Residing quietly as part of the Caribbean Islands sits a small autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Historically being colonized by the Dutch in 1634 Curaçao became a major cog in the Dutch West India Trading Company and played a huge part in the transatlantic slave trade. Curaçao, thankfully, has managed to move with the times. Slavery was abolished in 1863 and eventually in 2010 Curaçao became the autonomous region within the Kingdom of the Netherlands where it remains today.

With the 2026 World Cup edging ever so closer every day, the full list of competitors is almost confirmed. The European play-offs are yet to be concluded, not only that but also the inter-confederation play-offs (ICPO) need to be resolved.

The ICPO are a unique path to qualifying for the World Cup with six teams from five continents competing for the two available places that will gain access to the golden ticket of World Cup qualification. As Europe have their own play-offs to decide their final competitors they are not involved in this mini knockout phase. Instead, nations from Asia, Africa, Oceania, South America and CONCACAF compete for their last shot of glory.

The Netherlands, a footballing powerhouse over generations, the birthplace of total football, wearers of the iconic orange strip. Producers of great talents, Virgil Van Dijk, Johan Cruyff and Ruud Gullit.

Mainstays of the Dutch national team all with their own legacies to leave behind. What about the likes of Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf and Jerrel (Jimmy) Floyd Hasselbaink? All representing Holland over the years to huge successes, but what if you were told that not one of these three is even European?

How can it be that the world’s largest island has a footballing history and culture that next to nobody knows anything about? Greenland, unlike the name suggests, is not very green, in fact, the island is snow-covered and consistently exists with extremely cold weather conditions.