Sealand national football team
 | |||
| Nickname(s) | Seals | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Sealand National Football Association (SNFA) | ||
| Confederation | N.F.-Board | ||
| Head coach | Ed Stubbs | ||
| Most caps |
Christian Gunn Jack Field Sam Churchman (8) | ||
| Top scorer | Dan Hughes (6) | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 Åland Islands 2–2 Sealand  (15 May, 2004) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
 Raetia 1–6 Sealand (9 August, 2014) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
.svg.png){kind=small} Occitania 8–0 Sealand (5 July, 2013) | |||
The SEALS national football team is the team that represents the Principality of Sealand. It is not a member of FIFA or UEFA, but is 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.
History
Foundation
The Sealand National Football Association (SNFA) was founded in 2003. In 2004, they played their first game against Åland drawing 2–2.[1] 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
On 23 December 2009, Scottish author Neil Forsyth was appointed head of the revived SNFA.[2] 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 also included actor Ralf Little.[2][3][4]
Sealand played an away game against Alderney on August 25, 2012.[5] After drawing the match by a scoreline of 1–1, Sealand won 5–4 on penalties. On March 9, 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.[6]
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.[7]
Overall record
| Opponent | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Åland Islands | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
 Alderney | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
 Chagos Islands | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Raetia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
 Seborga | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
 Somaliland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
 Tamil Eelam | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Occitania | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Total | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 27 | 29 |
- *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
International results and upcoming fixtures
| 10-08-2014 | Ospedaletti, Italy | Seborga | Sealand | 2–3 |
| 09-08-2014 | Chur, Switzerland | Raetia | Sealand | 1–6 |
| 17-05-2014 | London, England | Somaliland | Sealand | 2–2 |
| 05-05-2014 | Crawley, England | Chagos Islands | Sealand | 1–1† |
| 23-02-2014 | Godalming, England | Sealand | Chagos Islands | 4–2 |
| 07-07-2013 | St John's, Isle of Man | Sealand | Alderney | 2–1 |
| 05-07-2013 | St John's, Isle of Man | Occitania | Sealand | 8–0 |
| 04-07-2013 | St John's, Isle of Man | Sealand | Tamil Eelam | 3–5 |
| 08-03-2013 | Godalming, England | Sealand | Alderney | 2–1 |
| 25-08-2012 | Alderney | Alderney | Sealand | 1–1* |
| 05-05-2012 | Godalming, England | Sealand | Chagos Islands | 1–3 |
| 15-05-2004 | Åland | Åland Islands | Sealand | 2–2 |
–
- †Sealand lost this game 4–3 on penalty kicks.
- *Sealand won this game 5–4 on penalty kicks.
Coaches
| Manager | Nat | Span | G | W | D | L | GF | GA | Win % | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Olsen |  |
2003–2006 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0% | |
| Neil Forsyth |  |
2009–2013 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 33.33% | |
| Julian Dicks |  |
2013 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 33.33% | |
| Ed Stubbs | |
2013–Present | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 10 | 71.43% |
Kit
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.[8]
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
- ↑ "IBWM Fantasy football micronation style". IBWM. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- 1 2 "Sealand FC: The Most Unlikely Story In International Football". 15 May 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
- ↑ "Ralf Little gets an international cap for Sealand". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
- ↑ Taylor, Amy (11 May 2012). "Sealand and Chagos Islands play out football history". Surrey Today. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
- ↑ "Sealand vs Alderney football result".
- ↑ "Sealand shock Chagos Islands with record win". Non-FIFA FootballUpdates.
- ↑ "Sealand deny Seborga comeback in Ospedaletti". Sanremonews.
- ↑ http://www.sealandgov.org/_blog/Sealand_News/post/Sealand_2-1_Alderney/