Sealand national football team

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Sealand
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Seals
AssociationSealand National Football Association
(SNFA)
ConfederationNone
CaptainEd Stubbs
Most capsChristian Gunn
Jack Field
Sam Churchman (8)
Top scorerDan Hughes (6)
Home stadiumCrawley Town F.C. Stadium
FIFA codeN/A
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Åland 2–2 Sealand 
(Åland; 15 May 2004)
Biggest win
 Raetia 1–6 Sealand 
(Chur, Switzerland; 9 August 2014)
Biggest defeat
 Occitania 8–0 Sealand 
(St John's, Isle of Man; 5 July 2013)

The Sealand national football team represents the unrecognized, self-proclaimed micronation of the Principality of Sealand. It is not a member of FIFA or UEFA, but was an associate member of the N.F.-Board, an organisation for teams who are not members of FIFA. They were admitted to the N.F.-Board as a provisional member in 2005 and as an associate member in 2006, before the organisation became defunct in 2013. The team has been inactive since 2014, although discussions are underway to revive the team as of April 2023.[1]

History[edit]

Wey Court where Sealand played their first game after reforming in 2012 against the Chagos Islands national football team.

Foundation[edit]

The Sealand National Football Association (SNFA) was founded in 2003.[2] In 2004, they played their first game against Åland drawing 2–2.[3] All the players on the Sealand team were members of Vestbjerg Vintage Idrætsforening, a veterans side from Aalborg. However, the Danish-based SNFA ended their activities in 2006 and Sealand football took a break.

Recent times[edit]

On 23 December 2009, Scottish author Neil Forsyth was appointed head of the revived SNFA.[4][5] He stated a goal of participation in the 2010 VIVA World Cup, a dream ultimately ended by a lack of finance. On 5 May 2012, Sealand took to the field against fellow N.F.-Board members the Chagos Islands at Weycourt in Godalming, Surrey. The Chagossians won 3–1, with Ryan Moore scoring for Sealand. The team was captained by former Bolton Wanderers defender Simon Charlton and actor Ralf Little.[5][6][7]

Sealand played an away game against Alderney on 25 August 2012.[8] After drawing the match by a scoreline of 1–1, Sealand won 5–4 on penalties. On 9 March 2013 Sealand won their first ever international when they beat Alderney 2–1 in Godalming.

Sealand competed in the Tynwald Hill Tournament on the Isle of Man in July 2013. The tournament was held at Mullen-e-Cloie, St John's. Following a late 5–3 defeat to Tamil Eelam and an 8–0 demolition at the hands of eventual winners Occitania, Sealand finished bottom of their group and went on to the 5th place playoff where they beat Alderney 2–1.

In February 2014 Sealand recorded their record win as they beat the Chagos Islands 4–2 in Godalming.[9]

In May 2014 Sealand drew 1–1 with the Chagos Islands at Crawley Town a fortnight before another draw, 2–2 with Somaliland (who were making their non-FIFA debut) in London.

Sealand underwent a European tour for the first time in August 2014 which proved to be hugely successful. In Chur a record 6–1 win over Raetia saw Dan Hughes become the record-scorer with 4 goals, before a 3–2 win over Seborga in Ospedaletti, Italy. Hughes added to his tally in that game and the Seals extended their unbeaten international run to 6 games.[10]

Sealand has not been a member of a confederation since the N.F.-Board became defunct. An application to join CONIFA was rejected.[11]

Overall record[edit]

Opponent Pld W D* L GF GA % Won % Drawn % Lost
 Åland 1 0 1 0 2 2 0% 100% 0%
 Alderney 3 2 1 0 5 3 66.7% 33.33% 0%
 Chagos Islands 3 1 1 1 6 6 33.33% 33.33% 33.33%
Raetia Raetia 1 1 0 0 6 1 100% 0% 0%
Seborga 1 1 0 0 3 2 100% 0% 0%
 Somaliland 1 0 1 0 2 2 0% 100% 0%
 Tamil Eelam 1 0 0 1 3 5 0% 0% 100%
 Occitania 1 0 0 1 0 8 0% 0% 100%
Total 12 5 4 3 56 37 41.67%
*Includes knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

B team record[edit]

Opponent Pld W D* L GF GA % Won % Drawn % Lost
 Panjab 1 0 0 1 1 4 0% 0% 100%
Total 1 0 0 1 1 4 0% 0% 100%
*Includes knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

International results and upcoming fixtures[edit]

15 May 2004 Åland  2–2  Sealand Åland, Finland
5 May 2012 Sealand  1–3  Chagos Islands Godalming, England
25 August 2012 Alderney  1–1
(4–5 p)		  Sealand Saint Anne, Alderney
8 March 2013 Sealand  2–1  Alderney Godalming, England
4 July 2013 Sealand  3–5  Tamil Eelam St John's, Isle of Man
5 July 2013 Occitania  8–0  Sealand St John's, Isle of Man
7 July 2013 Sealand  2–1  Alderney St John's, Isle of Man
23 February 2014 Sealand  4–2  Chagos Islands Godalming, England
5 May 2014 Chagos Islands  1–1
(4–3 p)		  Sealand Crawley, England
17 May 2014 Somaliland  2–2  Sealand London, England
9 August 2014 Raetia  1–6  Sealand Chur, Switzerland
10 August 2014 Seborga 2–3  Sealand Ospedaletti, Italy
22 December 2014 Panjab  4–1  Sealand B Smethwick, England

Coaches[edit]

Manager Nat Span G W D L GF GA Win % Honours
Christian Olsen Denmark 2003–2006 1 0 1 0 2 2 0%
Neil Forsyth Scotland 2009–2013 3 1 1 1 4 5 33.33%
Julian Dicks England 2013 3 1 0 2 5 14 33.33%
Ed Stubbs[12][13][14] Principality of Sealand 2013–present 7 5 2 0 24 10 71.43%

Kit[edit]

Sealand's kit has the same colors as the flag of Sealand. Their original kit consisted of a red shirt with white trim, black shorts and white socks, and was provided by JJB with sponsorship from UK investment firm Property Secrets.[15]

For the Tynwald Tournament, Sealand introduced a new Nike home kit, in red, with a white stripe down the right-hand side. In the 8–0 defeat to Occitania, Sealand debuted their Stanno away kit of a white shirt with pale red shorts.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sealand: The national football team from a country half the size of a football pitch Archived 2023-04-19 at the Wayback Machine The Athletic. 3 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Tony Incenzo And His Experience Watching Sealand". 888sport.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-23. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  3. ^ "IBWM Fantasy football micronation style". IBWM. Archived from the original on 1 June 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  4. ^ "FANTASY FOOTBALL MICRONATION STYLE". inbedwithmaradona.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-23. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  5. ^ a b "Sealand FC: The Most Unlikely Story In International Football". 15 May 2012. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  6. ^ "Ralf Little gets an international cap for Sealand". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 May 2012. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  7. ^ Taylor, Amy (11 May 2012). "Sealand and Chagos Islands play out football history". Surrey Today. Archived from the original on 20 May 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  8. ^ "Sealand vs Alderney football result". Archived from the original on 2013-01-15.
  9. ^ "Sealand shock Chagos Islands with record win". Non-FIFA FootballUpdates. Archived from the original on 2014-03-01. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  10. ^ "Sealand deny Seborga comeback in Ospedaletti". Sanremonews. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. Retrieved 2014-08-14.
  11. ^ Engel, Matthew (1 June 2018). "World Football Cup an alternative to Fifa and a lesson in geopolitics". Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
  12. ^ "I Went to an International Football Match Between Two Non-Countries". vice.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-23. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  13. ^ "Micronation prepares for Island tournament". manxradio.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-23. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  14. ^ "Sealand and Chagos Islands play out football history". getsurrey.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2022-12-23. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  15. ^ "Sealand's Blog". www.sealandgov.org. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24.
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