Sápmi football team

Football in Lapland was organized in 1979 and 2001^[3], controlled by the Norwegian Football Federation. The team's first match was organized in June 1985 facing the Åland football team. Football in the Lapland region of Finland is organized into localized regional tiers by the Football Association of Finland. In both 1979 and 2001, distinct fourth- and fifth-tier leagues were contested across the province (historically categorized under "Lappi" sections) featuring local clubs such as FC Santa Claus, KiU Kittilä, and Kontio Kolari.

Sápmi participated in the KTFF 50th Anniversary Cup in 2005 in Northern Cyprus, losing matches against Northern Cyprus and Kosovo and finishing third. In November 2006, Sápmi participated in and won the inaugural VIVA World Cup in Occitania, organised by the NF-Board. Sápmi overcame the host nation and Monaco to win the trophy^[4], scoring 42 goals in 3 games. They hosted the next finals in 2008, defeating Kurdistan to finish third, before travelling to Padania in 2009, where they again finished third. Sápmi has not participated in a VIVA World Cup since, although in 2010, they bid for the hosting rights of the 2014 edition.

Sápmi hosted the 2014 ConIFA World Football Cup(which was the year that they joined)^[5], and it competed at the 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup.

2014 ConIFA World Football Cup

In 2 June 2014, Lapland faced Abkhazia, the match ending in a 1-2 defeat. In June 3, Lapland faced Occitania and lost their second match 0-1. In 4 June, Lapland won their first match against Tamil Îlam 4-2. In 15 June, they faced Nagorno-Karabakh and lost 1-5. Lapland finished in tenth place.

Sápmi footballers who have played for the Norwegian national side and Sápmi teams include Morten Gamst Pedersen,^{[citation needed]} Sigurd Rushfeldt and Tom Høgli. Steffen Nystrøm, of Tromsø IL, has played for the Norway under-21 team and made his Sápmi debut in the VIVA World Cup.^{[citation needed]}

World Cup record

More information Year, Position ...

Year	Position	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
VIVA World Cup
2006	Champion	3	3	0	0	41	1
2008	Third place	5	2	1	2	9	8
2009	Third place	4	1	1	2	12	12
2010	did not enter
2012
ConIFA World Football Cup
2014	Group stage	4	1	0	3	6	10
2016	Quarter-finals	5	3	0	2	10	4
2018	did not qualify
2024
Total	Best: Champions	21	10	2	9	78	35

Close

^[6]

Sápmi squad at the 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup in Abkhazia, 28 May – 6 June 2016.^[7]

Non-FIFA competitions

• Viva World Cup
  • Champions (1): 2006
  • Third place (2): 2008, 2009