ALL FUN AND GAMES

CAVAN CAMPBELL REPORTS ON THE FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT AT THE ISLAND GAMES 2025 IN SCOTLAND'S ORKNEY ISLANDS

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WHILE the men’s Club World Cup and women's Euros hogged the spotlight this summer, the Island Games in Orkney also brought together a bunch of teams to do battle.

The biennial event is a huge celebration of sports and culture, bringing many island territories to one place and competing in a range of sports from cycling to archery.

First held in 1985, teams represent places from far and wide such as Shetland, Ynys Mon, Saint Helena and the Falkland Islands.

In Scotland's Orkney, ten teams participated in the men’s football competition.

Often, the host islands perform relatively well in these games. Shetland hosted back in 2005, coming out victorious; this would be the same story for the Isle of Wight in 2011 and Bermuda in 2013.

Strong-performing islands in these games are often the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey.

Guernsey, however, did not send a representative football team in this edition, so it was left to Jersey to represent the Channel Islands. Ultimately, they fell short, finishing fourth after losing to the Isle of Man in the 3rd/4th playoff.

The group stages threw up some incredible games. In Group A, the Isle of Man beat Frøya (Norwegian territory) 10-1 with nine different goalscorers. Frøya, not known for their footballing prowess, came away with their only goal of the tournament, which in itself is an accomplishment.

The Isle of Man won all three of their group stage games, scoring 20 goals and conceding just four.