FEATURE — SPORTS TURF
Project Box
Project: Artificial Turf Pitch installation
Location: Qaqortoq, southern Greenland
Pitch Size: 35m x 64m
Cost: US$500,000
Clients: Grønlands Boldspil-Union (GBU)/Dansk
Boldspil-Union (DBU)
DBU Advisor: Ejvind Naesborg
Turf Supplier: Edel Grass
Contractors: Greenland Mining
Services/Kommune Kujalleq
The Greenland Football around the 2.2 million square kilometre island, which
Association (Grønlands Bold- has a population of just 55,000, means trips by small
spil-Union/GBU) knew that an plane or boat. Eventually, Qaqortoq was proposed as
artificial pitch could transform the most suitable venue.
how the game was played but find- GBU worked with different civic groups on the
ing the funds was the main problem. plans and the DBU came on board with Poul Gilling,
A football championship was first staged head of department for education and development,
in Greenland in 1958 and the GBU was set up in taking a keen interest in the project. Although the GBU
1971 but the Greenlanders have slowly been moving is not affiliated to FIFA, Gilling saw a solution in the
towards greater political independence. In 1979, world body’s Goal Project, which has funded essential
Greenland won home rule and, along with the Faroe development projects across the globe.
Islands, now forms part of the Danish commonwealth.
FIFA’s Goal Project to the RescueObtaining an Artificial Turf System:
FIFA had funded a Goal Project in French Guiana,
Top Priority which is an associate member of Confederation of
As part of these wider moves towards greater autono- North, Central American and Caribbean Association
my, the Sports Confederation of Greenland cut ties Football but not affiliated to the world body. That
with the Danish Sports Confederation. This meant that grant was secured by the Fédération Française de Foot-
GBU would stand alone from the Danish football asso- ball, who applied on behalf of French Guiana, which is
ciation (Dansk Boldspil-Union/DBU). Finding wider a French overseas department.
recognition with FIFA proved problematic (please refer Greenland has more political autonomy than French
to sidebar on p98), making development of the sport Guiana but with the GBU unable to affiliate to FIFA, in
difficult. But despite this, GBU agreed in 2006 that get- 2005 a cooperation agreement was reached with the
ting such an artificial surface had to be a priority. DBU to help the Greenlanders out with educating
An artificial turf specialist from Denmark was invit- coaches, referees and organisers. When this agreement
ed over to Greenland and visited the island’s different was renewed at the end of 2007, GBU asked DBU to
towns to find a suitable venue. That in itself was no support an application for Goal funding.
mean feat, as Greenland has virtually no roads apart Poul Gilling explained: “We decided to support
from a few kilometres in the capital, Nuuk. To get them [GBU] and a letter was sent to FIFA during the ➲
WINTER 2009/10 P ANS TADIA 95
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