England is playing Andorra today. Its not really a question of will England win but by how many, a draw even would be considered a massive upset.
This is to be expected really, England is a leading football nation and a country of some 50 million whilst Andorra has less people than Uppsala. And this place is a village.
However. Despite Andorra being a silly little non-country it still competes along with England and all the others in the field of international sport.
Now, for a citizen of a nation like England to be a international sportsman would require you being one of the best in the world. For Andorra though...I've always wondered how they do it. I just imagine the pub (singular) in Andorra one Thursday night- suddenly in comes the head of the Andorran FA and he announces "Alright lads" (or the French/Spanish equivalent) "We're off to play football in England next week, anyone fancy a match?"
This is obviously a bit of a exageration but not by much- I do recall when England played Liechtenstein some years back the commentator before the game commented that one or two of their better players weren't playing today because they were too busy harvesting their fields at that time of year.
So...This thread...hmm....I suppose its aimed at Viking. Iceland isn't quite the non-country Andorra is but I still doubt its overflowing with top quality sportsmen. Particularly with non too-popular games.
How easy would it be for a citizen in one of those countries to get full funding or at least recognition to go to the olympics? Could he and a bunch of mates get a free ticket to wherever by forming the national cricket team?
Thinking...its just not fair really. I should try and declare some little micro-nation in Britain and then form its international athletics assosiations. I'd loose miserably on all occasions but it'd still be fun. Its the taking part not the winning...
I suggest that you should stop thinking for the night.
A classmate of mine at grad school told me that some high school buddy of his represented Thailand at the summer games in sailing. Buddy was a white American with some really feeble connection to Thailand. Lived there a couple years? Can't remember exactly. He financed the team himself by selling Tshirts at the games. My sense is he just called up the Thai sports ministry and asked them if they would mind.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on June 10, 2009, 03:56:02 PM
A classmate of mine at grad school told me that some high school buddy of his represented Thailand at the summer games in sailing. Buddy was a white American with some really feeble connection to Thailand. Lived there a couple years? Can't remember exactly. He financed the team himself by selling Tshirts at the games. My sense is he just called up the Thai sports ministry and asked them if they would mind.
I seriously doubt his story. Sailing enjoys royal patronage as the king is an avid competitive sailor.
Andorra has an 8-team strong league. Also, FC Andorra (not to be confused with the Aragonese Andorra FC) has played for decades in the Spanish League (though it competes in a very minor category).
Of course, since Andorran League is for amateurs and only the two or three most important Spanish divisions include pros, Andorran clubs are made of part-time players.
But they do play regularly, and so the coach has a chance to field the best of them.
Cricket in Iceland
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/1796206.stm
QuoteFun in Iceland
"In Iceland, interest was generated by locals seeing it on satellite television and thinking it looked fun", says Smith, "now there's five teams."
so, yeah, you want to play for iceland, just learn the rules.
As for the Icelandic national team, as the "Xenophobes guide to the Icelanders" says "In team games Iceland does about as well on the world stage as any medium-sized town would expect to do, though they do excel at handball." Which is true. And even though Macedonia beat us just the other day, the team is made up of true professionals, with about half the team being in a top-league in one of the big european leagues (England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France and Holland) and the other half in scandinavian clubs. Underestimate us at your peril. From time to time we beat large nations like Norway or Moldavia, which pleases us greatly.
The ICC does help fund minor cricketing nations and I know the IRB funds the Norwegian Rugby Federation.
Quote from: Viking on June 10, 2009, 06:51:03 PM
From time to time we beat large nations like Moldavia
Sarcasm? :unsure:
Quote from: Valmy on June 11, 2009, 10:27:35 AM
Quote from: Viking on June 10, 2009, 06:51:03 PM
From time to time we beat large nations like Moldavia
Sarcasm? :unsure:
Probably not, Modavia has 13 times as many people as Iceland.
On your way from Work to Home you pass more people then the population of Iceland.
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 11, 2009, 11:31:22 AM
On your way from Work to Home you pass more people then the population of Iceland.
Plenty people on this board live in towns with more people than Iceland. :P