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.[1][2][3] 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.[4]
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 trip 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.[5]
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.
|
Points
|
| 1st
|
Shetland
|
4
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
8
|
1
|
7
|
10
|
| 2nd
|
Isle of Man
|
4
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
12
|
3
|
9
|
7
|
| 3rd
|
Saaremaa
|
4
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
5
|
0
|
5
|
| 4th
|
Åland
|
4
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
4
|
7
|
–3
|
3
|
| 5th
|
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.[6]
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).
Orkney 2–3 Shetland 
