Football in the Isle of Man
Football is one of the most popular sports in the Isle of Man[citation needed] and the island has its own national football team and league system, despite not being a fully sovereign state or having membership to UEFA or FIFA.
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International football
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The Isle of Man is not a member of UEFA or FIFA so the national team cannot enter the European Football Championships qualifiers or the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The island meets the criteria needed for membership to UEFA, but not much interest has ever been announced. As with the other Crown Dependencies, the Isle of Man Football Association has county status within The Football Association so they are represented by England internationally.
The Isle of Man official football team instead tend to play small scale matches against other non-FIFA teams. They are also quite successful in the Island Games, winning silver on 3 occasions. The team play their home games at The Bowl in Douglas.
There is also an alternative national side, the Ellan Vannin football team, founded in 2013.
Domestic football
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Isle of Man Football League
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The Isle of Man Football League is the national football league for amateur teams of the island. The league has two levels consisting of 13 teams each. The league is organised by the Isle of Man Football Association but the winning team(s) cannot enter the UEFA Europa League or UEFA Champions League, due to the island's lack of membership.
Football Cups
As well as the league, there are also many domestic cups in the Isle of Man:
- Isle of Man FA Cup
- Isle of Man Railway Cup (Premier division teams only)
- Isle of Man Hospital Cup
- Paul Henry Gold Cup (Division two teams only)
- Captain George Woods Memorial Cup (Division two teams only)
