The Shetland football team represents the islands of Shetland, Scotland, in association football. It is not a member of FIFA or UEFA and is therefore not eligible to enter the World Cup or the European Championships. The team regularly competes in the Island Games, which it won in 2005, and has a strong rivalry with the representative team of Orkney. This representative team should not be confused with Shetland FC, which was formed as a separate entity to compete during the mainland's winter season cup competitions - despite being separate entities, the teams share management staff and squad of players.
Venues Shetland normally play their home matches at Gilbertson Park (capacity unknown, highest attendance approximately 5,000, sometimes referred to as "the Gibbie") in Lerwick. Some matches, particularly friendlies, are occasionally played elsewhere, often at Seafield (Lerwick) or Harbison Park (Whalsay). They sometimes go on tour to play pre-season friendlies against Highland League clubs in July.
Competitions Beginning in 1929, Shetland played biennial matches against the Faroe Islands. These were initially played for the Adam Shield (donated by a Glasgow shipbuilding firm) and later for the North Atlantic Cup. The logistics of this required a 14-hour trip by boat and a week-long stay for the visiting team. The last such friendly was played in 1990, the same year that the Faroes joined UEFA.When Shetland met Faroe and the real romance of the cup
Shetland are neither a national team nor do they participate in league competitions, so they do not have many regular games.
However, more recently, they have entered some of the cup competitions organized by the North Caledonian Football Association.
The latest most noticeable event to take place in Shetland was the 2005 Island Games: many of the group matches were played on pitches all around Shetland, and the final was at Gilbertson Park.
2005 Island Games
Match: Final
Shetland Islands 2 (0) V 0 (0) Guernsey
Time: 16:00 Date: Friday 15 July 2005 Venue: Gilbertson Park
Group 1 matches Pos. Team Played Won Draw Lost For Against Diff. Points1st Shetland 4 3 1 0 8 1 7 102nd Isle of Man 4 2 1 1 12 3 9 73rd Saaremaa 4 1 2 1 5 5 0 54th Åland 4 1 0 3 4 7 –3 35th Falkland Islands 4 1 0 3 3 16 –13 3
Current squad This is the squad that competed in the 2023 Milne Cup held in Shetland.
Goalkeepers
Andrew Goodlad (Celtic), Rory Henderson (Scalloway)
Defenders
Lorne McNiven (Whitedale), Liam Flaws (Ness Utd), Josh Carroll (Spurs), James Farmer (c) (Ness Utd), Jack Clubb (Celtic).
Midfielders
Neil Laurenson (Whalsay), Declan Adamson (Ness Utd), Calvin Leask (Thistle), Brandon McKay (Spurs), James Aitken (Celtic), Harry Thomson (Ness Utd), Ronan Grant (Spurs).
Forwards
Sam Maver (Spurs), Finn Regan (Celtic).
Coaches Neil Fenwick (Manager), Richard Arthur (Coach), Bruce McCulloch (Coach), Craig Dinwoodie (GK Coach), Martin Leyland (Conditioning).
Notable players
Duncan Bray - inducted in University of Southern Indiana Athletic Hall of Fame
Tournament records
Island Games record Island Games recordYearRoundPositionGPWDLGSGA 1989Group stage5th4004113 1991Group stage5th420278 19937th4103310 1995Did not enter 1997Group stage5th421146 199910th52031414 20018th412167 20037th5212108 2005Champions1st5410101 2007Did not enter 2009Group stage13th411279 2011Did not enter 2013Did not enter 2015Fourth place4th5212105 2017Group stage10th4103712 2019Fourth place4th410388 2023Group stage7th4301126Total1 title 12/16562272799107
North Atlantic Cup Note: 2 points for a win era. YearPositionGPWDLGFGAGDPoints1968–19732nd83141821 -37
Milne Cup Including Kirkwall vs. Lerwick LocationWDLGFGAGD 1908–20205763923018446
61 Milne Cup wins
Mitchell and Sutherland Shields Source:
Mitchell Shield LocationWDLGFGAGD 2006–2014900591049 9 Mitchell shields wins
Sutherland Shield LocationWDLGFGAGD 2007, 2008, 201120121912 2 Sutherland Shield wins
Selected International opponents Last update: 26 July 2009 OpponentsMatchesWinDrawLossGFGAGDWin%
Honours Non-FIFA competitions Island Games: Gold medal: 2005
Others titles North Caledonian F.A. Jock Mackay Cup: Winners: 2014–15
References
External links Shetland matches on Roon ba Shetlopedia entry on Shetland team Official Shetland FA Page