFA first published a listing in order of its member associations to provide a basis for comparison of the relative strengths of these teams. From the following August, this list was more frequently updated, significant changes were implemented in January 1999 and again in July 2006, as a reaction to criticisms of the system. Membership of FIFA has expanded from 167 to 209 since the rankings began, the ranking formula used from August 1993 until December 1998 was very simplistic and quickly became noticed for its lack of supporting factors. When the rankings were introduced, a team received one point for a draw or three for a victory in FIFA-recognised matches – much the same as a traditional league scoring system. This was a simplistic approach, however, and FIFA quickly realised that there were many factors affecting international matches. In order to meet the objective of fairly and accurately comparing the strengths of various national sides. In January 1999, FIFA introduced a system of ranking calculation. For the ranking all matches, their scores and importance were all recorded, only matches for the senior mens national team were included. Separate ranking systems were used for other national sides such as womens and junior teams. The womens rankings were, and still are, based on a procedure which is a version of the Football Elo Ratings. FIFA announced that the system would be updated following the 2006 World Cup. The evaluation period was cut from eight to four years, goals scored and home or away advantage are no longer taken into account, and other aspects of the calculations, including the importance attributed to different types of match, have been revised. The first set of revised rankings and the methodology were announced on 12 July 2006. This change is rooted at least in part in widespread criticism of the ranking system
10.
World Football Elo Ratings
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The World Football Elo Ratings is a ranking system for mens national association football teams that is published by the website eloratings. net. It is based on the Elo rating system but includes modifications to take various football-specific variables into account, like the margin of victory, importance of a match, and home field advantage. Other implementations of the Elo rating system are possible and there is no single nor any official Elo ranking for football teams. The FIFA World Rankings, not based on the Elo method, is the national teams rating system used by the international governing body of football and is therefore more prevalent. The ratings consider all international A matches for which results could be found, Ratings tend to converge on a teams true strength relative to its competitors after about 30 matches. Ratings for teams with fewer than 30 matches should be considered provisional, the FIFA Womens World Rankings system uses a modified version of the Elo formula whereas the FIFA mens ranking system uses a non-Elo formula. The following table shows the top 100 teams in the World Football Elo Ratings on 29 March 2017, each national teams FIFA World Rankings are shown as they were in the latest release on 6 April 2017. Time averaged Elo or Elo-like scores are used to compare chess player strengths. The following is a list of the teams with the highest average Elo score from 1 January 1970 to 1 January 2017. Before this time intercontinental play was limited and many nations in Africa, North America. The team in each confederation that has achieved the highest rank is shown in color, the following is a list of national football teams ranked by their highest Elo ranking ever reached. Note that for the highest ranking/rating of a football team the Elo ratings website ignores the ranking/rating before 30 matches have been played. The table below shows the teams with the best average Elo score per decade, a list of the 16 matches between teams with the highest combined Elo ratings. A list of the matches with the biggest point exchange, the nations points before the matches are given. In 1997 Bob Runyan adapted the Elo rating system to international football and he was also the first maintainer of the World Football Elo Ratings web site, now maintained by Kirill Bulygin. The Elo system was adapted for football by adding a weighting for the kind of match, an adjustment for the home advantage. Ratings tend to converge on a teams true strength relative to its competitors after about 30 matches, Ratings for teams with fewer than 30 matches should be considered provisional. There is no first step as in the FIFA system where a team receives points for the result
11.
Iceland national football team
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The Iceland mens national football team is the national mens football team of Iceland and is controlled by the Football Association of Iceland. Although Iceland is one of Europes smaller football nations, the team has enjoyed success in the 21st century. In the qualifying rounds for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Iceland reached the play offs before losing to Croatia, Iceland reached its first major tournament, UEFA Euro 2016, after a qualification campaign which included home and away wins over the Netherlands. In doing so, they became the smallest ever nation to qualify for a major tournament, Iceland was allocated to Euro 2016 Group F. Birkir Bjarnason scored Icelands first major tournament goal in the 50th minute against Portugal in a group stage match. After advancing to the stages of Euro 2016, Iceland defeated England in the Round of 16, advancing to the quarter-finals. Iceland finished eighth in the tournament, with two wins, two draws and one defeat, although Úrvalsdeild, the Icelandic Football League, was founded in 1912, the countrys first international match was only played on 29 July 1930, against the Faroe Islands. Although Iceland won 1–0 away, both teams were at the time unaffiliated with FIFA, the first match officially recognised by FIFA took place in Reykjavík on 27 July 1946, a 0–3 defeat to Denmark. The first international victory was against Finland in 1947, for the first 20 years of the Football Association of Iceland s existence, the team did not participate in qualifying for the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championship. In 1954, Iceland applied to part in qualification for UEFA Euro 1956. In qualification for the 1958 World Cup, Iceland finished last in their group with zero wins, since 1974, the team has taken part inempted to qualifying for every World Cup and European Championship, but until recently without success. In 1994, the team was awarded their then best ever position in the FIFA World Rankings, in qualification for Euro 2004, Iceland finished third of their group, one point behind Scotland. If they had finished second, they would have made a playoff spot, in 2014, Iceland almost became the smallest nation to reach the World Cup Play offs. Finishing second in Group D, they played Croatia in a playoff for qualification. After holding them to a 0–0 draw in the home leg, during the qualification, they reached their then highest ranking in the FIFA World Rankings, 23rd. Iceland were drawn into a group with Portugal, Hungary and Austria for the final tournament, at the tournament finals, Iceland recorded 1–1 draws in their first two group stage matches against Portugal and Hungary. They then advanced from their pool with a 2–1 victory against Austria, Iceland qualified for the tournaments quarter-finals after a surprising 2–1 win against England in the Round of 16. However, they were eliminated by France in the quarter-finals, 5–2, as of 28 March 2017 This is a list of Icelandic national team complete records, both friendlies and competitive matches. Countries that are in italics are not members of FIFA or are former countries, UEFA, Rest of the World Last updated 23 November 2016
12.
Faroe Islands
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The Faroe Islands, also spelled the Faeroes, is an archipelago between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic, about halfway between Norway and Iceland,320 kilometres north-northwest of Scotland. Its area is about 1,400 square kilometres with a population of 49,188 in 2016, the Faeroe Islands is an autonomous country within the Danish Realm. The land of the Faeroes is rugged, and these islands have an oceanic climate, windy, wet, cloudy. Despite this island groups northerly latitude, temperatures average above freezing throughout the year because of the Gulf Stream, between 1035 and 1814, the Faeroes were part of the Hereditary Kingdom of Norway. In 1814, the Treaty of Kiel granted Denmark control over the islands, the Faroe Islands have been a self-governing country within the Kingdom of Denmark since 1948. The Faroese have control of most domestic matters, areas that remain the responsibility of Denmark include military defence, the police department, the justice department, currency, and foreign affairs. However, as they are not part of the customs area as Denmark, the Faroe Islands have an independent trade policy. The islands also have representation in the Nordic Council as members of the Danish delegation, the people of the Faroe Islands also compete as national team in certain sports. In Danish, the name Færøerne may reflect an Old Norse word fær, the morpheme øerne represents a plural of ø in Danish. The Danish name thus translates as the islands of sheep, in Faroese, the name appears as Føroyar. Oyar represents the plural of oy, older Faroese for island, the modern Faeroese word for island is oyggj. In the English language, their name is sometimes spelled Faeroe, archaeological evidence shows settlers living on the Faroe Islands in two successive periods prior to the arrival of the Norse, the first between 400 and 600 and the second between 600 and 800. Scientists from the University of Aberdeen have also found early cereal pollen from domesticated plants, archaeologist Mike Church noted that Dicuil mentioned what may have been the Faroes. He also suggested that the living there might have been from Ireland, Scotland or Scandinavia. A Latin account of a made by Brendan, an Irish monastic saint who lived around 484–578. This association, however, is far from conclusive in its description, Dicuil, an Irish monk of the early 9th century, wrote a more definite account. 800, bringing Old West Norse, which evolved into the modern Faroese language, according to Icelandic sagas such as Færeyjar Saga, one of the best known men in the island was Tróndur í Gøtu, a descendant of Scandinavian chiefs who had settled in Dublin, Ireland. Tróndur led the battle against Sigmund Brestursson, the Norwegian monarchy, a traditional name for the islands in Irish, Na Scigirí, possibly refers to the Skeggjar Beards, a nickname given to island dwellers
13.
Akranes
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Akranes is a port town and municipality on the west coast of Iceland, around 20 km north of the capital Reykjavík. The area where Akranes is located was settled in the 9th century, Akranes was settled in the 9th century by the brothers Þormóður and Ketill, sons of Bresi. The town started to form in the century as a fishing village. In 1942, it was chartered, and in the following years it had the biggest surge in population in its history. Industry has been a big and growing employer, a cement plant has operated in the town since the 1950s. The fishing industry remains the towns most important source of employment, Akranes has a strong football tradition. The local team, ÍA, has for years been among the best of the Icelandic football league. Former Sheffield Wednesday and Arsenal midfielder Siggi Jonsson was born in Akranes and had three spells as a player with ÍA, Akranes was the birthplace of the Atom poet Jón Óskar. The town is home to sports club Íþróttabandalag Akraness, most notable for its football team
14.
Iceland
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Iceland is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of 332,529 and an area of 103,000 km2, the capital and largest city is Reykjavík. Reykjavík and the areas in the southwest of the country are home to over two-thirds of the population. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active, the interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains and glaciers, while many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence still keeps summers chilly, with most of the archipelago having a tundra climate. According to the ancient manuscript Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in the year 874 AD when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first permanent settler on the island. In the following centuries, Norwegians, and to a lesser extent other Scandinavians, emigrated to Iceland, the island was governed as an independent commonwealth under the Althing, one of the worlds oldest functioning legislative assemblies. Following a period of strife, Iceland acceded to Norwegian rule in the 13th century. The establishment of the Kalmar Union in 1397 united the kingdoms of Norway, Denmark, Iceland thus followed Norways integration to that Union and came under Danish rule after Swedens secession from that union in 1523. In the wake of the French revolution and the Napoleonic wars, Icelands struggle for independence took form and culminated in independence in 1918, until the 20th century, Iceland relied largely on subsistence fishing and agriculture, and was among the poorest in Europe. Industrialisation of the fisheries and Marshall Plan aid following World War II brought prosperity, in 1994, it became a part of the European Economic Area, which further diversified the economy into sectors such as finance, biotechnology, and manufacturing. Iceland has an economy with relatively low taxes compared to other OECD countries. It maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. Iceland ranks high in economic, political and social stability and equality, in 2013, it was ranked as the 13th most-developed country in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index. Iceland runs almost completely on renewable energy, some bankers were jailed, and the economy has made a significant recovery, in large part due to a surge in tourism. Icelandic culture is founded upon the nations Scandinavian heritage, most Icelanders are descendants of Germanic and Gaelic settlers. Icelandic, a North Germanic language, is descended from Old Norse and is related to Faroese
15.
San Marino national football team
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The San Marino national football team is the national football team of San Marino, controlled by the San Marino Football Federation. The team represents the second smallest population of any UEFA member, the first official game played by a San Marino team was a 4–0 defeat in a European Championships qualifier by Switzerland in 1990. Previously, a San Marino side had lost 1–0 to a Canadian Olympic team in 1986, since making their competitive bow, San Marino have competed in qualifying for every European Championships and World Cup, but have never won a match in either competition. They have only won one game, beating Liechtenstein 1–0 in a friendly match on 28 April 2004. Until November 2014 San Marino were tied in last place in the FIFA World Rankings and they were tied for last with Bhutan, in the October 2014 rankings, a 0–0 draw with Estonia during the Euro 2016 qualifying rounds ensured their departure from the foot of the rankings. The national side made their first away goal in fourteen years against another Baltic side, Lithuania, San Marino gained affiliation to governing bodies FIFA and UEFA in 1988, allowing the team to participate in major championships. Prior to this, Sammarinese players had been considered Italian in international football contexts, San Marinos first match in a FIFA sanctioned competition was against Switzerland on 14 November 1990 in a qualifier for the 1992 European Championships. San Marino lost 4–0, and went to all eight qualifiers. The team particularly struggled in away matches, losing every one by at least four goals, San Marino scored only one goal, a penalty in a 3–1 defeat at home by Romania, and conceded 33 goals in total. For their first World Cup qualifying campaign, San Marino were drawn in a group with England, the opening match resulted in a 10–0 hammering at the hands of Norway. The return match was less one-sided, finishing 2–0 to the Norwegians, a 4–1 defeat in Turkey saw San Marino score their first World Cup goal, and a 0–0 draw against the same opposition on 10 March 1993 gave them their first ever point. In their final qualifier, against England, Davide Gualtieri scored the second fastest goal in World Cup Qualifying history—after 8.3 seconds—though the team went on to lose 7–1, San Marino finished the campaign with one point, and conceded 46 goals in 10 matches. The teams qualification campaign for Euro 1996 followed a pattern to that of the previous European championships. A match away to Finland gave San Marino their first goal away from home in the European championships, but the team lost 4–1. Their only other goal came in a 3–1 home defeat by the Faroe Islands, in the return match, a 3–0 scoreline in Toftir, is the Faroe Islands record competitive win. Even by Sammarinese standards, qualification for the 1998 World Cup was disappointing, losing every game by three goals or more, San Marino failed to score a single goal. This is the only World Cup qualifying tournament in which they have failed to score, Qualification for Euro 2000 again resulted in defeats in every game. The closest game was against Cyprus, a 1–0 defeat on 18 November 1998, in April 2001, San Marino gained their first ever away point, drawing 1–1 with Latvia in Riga
16.
Toftir
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Toftir is a village in Nes Municipality on the island of Eysturoy, in the Faroe Islands. Toftir is part of a chain of villages stretching over a distance of 10 kilometres on the east side of Skálafjørður on Eysturoy island. The highest hill in Toftir, called Húkslond, is only 129 metres high, and Nes Municipality is the area in Faroe. Toftir is served by Bus 440 which connects with Bus 400 for Tórshavn at Skipanes Junction, the settlement of Toftir dates back to the landnám period. According to local lore, only one survived the Black Death. The village name prior to the Black Death is said to have been Hella, meaning slope, Toftir has one major retail store with late opening hours, one café Í Hópinum, which serves liquor, and a shop, Navia which sells woollens and also souvenirs. The limited shopping options are explained by Toftirs close proximity to Runavík, Toftir has a relatively big harbour with a big filleting plant that was started in 1969, and hosts the headquarters of Faroe Fish Market, the only real Fish Auction in the Islands. A number of new industries have also built on the harbour in recent years. The new church in Toftir, Fríðrikskirkjan was built in 1994, other local religious communities include the Inner mission which is a revivalist movement of the Church of the Faroe Islands, the Plymouth Brethren and the Bahái Community. The major sports venue in Toftir is the Svangaskarð, the first of its kind in the Faroe Islands, like most Faroese settlements, Toftir used to participate in the National Rowing sport of the Faroe Islands, but ceased participating in this sport in the 1980s. The villages football team, B68 Toftir, was established in 1962 and has won the Faroese league 3 times, the local swimming club Flot was established in 1984, it participates in the national swimming competitions in the islands. In 2009 a Volleyball team was established in Toftir, in 2010 the name Ternan was chosen for the team, Toftir is also home to one of the pioneering chess clubs in the islands, Tofta Talvfelag which has won the Islands Chess Championships once. Nes Municipality B68 FC-Toftir Nes Municipality Antiques Society & Museum Framtak
17.
Gibraltar national football team
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The Gibraltar national football team represents Gibraltar in football competitions and is controlled by the Gibraltar Football Association. On 13 May 2016 Gibraltar became a member of FIFA at the governing bodys 66th Congress which was held in Mexico City, with a population of 30,000 Gibraltar is the smallest UEFA member in terms of population. Despite not being an island, Gibraltar set up its first official side for the competition at the 1993 Island Games and has been a regular in the tournament. The result was a 2–1 loss for the Gibraltarians, the side also managed a draw with Real Madrid in 1949. Before joining UEFA, Gibraltar competed in football competitions, most regularly in the Island Games. The first competition the team entered was the 1993 Island Games, Gibraltar lost all of its matches, scoring only one goal and finishing in last place. They had much success in the 1995 Island Games, which they hosted. Despite losing their game against Greenland, Gibraltar bounced back to record their first competitive win. Another victory over Anglesey saw Gibraltar finish second in the group, ahead of Anglesey only on goal difference, there, they beat Jersey 1–0, before losing the final to the Isle of Wight by the same scoreline. In the 1997 Island Games, two wins and two losses in the stage, followed by a defeat to Shetland in a playoff. Another poor performance in 1999 saw them finish 11th, Island Games results improved slightly in 2001, as they came 5th, and in 2003 Gibraltar recorded their biggest win ever, defeating Sark 19–0. Other good results against Greenland and Orkney saw them finish 6th out of 12, despite these minor successes, Gibraltar did not enter the 2005 tournament. A football team represented Gibraltar at the 2015 edition of the games even after Gibraltar was accepted by UEFA, however, the squad was a development team composed of under-19s and over-aged players with no first team senior squad members taking part. The team will be coached by John Moreno, *Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won. Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil, in early summer 2006 Gibraltar participated in the 2006 FIFI Wild Cup where it was ranked 3rd. The tournament was an alternative World Cup for non FIFA members, in Gibraltars opening match, they drew 1–1 with the hosts, the Republic of St. Pauli, before beating Tibet 5–0 in their second group game to qualify for the semi-finals. There they lost 2–0 to eventual champions Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, in the third place playoff, Gibraltar had a rematch against St. Pauli. This time Gibraltar were able to defeat the hosts, to finish in place out of the six teams
18.
Gibraltar
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Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 and shares its border with Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the landmark of the region. At its foot is a populated city area, home to over 30,000 Gibraltarians. An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession on behalf of the Habsburg claim to the Spanish throne, the territory was subsequently ceded to Great Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Today Gibraltars economy is based largely on tourism, online gambling, financial services, the sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians overwhelmingly rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum, under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defence and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the British government. The name Gibraltar is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq, earlier, it was known as Mons Calpe, a name of Phoenician origin and one of the Pillars of Hercules. The pronunciation of the name in modern Spanish is, evidence of Neanderthal habitation in Gibraltar between 28,000 and 24,000 BP has been discovered at Gorhams Cave, making Gibraltar possibly the last known holdout of the Neanderthals. Within recorded history, the first inhabitants were the Phoenicians, around 950 BC, subsequently, Gibraltar became known as one of the Pillars of Hercules, after the Greek legend of the creation of the Strait of Gibraltar by Heracles. The Carthaginians and Romans also established semi-permanent settlements, after the collapse of the Roman Empire, Gibraltar came briefly under the control of the Vandals. The area later formed part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania from 414 AD until the Islamic conquest of Iberia in 711 AD, in 1160, the Almohad Sultan Abd al-Mumin ordered that a permanent settlement, including a castle, be built. It received the name of Medinat al-Fath, on completion of the works in the town, the Sultan crossed the Strait to look at the works and stayed in Gibraltar for two months. The Tower of Homage of the Moorish Castle remains standing today, from 1274 onwards, the town was fought over and captured by the Nasrids of Granada, the Marinids of Morocco and the kings of Castile. In 1462, Gibraltar was finally captured by Juan Alonso de Guzmán, after the conquest, King Henry IV of Castile assumed the additional title of King of Gibraltar, establishing it as part of the comarca of the Campo Llano de Gibraltar. In 1501, Gibraltar passed back to the Spanish Crown, the occupation of the town by Alliance forces caused the exodus of the population to the surrounding area of the Campo de Gibraltar. As the Alliances campaign faltered, the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht was negotiated and ceded control of Gibraltar to Britain to secure Britains withdrawal from the war. Unsuccessful attempts by Spanish monarchs to regain Gibraltar were made with the siege of 1727 and again with the Great Siege of Gibraltar, during the American War of Independence
19.
Liechtenstein national football team
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The Liechtenstein national football team is the national football team of the Principality of Liechtenstein and is controlled by the Liechtenstein Football Association. The organisation is known as the Liechtensteiner Fussballverband in German, the teams first match was an unofficial match against Malta in Seoul, a 1–1 draw in 1981. Their first official match came two years later, a 0–1 defeat from Switzerland. Liechtensteins largest win, a 4–0 win over Luxembourg in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier on 13 October 2004, was both its first away win ever and its first win in any World Cup qualifier. Liechtenstein are only a relatively recent affiliate to FIFA, and did not participate in any qualifying series until the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifiers, there they managed to surprise the Republic of Ireland by holding them to a 0–0 draw on 3 June 1995. On 14 October 1998, they managed their first victory in a campaign by winning 2–1 against Azerbaijan in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying match. Since then, the presence of Liechtenstein clubs in the Swiss league system, the Euro 2004 qualifiers saw Liechtenstein improve to the extent they restricted England to 2–0 wins. The 2006 World Cup qualifiers, however, brought even better results as two wins over Luxembourg and draws against both Slovakia and Portugal meant that Liechtenstein finished with eight points. From their qualifying campaigns, the one that received the most points was their 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign. The following players were called up in the last 12 months, as recorded in the subsequent book Stamping Grounds, Liechtensteins Quest for the World Cup, Liechtenstein lost all eight games without scoring a goal. RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers Liechtensteiner Fussballverbund Die Elf, documentary film about Liechtenstein national team
20.
Marbella
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Marbella is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the region, Marbella is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, between Málaga and the Strait of Gibraltar, in the foothills of the Sierra Blanca. The municipality covers an area of 117 square kilometres crossed by highways on the coast, in 2012 the population of the city was 140,473 inhabitants, making it the second most populous municipality in the province of Málaga and the eighth in Andalusia. It is one of the most important tourist cities of the Costa del Sol and throughout most of the year is an international tourist attraction, due mainly to its climate and tourist infrastructure. The city also has a significant archaeological heritage, several museums and performance spaces, and a cultural calendar with events ranging from reggae concerts to opera performances. Due to the proximity of the mountains to the coast, the city has a gap between its north and south sides, thus providing views of the sea and mountain vistas from almost every part of the city. The coastline is heavily urbanised, most of the land not built up with golf courses has been developed with residential areas. Marbella is bordered on the north by the municipalities of Istán and Ojén, on the northwest by Benahavís, on the west by Estepona, the Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. There are five units, the Sierra Blanca, the Sierra Blanca piedmont, the lower hill country, the plains. The Sierra Blanca is most centrally located in the province, looming over the old village, Marbellas topography is characterised by extensive coastal plains formed from eroded mountains. After the plain lies an area of higher elevations of between 100 and 400 m, occupied by low hills, behind which rise the foothills, the coast is generally low and sandy beaches that are more extensive further east, between the fishing port and the Cabopino. Despite the intense urbanisation of the coast, it retains a natural area of dunes at the eastern end of town. The entire region lies within the Andalusian Mediterranean Basin, the rivers are short and have very steep banks, so that flash floods are common. These include the Guadalmina, the Guadaiza, the Verde and the Rio Real, the irregularity of rainfall has resulted in intermittent rivers that often run dry in summer, most of the many streams that cross the city have been bridged. Marbella is protected on its side by the coastal mountains of the Cordillera Penibética. The highest peaks of the mountains are covered with snow. Average rainfall is 628 l/m², while hours of sunshine average 2,900 annually. The fauna is represented by golden eagles, Bonellis eagles, short-toed eagles, hawks, falcons, vultures, genets or musk cats, badgers, wild goats, deer, martens, foxes and rabbits
21.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
22.
Yugoslavia national football team
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The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed success in international competition, in 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international competition as part of a United Nations sanction. In 1994, when the boycott was lifted, it was succeeded by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia national football team, Serbia national football team inherited Yugoslavias spot within FIFA and UEFA and is considered by both organisations as the only successor of Yugoslavia. The first national team was in the kingdom, that existed between the two world wars and they lost by a huge margin 0–7, but nonetheless got their names in the history books. In 1929, the country was renamed to Yugoslavia and the association became Fudbalski Savez Jugoslavije. The national team participated at the 1930 FIFA World Cup, finishing in fourth place, Yugoslavia begin their football campaign by defeating Luxembourg 6–1, with five different players scoring the goals. In the quarter-finals and the semi-finals, they would take out Turkey, in the final though, they would lose to Sweden. Having a team with players from the 1948 generation, Yugoslavia was a formidable side at the 1952 Summer Olympics. Against the USSR, Yugoslavia was 5–1 up with 15 minutes of their first round match to go, the Yugoslavs, understandably, put their feet up. Arthur Ellis, the referee, recorded what happened next in his book, The Final Whistle. Bobrov, their captain, scored a magnificent hat-trick, after the USSR had reduced the lead to 5–2, he, almost single-handed, took the score to 5–5, scoring his third in the last minute. For once, use of the word sensational was justified, although Bobrovs early goal in their replay presaged a miraculous recovery, Yugoslavia recovered sufficiently to put out their opponents easily in the second half. The federation and football overall was disrupted by World War II, after the war, a socialist federation was formed and the football federation reconstituted. It was one of the members of the UEFA and it organized the 1976 European Championship played in Belgrade. The national team participated in eight World Cups, four Euros, dragan Džajić holds the record for the most national team caps at 85, between 1964 and 1979. The best scorer is Stjepan Bobek with 38 goals, between 1946 and 1956, with the end of the Cold War, democratic principles were introduced to the country which brought about the end of Titoist rule. In the subsequent atmosphere, national tensions were heightened, at the Yugoslavia-Netherlands friendly in preparation for the 1990 World Cup, the Croatian crowd in Zagreb jeered the Yugoslav team and anthem and waved Dutch flags. With the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the split up and the remaining team of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was banned from competing at Euro 92
23.
Belgrade
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Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and its name translates to White city. The urban area of the City of Belgrade has a population of 1.34 million, one of the most important prehistoric cultures of Europe, the Vinča culture, evolved within the Belgrade area in the 6th millennium BC. In antiquity, Thraco-Dacians inhabited the region, and after 279 BC Celts conquered the city and it was conquered by the Romans during the reign of Augustus, and awarded city rights in the mid-2nd century. In 1521, Belgrade was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and became the seat of the Sanjak of Smederevo and it frequently passed from Ottoman to Habsburg rule, which saw the destruction of most of the city during the Austro-Ottoman wars. Belgrade was again named the capital of Serbia in 1841, northern Belgrade remained the southernmost Habsburg post until 1918, when the city was reunited. As a strategic location, the city was battled over in 115 wars, Belgrade was the capital of Yugoslavia from its creation in 1918, to its final dissolution in 2006. Belgrade has an administrative status within Serbia and it is one of five statistical regions of Serbia. Its metropolitan territory is divided into 17 municipalities, each with its own local council, City of Belgrade covers 3. 6% of Serbias territory, and 22. 5% of the countrys population lives within its administrative limits. It is classified as a Beta- global city, chipped stone tools found at Zemun show that the area around Belgrade was inhabited by nomadic foragers in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras. Some of these belong to the Mousterian industry, which are associated with Neanderthals rather than modern humans. Aurignacian and Gravettian tools have also discovered there, indicating occupation between 50,000 and 20,000 years ago. The first farming people to settle in the region are associated with the Neolithic Starčevo culture, there are several Starčevo sites in and around Belgrade, including the eponymous site of Starčevo. The Starčevo culture was succeeded by the Vinča culture, a more sophisticated farming culture that grew out of the earlier Starčevo settlements which is named for a site in the Belgrade region. Evidence of early knowledge about Belgrades geographical location comes from ancient myths, the rock overlooking the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers has been identified as one of the place in the story of Jason and the Argonauts. The Paleo-Balkan tribes of Thracians and Dacians ruled this area prior to the Roman conquest, Belgrade was inhabited by a Thraco-Dacian tribe Singi, after the Celtic invasion in 279 BC, the Scordisci took the city, naming it Singidūn. In 34–33 BC the Roman army led by Silanus reached Belgrade, jovian reestablished Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, ending the brief revival of traditional Roman religions under his predecessor Julian the Apostate. In 395 AD, the passed to the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire
24.
Yugoslavia
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Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe during most of the 20th century. The Serbian royal House of Karađorđević became the Yugoslav royal dynasty, Yugoslavia gained international recognition on 13 July 1922 at the Conference of Ambassadors in Paris. The country was named after the South Slavic peoples and constituted their first union, following centuries in which the territories had been part of the Ottoman Empire, renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on 3 October 1929, it was invaded by the Axis powers on 6 April 1941. In 1943, a Democratic Federal Yugoslavia was proclaimed by the Partisan resistance, in 1944, the king recognised it as the legitimate government, but in November 1945 the monarchy was abolished. Yugoslavia was renamed the Federal Peoples Republic of Yugoslavia in 1946 and it acquired the territories of Istria, Rijeka, and Zadar from Italy. Partisan leader Josip Broz Tito ruled the country as president until his death in 1980, in 1963, the country was renamed again as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The constituent six socialist republics that made up the country were the SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SR Croatia, SR Macedonia, SR Montenegro, SR Serbia, and SR Slovenia. Serbia contained two Socialist Autonomous Provinces, Vojvodina and Kosovo, which after 1974 were largely equal to the members of the federation. After an economic and political crisis in the 1980s and the rise of nationalism, Yugoslavia broke up along its republics borders, at first into five countries, eventually, Serbia and Montenegro accepted the opinion of the Badinter Arbitration Committee about shared succession. Serbia and Montenegro themselves broke up in 2006 and became independent states, the concept of Yugoslavia, as a single state for all South Slavic peoples, emerged in the late 17th century and gained prominence through the Illyrian Movement of the 19th century. The name was created by the combination of the Slavic words jug, Yugoslavia was the result of the Corfu Declaration, as a project of the Serbian Parliament in exile and the Serbian royal Karađorđević dynasty, who became the Yugoslav royal dynasty. The country was formed in 1918 immediately after World War I as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes by union of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and it was commonly referred to at the time as the Versailles state. Later, the government renamed the country leading to the first official use of Yugoslavia in 1929, on 6 January 1929 King Alexander I suspended the constitution, banned national political parties, assumed executive power and renamed the country Yugoslavia. He hoped to curb separatist tendencies and mitigate nationalist passions and he imposed a new constitution and relinquished his dictatorship in 1931. None of these three regimes favored the policy pursued by Alexander I, Alexander attempted to create a centralised Yugoslavia. He decided to abolish Yugoslavias historic regions, and new internal boundaries were drawn for provinces or banovinas, the banovinas were named after rivers. Many politicians were jailed or kept under police surveillance, the effect of Alexanders dictatorship was to further alienate the non-Serbs from the idea of unity. During his reign the flags of Yugoslav nations were banned, Alexander was succeeded by his eleven-year-old son Peter II and a regency council headed by his cousin, Prince Paul
25.
Romania national football team
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The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation. Romania is one of four national teams from Europe, the other three being Yugoslavia, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first FIFA World Cup in 1930. Since that performance, Romania have qualified for the 1934,1938,1970,1990,1994 and 1998 editions and they also reached the last eight in 1960 and 1972, and qualified for the 1984,1996,2008 and 2016 tournaments. The Romanian Football Federation was established in October 1909 in Bucharest, Romania played their first international match on 8 June 1922, a 2–1 win over Yugoslavia in Belgrade, being coached by Teofil Moraru. Several temporary coaches were employed, before Moraru resumed control in August 1924, Romania enjoyed some success during the 1930s, manager Costel Rădulescu took them to the first three FIFA World Cup tournaments, a feat matched only by Brazil, Belgium and France. Romania qualified for the next World Cup in 1934 after beating Yugoslavia 2–1 in a repeat of their first international. At the finals, Romania played only one game in a new format, losing 2–1 to Czechoslovakia in Trieste, Italy. Romania qualified by default for the 1938 World Cup after their playoff opponents Egypt withdrew. They suffered a defeat in the finals in France, losing to minnows Cuba, who, like Romania, had only qualified due to the withdrawal of their qualifying opponents. The first match at the Stade Chapou in Toulouse ended 3–3 after extra time, angelo Niculescus promising side were given the toughest of draws, in Group 3 with holders England, giants Brazil and Czechoslovakia. A Geoff Hurst goal gave England a narrow victory in Romanias first match at the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara, chances were improved with a 2–1 win over the Czechs. Despite going behind early to a Ladislav Petráš goal, Romania turned it around after half-time with Alexandru Neagu, even then, only a win over the excellent Brazilians would take them into the quarter-finals. But Brazil played some of the best football of the competition, with Pelé scoring twice, Romania battled bravely, Dumitrache pulled the score back to 2–1 before the break and a late Emerich Dembrowski goal made it 3–2, but they were out. On 26 September 1973, under new coach Valentin Stanescu, Romania suffered a significant defeat to East Germany in Leipzig, the East Germans won 2–0 to effectively seal their first ever qualification for the World Cup, which would be held over the border in West Germany. With East Germany scoring a predictable 4–1 win in Albania, Romania were out, Romania continued to suffer poor form in the UEFA European Championship. In their qualifying group for the 1976 European Football Championship, they were out-qualified by Spain despite an impressive 1–1 draw in the away match, Romania failed to win matches, drawing twice with Scotland and Spain and dropping points in Denmark with a dismal goalless draw. Romania were again beat by Spain for a place in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, despite a 1–0 win in Bucharest, Romania lost a bizarre match at home to Yugoslavia 6–4 having led 3–2 at half time. Spain won 1–0 in Belgrade to seal passage to South America, Romanias sole successful qualifying campaign was for the European Championships in 1984 in France
26.
Bucharest
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Bucharest is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, at 44°25′57″N 26°06′14″E, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than 60 km north of the Danube River, Bucharest was first mentioned in documents in 1459. It became the capital of Romania in 1862 and is the centre of Romanian media, culture and its architecture is a mix of historical, interbellum, communist-era and modern. In the period between the two World Wars, the citys elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nickname of Little Paris. Although buildings and districts in the city centre were heavily damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes. In recent years, the city has been experiencing an economic, in 2016, the historical city centre was listed as endangered by the World Monuments Watch. According to the 2011 census,1,883,425 inhabitants live within the city limits, the urban area extends beyond the limits of Bucharest proper and has a population of about 1.9 million people. Adding the satellite towns around the area, the proposed metropolitan area of Bucharest would have a population of 2.27 million people. According to Eurostat, Bucharest has an urban zone of 2,183,091 residents. According to unofficial data, the population is more than 3 million, Bucharest is the sixth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits, after London, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, and Paris. Economically, Bucharest is the most prosperous city in Romania and is one of the industrial centres. The city has big convention facilities, educational institutes, cultural venues, traditional shopping arcades, the Romanian name București has an uncertain origin. Tradition connects the founding of Bucharest with the name of Bucur, who was a prince, an outlaw, a fisherman, in Romanian, the word stem bucurie means joy, and it is believed to be of Dacian origin. Other etymologies are given by scholars, including the one of an Ottoman traveler, Evliya Çelebi. A native or resident of Bucharest is called a Bucharester, Bucharests history alternated periods of development and decline from the early settlements in antiquity until its consolidation as the national capital of Romania late in the 19th century. First mentioned as the Citadel of București in 1459, it became the residence of the famous Wallachian prince Vlad III the Impaler, the Ottomans appointed Greek administrators to run the town from the 18th century. A short-lived revolt initiated by Tudor Vladimirescu in 1821 led to the end of the rule of Constantinople Greeks in Bucharest, the Old Princely Court was erected by Mircea Ciobanul in the mid-16th century. Under subsequent rulers, Bucharest was established as the residence of the royal court
27.
Romania
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Romania is a sovereign state located in Southeastern Europe. It borders the Black Sea, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia and it has an area of 238,391 square kilometres and a temperate-continental climate. With over 19 million inhabitants, the country is the member state of the European Union. Its capital and largest city, Bucharest, is the sixth-largest city in the EU, the River Danube, Europes second-longest river, rises in Germany and flows in a general southeast direction for 2,857 km, coursing through ten countries before emptying into Romanias Danube Delta. The Carpathian Mountains, which cross Romania from the north to the southwest are marked by one of their tallest peaks, Moldoveanu, modern Romania was formed in 1859 through a personal union of the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The new state, officially named Romania since 1866, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877, at the end of World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the sovereign Kingdom of Romania. Romania lost several territories, of which Northern Transylvania was regained after the war, following the war, Romania became a socialist republic and member of the Warsaw Pact. After the 1989 Revolution, Romania began a transition back towards democracy and it has been a member of NATO since 2004, and part of the European Union since 2007. A strong majority of the population identify themselves as Eastern Orthodox Christians and are speakers of Romanian. The cultural history of Romania is often referred to when dealing with artists, musicians, inventors. For similar reasons, Romania has been the subject of notable tourist attractions, Romania derives from the Latin romanus, meaning citizen of Rome. The first known use of the appellation was attested in the 16th century by Italian humanists travelling in Transylvania, Moldavia, after the abolition of serfdom in 1746, the word rumân gradually fell out of use and the spelling stabilised to the form român. Tudor Vladimirescu, a leader of the early 19th century. The use of the name Romania to refer to the homeland of all Romanians—its modern-day meaning—was first documented in the early 19th century. The name has been officially in use since 11 December 1861, in English, the name of the country was formerly spelt Rumania or Roumania. Romania became the predominant spelling around 1975, Romania is also the official English-language spelling used by the Romanian government. The Neolithic-Age Cucuteni area in northeastern Romania was the region of the earliest European civilization. Evidence from this and other sites indicates that the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture extracted salt from salt-laden spring water through the process of briquetage
28.
Norway national football team
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The Norway mens national football team represents Norway in international association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norways home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their coach is Lars Lagerbäck. It is, as of March 2017, ranked by FIFA as the 81st best national team in the world, Norway has participated three times in the FIFA World Cup, and once in the UEFA European Championship. Norway is also notable as the national team that has never lost any of the matches it has played against Brazil. In four matches played, Norway has a 2–0–2 record against Brazil, Norways performances in international football have usually been weaker than those of their Scandinavian neighbours Sweden and Denmark, but they did have a golden age in the late 1930s. An Olympic team achieved third place in the 1936 Olympics, after beating the hosts Germany earlier in the tournament, Norway also qualified for the 1938 FIFA World Cup, where they lost 2–1 after extra time against eventual champions Italy. This turned out to be Norways last World Cup finals appearance in 56 years, in the post-war years, up to and including the 1980s, Norway was usually considered as one of the weaker nations in Europe. They never qualified for a World Cup or European Championship in this period, Norway had their most successful period from 1990 to 1998 under the legendary coach Egil Drillo Olsen. At its height in the mid-90s the team was ranked second on the FIFA World Rankings. In the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Norway was knocked out at the stage after a win against Mexico, a defeat against Italy. Former under-21 coach Nils Johan Semb replaced Olsen after the retirement of the latter. Under Sembs guidance, Norway qualified for Euro 2000, which remains their last finals appearance to date, Semb resigned at the end of an unsuccessful qualifying campaign in 2003, and was replaced by Åge Hareide. Under Hareide, Norway came close to reaching both the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008, but ultimately fell short on both occasions, then, in 2008, it all fell apart as Norway failed to win a single game the entire calendar year. Hareide resigned at the end of 2008 and his replacement, initially on a temporary basis, was the returning Egil Olsen, who began his second spell in charge with an away win against Germany, and subsequently signed a three-year contract. Olsen resigned in September 2013 after Norway lost at home to Switzerland and he was replaced with Per-Mathias Høgmo. Norways best single result is arguably the 2–1 win against Brazil on 23 June 1998 in the World Cup group stage, Norway is in fact the only team in the world that has played against Brazil and never lost. In its four matches all-time against Brazil, Norway have won twice, Norway used the national flag on a white circle as their badge from the 1920s onwards. In May 2008 the NFF unveiled a new crest, a Viking-style Dragon wrapped around the NFF logo, after massive public pressure the crest was dropped
29.
Serbia and Montenegro national football team
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The Serbia and Montenegro national football team was a national football team that represented the federation of Serbia and Montenegro. It was controlled by the Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro, although the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formed on 28 April 1992, its teams were banned from all international sporting events, including the national football team. Consequently, the team did not play its first game as a new country before 23 December 1994. This was the first ever composed of Serbian and Montenegrin players exclusively, while Slobodan Santrač. The next game was played three days later, this time in Buenos Aires, resulting in 1–0 loss to Argentina. Despite two losses in two games, the team was honoured to play its first two games ever against such football powerhouses. Also due to the United Nations international sanctions, the team could not take part in the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification, nor the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying process. Slightly more than one year later, the team recorded its first ever win in a FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament in its first game in such a tournament, shortly after, the team also recorded its biggest win in history, once again against the Faroe Islands, 8–1. Yugoslavia finished second in Group 6, just behind Spain, meaning it had to go through the system in order to qualify. Yugoslavia was paired up with Hungary, and what was believed would be a tough matchup turned out to be a win for Yugoslavia, 7–1 in Budapest and 5–0 in Belgrade. This was enough to secure Yugoslavia its first ever FIFA World Cup appearance as a new country, the 1998 FIFA World Cup seeding had Yugoslavia ranked in 21st position, but the Yugoslav national football team went to France as one of the shadow favorites for the World Cup. The New York Times stated that Yugoslavia could easily be a semi-finalist in that years World Cup, the justification for such an estimation was partially found in the names of the Yugoslav players, members of great European teams and proven footballers. The draw put the team in Group F alongside Germany, the United States, Yugoslavia won its first game 1–0 against Iran thanks to a goal from defender Siniša Mihajlović. The next game was a draw for Yugoslavia, after leading Germany 2–0, last games hero, Mihajlović, scored an unlucky own goal following a German freekick, and Oliver Bierhoff equalised at 2–2 with only about ten minutes to the match. Nonetheless, Yugoslavia responded in the game against the United States. Yugoslavia made easy work of Group F, but despite an excellent record, due to their second position, Yugoslavia saw itself face the Netherlands in the Round of 16. Yugoslavia entered in the match with an attacker, but its defensive tactics proved unsuccessful as Dennis Bergkamp put the Netherlands in front in the 38th minute. Immediately following the start of the half, Yugoslavia pressured the Dutch
30.
Faroese language
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It is one of five languages descended from Old West Norse spoken in the Middle Ages, the others being Norwegian, Icelandic, and the extinct Norn and Greenlandic Norse. Around 900, the language spoken in the Faroes was Old Norse, however, many of the settlers were not from Scandinavia, but descendants of Norse settlers in the Irish Sea region. In addition, women from Norse Ireland, Orkney, or Shetland often married native Scandinavian men before settling in the Faroe Islands, as a result, the Irish language has had some influence on both Faroese and Icelandic. There is some evidence of Irish language place names in the Faroes, for example. Until the 15th century Faroese had a similar to Icelandic and Norwegian. The islanders continued to use the language in ballads, folktales and this maintained a rich spoken tradition, but for 300 years the language was not used in written form. This changed when Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb and the Icelandic grammarian and politician Jón Sigurðsson published a standard for Modern Faroese in 1854. They set a standard for the orthography of the language, based on its Old Norse roots and this had the advantage of being etymologically clear, as well as keeping the kinship with the Icelandic written language. The actual pronunciation, however, often differs from the written rendering, the letter ð, for example, has no specific phoneme attached to it. Jakob Jakobsen devised a system of orthography, based on his wish for a phonetic spelling. In 1937, Faroese replaced Danish as the school language, in 1938 as the church language. However, Faroese did not become the language of media. Today Danish is considered a language, although around 5% of residents on the Faroes learn it as a first language. Old Faroese is a form of Old Norse spoken in medieval times in the Faroe Islands, the most crucial aspects of the development of Faroese are diphthongisation and palatalisation. There is not enough available to establish an accurate chronology of Faroese. Iotacism may be connected with the palatalisation of k, g and sk before Old Norse e, i, y, ø, au > /kj, ɡj, skj/ > /cç, ɟʝ, ɕcç/ > /tʃʰ, tʃ. Before the palatalisation é and ǽ merged as /ɛː/ and approximately in the same period epenthesis u is inserted into word-final /Cr/, the Great Quantity Shift operated in the 15th/16th centuries. In the case of skerping, it took place after iotacism, the shift of hv to /kw/, the deletion of /h/ in word-initial /h/–sonorant clusters, and the dissolution of þ appeared before the end of the 13th century
31.
Danish language
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There are also minor Danish-speaking communities in Norway, Sweden, Spain, the United States, Canada, Brazil and Argentina. Due to immigration and language shift in urban areas, around 15–20% of the population of Greenland speak Danish as their home language. Along with the other North Germanic languages, Danish is a descendant of Old Norse, until the 16th century, Danish was a continuum of dialects spoken from Schleswig to Scania with no standard variety or spelling conventions. With the Protestant Reformation and the introduction of printing, a language was developed which was based on the educated Copenhagen dialect. It spread through use in the system and administration though German. Today, traditional Danish dialects have all but disappeared, though there are variants of the standard language. The main differences in language are between generations, with youth language being particularly innovative, Danish has a very large vowel inventory comprising 27 phonemically distinctive vowels, and its prosody is characterized by the distinctive phenomenon stød, a kind of laryngeal phonation type. The grammar is moderately inflective with strong and weak conjugations and inflections, nouns and demonstrative pronouns distinguish common and neutral gender. As in English, Danish only has remnants of a case system, particularly in the pronouns. Its syntax is V2, with the verb always occupying the second slot in the sentence. Danish is a Germanic language of the North Germanic branch, other names for this group are the Nordic or Scandinavian languages. Along with Swedish, Danish descends from the Eastern dialects of the Old Norse language, Scandinavian languages are often considered a dialect continuum, where there are no sharp dividing lines between the different vernacular languages. Like Norwegian and Swedish, Danish was significantly influenced by Low German in the Middle Ages, Danish itself can be divided into three main dialect areas, West Danish, Insular Danish, and East Danish. Danish is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Swedish, both Swedes and Danes also understand Norwegian better than they understand each others languages. By the 8th century, the common Germanic language of Scandinavia, Proto-Norse, had some changes. This language was called the Danish tongue, or Norse language. Norse was written in the alphabet, first with the elder futhark. From the 7th century the common Norse language began to undergo changes that did not spread to all of Scandinavia, most of the changes separating East Norse from West Norse started as innovations in Denmark, that spread through Scania into Sweden and by maritime contact to southern Norway
32.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
33.
FIFA
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The Fédération Internationale de Football Association is the international governing body of association football, futsal, and beach soccer. FIFA is responsible for the organisation of major international tournaments, notably the World Cup which commenced in 1930. FIFA was founded in 1904 to oversee international competition among the associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden. Headquartered in Zürich, its membership now comprises 211 national associations, although FIFA does not control the rules of football, it is responsible for both the organization of a number of tournaments and their promotion, which generate revenue from sponsorship. In 2013, FIFA had revenues of over 1.3 billion U. S. dollars, for a net profit of 72 million and those among these officials who were also indicted in the U. S. are expected to be extradited to face charges there as well. Many officials were suspended by FIFAs ethics committee including Sepp Blatter, in early 2017 reports became public about FIFA president Gianni Infantino attempting to prevent the re-elections of both chairmen of the ethics committee during the FIFA congress in May 2017. The need for a body to oversee association football became apparent at the beginning of the 20th century with the increasing popularity of international fixtures. The French name and acronym are used even outside French-speaking countries, the founding members were the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Also, that day, the German Association declared its intention of affiliating through a telegram. The first president of FIFA was Robert Guérin, Guérin was replaced in 1906 by Daniel Burley Woolfall from England, by then a member of the association. Membership of FIFA expanded beyond Europe with the application of South Africa in 1909, Argentina in 1912, Canada and Chile in 1913, and the United States in 1914. During World War I, with players sent off to war and the possibility of travel for international fixtures severely limited. Post-war, following the death of Woolfall, the organisation was run by Dutchman Carl Hirschmann and it was saved from extinction, but at the cost of the withdrawal of the Home Nations, who cited an unwillingness to participate in international competitions with their recent World War enemies. The Home Nations later resumed their membership, the FIFA collection is held by the National Football Museum at Urbis in Manchester, England. The first World Cup in the world was in 1930 in Montevideo, FIFA is headquartered in Zürich, and is an association established under the Law of Switzerland. FIFAs supreme body is the FIFA Congress, a made up of representatives from each affiliated member association. Each national football association has one vote, regardless of its size or footballing strength, the Congress assembles in ordinary session once every year, and extraordinary sessions have been held once a year since 1998. The congress makes decisions relating to FIFAs governing statutes and their method of implementation and application, only the Congress can pass changes to FIFAs statutes
34.
FIFA World Cup
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The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The current champion is Germany, which won its title at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. 32 teams, including the qualifying host nation, compete in the tournament phase for the title at venues within the host nation over a period of about a month. The 20 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight different national teams, Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The worlds first international match was a challenge match played in Glasgow in 1872 between Scotland and England, which ended in a 0–0 draw. The first international tournament, the edition of the British Home Championship. After FIFA was founded in 1904, it tried to arrange an international football tournament between nations outside the Olympic framework in Switzerland in 1906 and these were very early days for international football, and the official history of FIFA describes the competition as having been a failure. At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, football became an official competition, planned by The Football Association, Englands football governing body, the event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rather than a competition. Great Britain won the gold medals and they repeated the feat in 1912 in Stockholm. With the Olympic event continuing to be contested only between teams, Sir Thomas Lipton organised the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy tournament in Turin in 1909. The Lipton tournament was a championship between clubs from different nations, each one of which represented an entire nation. Lipton invited West Auckland, a side from County Durham. West Auckland won the tournament and returned in 1911 to successfully defend their title, in 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as a world football championship for amateurs, and took responsibility for managing the event. This paved the way for the worlds first intercontinental football competition, at the 1920 Summer Olympics, contested by Egypt and 13 European teams, Uruguay won the next two Olympic football tournaments in 1924 and 1928. Those were also the first two world championships, as 1924 was the start of FIFAs professional era. On 28 May 1928, the FIFA Congress in Amsterdam decided to stage a championship itself. With Uruguay now two-time official football world champions and to celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, indeed, no European country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of the competition. Rimet eventually persuaded teams from Belgium, France, Romania, in total,13 nations took part, seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America
35.
UEFA European Championship
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Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current name in 1968. Starting with the 1996 tournament, specific championships are often referred to in the form UEFA Euro, prior to entering the tournament all teams other than the host nations compete in a qualifying process. The championship winners earn the opportunity to compete in the following FIFA Confederations Cup, to date, Spain is the only team in history to have won consecutive titles, doing so in 2008 and 2012. It is the second most watched football tournament in the world after the FIFA World Cup, the Euro 2012 final was watched by a global audience of around 300 million. The most recent championship, hosted by France in 2016, was won by Portugal, in honour of Delaunay, the trophy awarded to the champions is named after him. The 1960 tournament, held in France, had four competing in the finals out of 17 that entered the competition. It was won by the Soviet Union, beating Yugoslavia 2–1 in a final in Paris. Spain withdrew from its quarter-final match against the USSR because of two political protests, of the 17 teams that entered the qualifying tournament, notable absentees were England, the Netherlands, West Germany and Italy. The hosts beat the holders, the Soviet Union, 2–1 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. The tournament format stayed the same for the 1968 tournament, hosted, for the first and only time a match was decided on a coin toss and the final went to a replay, after the match against Yugoslavia finished 1–1. More teams entered this tournament, a testament to its burgeoning popularity, Belgium hosted the 1972 tournament, which West Germany won, beating the USSR 3–0 in the final, with goals coming from Gerd Müller and Herbert Wimmer at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels. This tournament would provide a taste of things to come, as the German side contained many of the key members of the 1974 FIFA World Cup Champions. The 1976 tournament in Yugoslavia was the last in which four teams took part in the final tournament. Czechoslovakia beat West Germany in the newly introduced penalty shootout, after seven successful conversions, Uli Hoeneß missed, leaving Czechoslovakian Antonín Panenka with the opportunity to score and win the tournament. An audacious chipped shot, described by UEFA as perhaps the most famous spot kick of all time secured the victory as Czechoslovakia won 5–3 on penalties, the competition was expanded to eight teams in the 1980 tournament, again hosted by Italy. It involved a stage, with the winners of the groups going on to contest the final. West Germany won their second European title by beating Belgium 2–1, Horst Hrubesch scored early in the first half before René Vandereycken equalised for Belgium with a penalty in the second half. With two minutes remaining, Hrubesch headed the winner for West Germany from a Karl-Heinz Rummenigge corner, the format also changed, with the top two teams in each group going through to a semi-final stage, instead of the winners of each group going straight into the final
36.
Shetland football team
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The Shetland Football Team represents the islands of Shetland, Scotland, in association football. It is not a member of FIFA or UEFA and is not eligible to enter the World Cup or the European Championships. The team regularly competes in the Island Games, which it won in 2005, Shetland normally play their home matches at Gilbertson Park in Lerwick. Some matches, particularly friendlies, are occasionally played elsewhere, often at Seafield or Harbison Park and they also go on tour to play pre-season friendlies against Highland League clubs in July. They are neither a national team nor do they participate in league competitions, the latest most noticeable event to take place in Shetland was the 2005 Island Games, many of the group matches were played on pitches all around Shetland, and the final was at Gilbertson Park. Match, Final Shetland Islands 2 V0 Guernsey Time,16,00 Date, Friday 15 July 2005 Venue, goalkeepers Grant Wood, Iain Devonald, Saul Swanson, Gianluigu Buffon. Defenders Richard Arthur, Shane Jamieson, Joel Bradley, Robert Smith, Piotr Drozdowski, Josie Kay, Callum Johnson, Jack Clubb. Midfielders Leighton Flaws, Connor Regan, Calvin Leask, James Farmer, James Aitken, Magnus Thompson, Finn Watt, John Allan, Sam Maver, Lorne McNiven, Stuart Copland, forwards Greg Tulloch, Paul Molloy, Sam Ward, Richard Sinclair, David Murray. Shetland matches on Roon ba) Shetlopedia entry on Shetland team Official Shetland FA Page
37.
Greenland national football team
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The Greenland national football team represents Greenland in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Greenland, most of the matches they have played have been against the Faroe Islands and Iceland, but neither of the two consider those games full internationals. Greenland is a member of the International Island Games Association and has part in Football at the Island Games. Since 13 October 2005, it is a member of the N. F. -Board. On 17 October 2009 the team was accepted as a member of the IFU. Greenland also played Tibet, another team, in 2001 at Copenhagens Vanlose Arena. However, the team was composed of players who were of Tibetan heritage, the match drew international attention when China threatened to embargo Greenlands shrimp exports because of Tibets contested sovereignty. Key Champion Runners-up 3rd Place **Red border color indicates the tournament was held at home, Greenland participated in the 2006 FIFI Wild Cup. The team played two games and lost both, the first 0–1 against the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the second 2–4 against Zanzibar and they were eliminated in the First Round. Greenland was eliminated in Round 1 of the ELF Cup and they played three matches in total, beating the national team of Gagauzia 2–0, drawing 1–1 with Zanzibar and losing 1–0 to Kyrgyzstan. About the issue, former DBU president Allan Hansen stated, Concerning the GBU, as I’m informed, the GBU in the late nineties sent a letter but. there were no follow-up actions. However, another report from 2010 states that an application was submitted but other such as the admittance of former Soviet. FIFAs approval of FieldTurf may allow Greenland to create FIFA-standard playing pitches and they would join either UEFA or CONCACAF. The first artificial turf in Greenland was completed and inaugurated in Qaqortoq in September 2009, in 2011, Allan Hansen, chairman of the Danish Football Association stated that he did not believe that Greenland had the opportunity to become a member of FIFA or a confederation immediately. However, in December 2014 the DBU and Greenlands GBU formed a partnership with the aim of having Greenland included as a UEFA and FIFA member by 2020, one of the greatest barriers to admittance at that time was FIFAs strict regulations on stadiums and playing surfaces. Additionally, it was announced in May 2015 the national government had allocated one million dollars to design a plan for the construction of a new covered national stadium in Nuuk. Although unrelated to the proposal, the first artificial pitch was laid in Nuuk. Before becoming a member of FIFA, Greenland would be required to be a member of a continental confederation, however, UEFA now requires new members to be recognized by the United Nations as fully independent
38.
Denmark national under-21 football team
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The Denmark national under-21 football team has played since 1976 and is controlled by the Danish Football Association. Before 1976, the age limit was 23 years, *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. **Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won, ***Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil. Until and including the 1988 Summer Olympics, Olympic games counted as regular national team matches. Since the 1992 Summer Olympics, Olympic games have counted as under-21 national games,1992 – Group stage 2016 – 8th Last updated,29 March 2016. Source, Ground, A = Away, H = Home, result, D = Draw, L = Loss, W = Win, P = Postponed. Source, Ground, A = Away, H = Home, result, D = Draw, L = Loss, W = Win, P = Postponed. The following players were called up for the matches against Spain and England on 23 and 27 March 2017. Caps, note, Club represents the permanent clubs during the players time in the under-21 national team. Players in bold have played at least one game for the senior Danish national team, note, Club represents the permanent clubs represented in the games in which the players scored for the under-21 national team. Players in bold have played at least one game for the senior Danish national team, 1976–1980, Tommy Troelsen 1980–1989, Richard Møller Nielsen 1989–1992, Viggo Jensen 1992–1999, Jan B
39.
Canada men's national soccer team
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The Canada mens national soccer team represents Canada in international soccer competitions at the senior mens level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association and compete in the Confederation of North, Canada also won a gold medal in the 1904 Summer Olympics. The 1986 World Cup was their only successful campaign in their history. Soccer was being played in Canada with the Dominion Football Association, in 1885, the WFA sent a representative team to New Jersey to take on a side put forth by the American Football Association, the then-unofficial governing body of the sport in the United States. In an unofficial friendly, Canada defeated their hosts 1–0 in East Newark, the American team won 3–2 in a return match one year later. In 1888, a team represented the WFA in a tour of the British Isles, earning a record of nine wins, five draws, and nine losses. The squad comprised 16 Canadian-born players with the exception being tour organizer David Forsyth. In 1904 Galt Football Club represented the WFA at the Olympic Games in St Louis, as just one of three teams competing, Galt defeated two American clubs, Christian Brothers College and St. Rose to win the tournament. After a short talk by Mr. James E. Conlon of the Physical Culture Department, Mayor Mundy, of the City of Galt, the medals are clearly engraved with the name of the company in St. Louis that made them. In 1905, a British team of touring amateurs nicknamed the Pilgrims toured Canada, the match was played in front of 3500 fans in Galt, now part of Cambridge, Ontario, and ended in a 3–3 draw. Earlier the Pilgrims had been beaten 2–1 by Berlin Rangers, in the city now known as Kitchener, Canada also played Australia at the Jubilee Oval, Adelaide on Saturday July 12,1924, and defeated them by 4 goals to 1. In 1925, Canada played their old rivals, the United States, in Montreal, in a return match in November 1925 in Brooklyn, New York, Canada was defeated 1–6. One year later, Canada lost 2–6 to the Americans in the city before playing four internationals in a 1927 tour of New Zealand. Following the lead of British football associations, Canada withdrew from FIFA in 1928 over a dispute regarding broken time payments to amateur players. Under the guidance of head coach Don Petrie, Canada defeated the USA in Toronto 5–1 in their opening game, Mexico advanced as group winners, meaning that Canada missed out on the World Cup in 1958 in Sweden. Canada withdrew from World Cup qualifying for 1962 and did not enter a team for 1966 and they did compete in soccer however at the 1967 Pan American Games, their first time to do so in the sixth edition of the games, which they hosted in Winnipeg. Canada finished a fourth place, helped somewhat by defending champion Brazils absence. A 0–0 draw away to Bermuda meant the Canadians, under manager Peter Dinsdale, Dinsdale was replaced by Frank Pike
40.
Austria national football team
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The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association. Austria has qualified for seven World Cups, most recently in 1998, the country played in the European Championship for the first time in 2008 when it co-hosted the event with Switzerland and most recently qualified in 2016. The Austrian Football Association was founded on 18 March 1904 in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the team enjoyed success in the 1930s under coach Hugo Meisl becoming a dominant side in Europe and earning the nickname Wunderteam. The teams star was Matthias Sindelar, on 16 May 1931, they were the first continental European side to defeat Scotland. In the 1934 FIFA World Cup, Austria finished fourth after losing 1–0 to Italy in the semi-finals and they were runners-up in the 1936 Olympics, again losing to Italy 2–1, despite having been beaten in quarter-finals by Peru, following the Peruvians withdrawal. However, according to an investigation, the victory by Peru was deliberately annulled by Adolf Hitler to favour the Austrians. The team then qualified for the 1938 FIFA World Cup finals, on 28 March, FIFA was notified that the Austrian FA had been abolished, resulting in the nations withdrawal from the World Cup. Instead the German team would represent the former Austrian territory, in a later rematch, the Germans took revenge, winning 9–1. As a result, five players from Austria Wien, Rapid Wien and Vienna Wien were part of the team only managed a 1–1 draw in Round 1 against Switzerland. With Rapid Wiens forward Pesser having been sent off, and not satisfied with two others, Herberger had to alter the line-up on six positions to fulfill the 6,5 quota again, after World War II, Austria was again separated from Germany. Austrias best result came in 1954 with a team starring midfielder Ernst Ocwirk and they lost in the semi-finals 6–1 to eventual champions Germany, but finished third after beating defending champions Uruguay 3–1. This remains their best result ever, and unfortunately the last time for decades that Austria reached the end round of a major tournament, over the years, a strong yet mainly lopsided rivalry with Germany developed. At the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the Austrian team was a disappointment, defeats to the eventual champions Brazil, the emerging Soviet Union and a draw against a weakened England prevented the team to reach the next round. Still holding to the popularity in the country, under new coach Decker again made an international sensation in the era. In front of a crowd of over 90,000 spectators, made possible by the expansion of the Prater Stadium. Due to lack of money, however, Austria decided not to participate at the 1962 World Cup in Chile, and the team fell apart. Abrupt end of Austria’s success in the postwar period eventually formed the clear 0–6 loss against Czechoslovakia in 1962, of many players. After the end of Decker era, the team was unable for a time to connect to the old successes
41.
UEFA Euro 1992
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The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth European Football Championship, which is every four years. The team had qualified only after Yugoslavia was disqualified as a result of the breakup, eight national teams contested the finals tournament. Also present at the tournament was the CIS national football team and it was also the first major tournament at which the reunified Germany had competed. It was to be the last tournament with eight participants. On 17 December 1988, Sweden was chosen over Spain to host the event, Spain was at a disadvantage as they had already been chosen to host the EXPO1992 and the 1992 Summer Olympic Games. Seven of the eight teams had to qualify for the final stage, the CIS team represented the following ex-Soviet republics, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Tajikistan. Originally, Yugoslavia qualified for the stage, but due to the Yugoslav wars. They shocked the continent when Peter Schmeichel saved Marco van Bastens penalty in the semi-final penalty shoot-out against the Netherlands, the shock was compounded when Denmark went on to defeat the reigning world champions Germany 2–0 to win the European title. Etrvsco Unico, a different version of the Adidas Etrusco Unico, was used as the match ball of the tournament. Fourth officials The teams finishing in the top two positions in each of the two progress to the semi-finals, while the bottom two teams in each group were eliminated from the tournament. As with every tournament since UEFA Euro 1984, there was no third-place match, UEFA Team of the Tournament Golden Boot Dennis Bergkamp Tomas Brolin Henrik Larsen Karl-Heinz Riedle Small is Beautiful was the official slogan of the contest. The official anthem of the tournament was More Than a Game, performed by Towe Jaarnek and it was the last tournament to use the UEFA plus flag logo, and the last before the tournament came to be known as Euro. It was also the first major competition in which the players had their names printed on their backs. The official mascot of the competition was a rabbit named Rabbit, dressed in a Swedish football jersey, UEFA Euro 1992 overview at Union of European Football Associations Goal. com, Euro 2012 History, The 1992 Finals BBC. co. uk, Denmarks greatest moment, article
42.
Landskrona
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In 1720 the town, like its province, became a formal part of Sweden. Around the Castle build by Danish king Christian III in 1549, Landskrona Citadel, today the Citadel is famous for its well-preserved moat system, which includes parts of four moats. At the northern part of the Citadel, Swedens second, and its port is based on a natural chute in the sandy sea floor, despite the lack of any nearby debouching river. The town is the seat of Landskrona Municipality, the town, which in March 2013 celebrated its 600th birthday, had close to 33,000 inhabitants at that time. For many years the town had a car line to Copenhagen. Landskrona is located close to the Danish capital, from Rådhustorget in Landskrona to Amalienborg Royal Palace in central Copenhagen, the crow flight distance is around 22–23 km. In the later parts of the 19th century, the town was transformed from a settlement to a heavy industrial town. Between 1917 and 1983, the shipyard had up to 3,500 employees. The foundation was done at a place for a fishing settlement, today, there is still a very small settlement just north of the town, known as Säby. This probably was the Nørre Sæby in the beginning of the 15th century, but since the village became the town. The original name of the officially founded town was Landszcrone, but changed to Landskrone sometime before 1450. A Carmelite monastery was founded in 1410, English merchants were granted the privileges in a charter in 1412. The monastery was closed by King Christian III after the reformation, a smaller street is named after this very contemplative and closed order, Karmelitergatan. The closest settlement Rydebäck belongs to the city, but the convent is entirely located within Landskronas countryside. The corresponding monastery is located in Norraby and this is located east of the town and its quite small countryside. The town supported the king Christian II, and opposed the Reformation in Denmark, the Reformist King Christian III of Denmark opted not to retaliate against the town, and instead founded a castle to protect the harbour. The castle, built where the monastery had been situated until the Reformation, was completed by 1559, the castle was reinforced by bastions, and the area inside the moats extended to 400x400 meters. The castle was considered the strongest and most modern in Scandinavia, the commandant Colonel Hieronymus Lindeberg was consequently sentenced to death for high treason
3 (7 June 2018)
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