If you looked at a map, you could be forgiven for assuming that the people of the Falkland Islands will be supporting Messi and co against England in their World Cup semi-final tonight. After all, Argentina is the Falklands’ closest neighbour, a mere 300 miles across the Atlantic. In contrast, England is a gruelling 20-hour plane journey away via a stopover in Ascension Island.
The Islanders will be among England’s biggest fans in this evening’s game
Not only that, but the Islanders appreciate great footballers – the sort that Argentina has excelled at producing. But geography and admiration for great footballers pale into insignificance when set against the events of the last few decades. And it won’t surprise anyone with any knowledge of Falklands history to hear that the Islanders will be among England’s biggest fans this evening.
Dan Biggs, the Falklands football manager, told me earlier this week: “Training is cancelled. We’ll be glued to our televisions and the pubs and bars of Stanley will be filled with Islanders cheering on the England team. Last Saturday, youth players were celebrating like Bellingham after scoring – it’s great that they have such impressive role models.”
Yes, in part, such enthusiasm is because so many Islanders have English ancestry, reflected in the 2013 referendum that saw 99.8 per cent of voters opting to maintain British sovereignty. You can’t get more decisive than that.
But more pertinent is the fact that Argentina tried, unsuccessfully thanks to Britain’s armed forces, to take the Islands by force in 1982, and has since continued to denounce the Islanders’ right to self-determination while maintaining a campaign of bullying and what the Islanders describe as “economic terrorism”. Javier Milei’s government might be more enlightened than its predecessors on many issues. But on the Falklands, it’s every bit as nasty and deluded.
The whole business reared its ugly head again just this week with the claim by Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno – absurd, ignorant and offensive in equal measure – that the Falkland Islanders are an “artificially implanted population”, and that there should be “negotiations” over the Islands’ future.
There is zero chance of that, as I imagine Mr Quirno is aware. I also imagine he’s aware of the paucity of his country’s claim over the Islands. In case anyone still needs reminding, the Falklands never had an indigenous population. The British, under Captain John Strong, were the first to set foot there in 1690, landing on a desolate beach in West Falkland. (There’s an understated plaque commemorating it, which you need a local guide and a sturdy Land Rover to find.) Later, in 1765, half a century before Argentina even existed, the British claimed sovereignty. Today, many of the Islanders trace their ancestry back nine generations to the original settlers.
Perhaps the overwhelming nature of their right to self-determination is why the Islanders rarely respond to Argentina’s silly war of words, believing such childishness is best ignored. They just get on with their lives, enjoying, with the exception of defence, economic self-sufficiency and a standard of living that an average Argentinian can only dream of. They also look forward to an even more prosperous future thanks to oil.
But if the people of the Falklands refuse to rise to the Argentine bait on sovereignty, football is a different matter altogether. As all England fans know, tonight’s match is bound to be one hell of a roller-coaster ride. But those of us who are passionate and, in my case, obsessive, about England’s cause, while alarmed at the prospect of yet another knockout defeat to Argentina, can take comfort that we won’t be alone in our suffering.
Because down in the South Atlantic, the many Falkland Islanders who keenly follow the World Cup will be as desperate for an England win as we are ourselves. James Marsh, a dad of three young islanders, summed it up when he told me: “Watching that battling display against Mexico will be one of my boys’ core memories. This England side could finally change the script.”
There are, of course, British people in Scotland and Wales who support ABE (Anyone But England). But for the equally British people of the Falklands, it’s not only about an England win, but also, for understandable reasons, ABA: Anyone But Argentina.
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