Football clubs playing in the league of another country

There are a number of football clubs around the world that are based in one country/territory but play in another's football league.

Great Britain and Ireland

As a result of the history of football in the United Kingdom, it has four FIFA member countries instead of one. Clubs that play outside what would be regarded as their 'home country' include:

England / Scotland

flagicon|England → flagicon|Scotland : English in Scotland
* Berwick Rangers play in the Scottish Football League (Third Division as of 2008-09), due to its proximity to the Scottish border.

flagicon|Scotland → flagicon|England : Scottish in England
* None at present.
* Gretna played in the English league system until 2002 when they were elected to the Scottish Football League.
* Celtic and Rangers, whose combined wealth and support would far outweigh the remainder of the Scottish Premier League teams' put together, have expressed a desire to leave the Scottish league system and become part of the Premier League in England. Both clubs currently receive less in television revenue than many English clubs with significantly smaller fan-bases. A move to the Premiership would give both Old Firm clubs a significant financial boost. This, however, is not the wish of most clubs in the Premiership: the smaller clubs fear their displacement and consequent loss of revenue; the larger clubs fear a reduced potential for qualification for European competitions. Some clubs in the Football League Championship have also argued against this move on the grounds that it would reduce their chances of promotion to the Premiership. Similarly, certain fans of both Scottish clubs have objected on the grounds that such a move might hinder their clubs' chances of qualifying for financially lucrative and entertaining European competitions to which qualifying on a season-to-season basis would have been a near certain in the Scottish system. Regardless of all these opinions, a remaining stumbling block is that both national football associations, (the Scottish Football Association and the Football Association), and Europe's governing body (UEFA), have to agree to the switch. In this light, it is unlikely that either Rangers or Celtic will be playing in the Premiership in the foreseeable future.

England / Wales

flagicon|England → flagicon|Wales : English in Wales
* The New Saints, one of only two fully professional clubs in the Welsh Premier League, represents both the Welsh village of Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain and the English town of Oswestry (the two places are only 8 miles/13 km apart), since its merger in 2003 with financially troubled Oswestry Town, an English club which had always played in the Welsh football structure. Since the 2007/08 season, they play in Oswestry, while previously playing in Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain.

flagicon|Wales → flagicon|England : Welsh in England
* Cardiff City and Swansea City play in the Football League Championship.
* Wrexham play in the Conference National.
* Newport County play in the Conference South.
* Merthyr Tydfil play in the Southern Football League Premier Division.
* Colwyn Bay play in the Northern Premier League Division One South.Although all the above clubs play in the English league system and are allowed to compete in the FA Cup, they are under the jurisdiction of the FA of Wales.

The following Welsh clubs also played in the English league system before the launch of the League of Wales, now the Welsh Premier League:
* Bangor City
* Barry Town
* Caernarfon Town
* Newtown
* RhylThe following defunct Welsh clubs also played in the English league system:
* Aberdare Athletic
* Lovells Athletic
* Merthyr TownUntil 1995, the above clubs were allowed to participate in the Welsh Cup, and represented Wales in the Cup Winners' Cup if they won. Clubs playing in those parts of England close to the Welsh border could also play in the Welsh Cup, but could not represent Wales even if they won.
* In addition, Chester City's Deva Stadium straddles the England-Wales border, and at least part of it is in Wales.

Republic of Ireland / Northern Ireland

flagicon|Northern Ireland → flagicon|Ireland : Northern Irish in the Republic of Ireland
* Derry City play in the FAI Premier Division, after moving from the Irish Football League in 1985, due to its troubled and fluctuating history emanating largely from the Troubles.

Continental Europe

flagicon|Andorra → flagicon|Spain : Andorran in Spain
* FC Andorra play in the Territorial Primera de Catalunya.

flagicon|Germany → flagicon|Switzerland : German in Switzerland
* FC Büsingen play in the Swiss football system, as Büsingen is a German exclave surrounded by Switzerland.

flagicon|Italy → flagicon|Switzerland : Italian in Switzerland
* AP Campionese play in the Swiss football system, as Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave surrounded by Switzerland.

flagicon|Liechtenstein → flagicon|Switzerland : Liechtensteiner in Switzerland
*FC Balzers
*USV Eschen/Mauren
*FC Ruggell
*FC Schaan
*FC Triesen
*FC Triesenberg
*FC VaduzAll clubs in Liechtenstein play in the Swiss football system, as Liechtenstein has no properly recognized league of its own. These clubs also compete in the Liechtenstein Football Cup, which is effectively the championship of Liechtenstein, with the winner representing Liechtenstein in the UEFA Cup.

flagicon|Monaco → flagicon|France : Monegasque in France
* AS Monaco FC play in Ligue 1, as Monaco does not have a professional league.

flagicon|San Marino → flagicon|Italy : Sammarinese in Italy
* San Marino Calcio play in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.
* A.C. Juvenes/Dogana played in both the Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio and the Italian amateur levels until the 2006-07 season. Now they play only in the Sammarinese league.

flagicon|Cyprus → flagicon|Greece : Cypriot in GreeceFrom 1967 to 1974, the champion of the Cypriot First Division was promoted to the Greek First Division
* Olympiakos Nicosia played in Greece in 1967-68, 1969-70, 1971-72
* AEL Limassol played in Greece in 1968-69
* EPA Larnaca FC played in Greece in 1970-71
* AC Omonia played in Greece in 1972-73
* APOEL F.C. played in Greece in 1973-74

flagicon|Austria → flagicon|Germany : Austrian in Germany
* SV Kleinwalsertal play in Germany since the 1960's, but nowadays only on youth level

North America

As many North American sports leagues are made up of teams from different countries, this phenomenon can also be seen in soccer leagues.

flagicon|Bermuda → flagicon|USA : Bermudian in the United States
* Bermuda Hogges play in the USL Second Division.

flagicon|Canada → flagicon|USA : Canadian in the United States
* Toronto FC play in Major League Soccer.
* Montreal Impact play in the USL First Division.
* Vancouver Whitecaps play in the USL First Division.
* Toronto Lynx play in the USL Premier Development League.The three professional clubs from Canada (Toronto FC, Montreal Impact, and Vancouver Whitecaps) contest the Canada Cup of Soccer to determine Canada's entrant into the CONCACAF Champions League.

flagicon|PRI → flagicon|USA : Puerto Rican in the United States
* Puerto Rico Islanders play in the USL First Division. While Puerto Rico is a dependent territory of the United States, it has a separate football federation, but no professional football league. They also represent Puerto Rico in the CFU Club Championship.

All the above teams are not eligible to participate in the U.S. Open Cup.

Asia

flagicon|Brunei → flagicon|Malaysia : Bruneian in Malaysia
*DPMM FC play in the Malaysia Super League.
*The Football Association of Brunei Darussalam used to enter a team in the Malaysian league.

flagicon|China → flagicon|Hong Kong : Mainland Chinese in Hong Kong
*Lanwa FC play in the Hong Kong First Division League. While Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, it has its own football federation and professional league.

flagicon|Singapore → flagicon|Malaysia : Singaporean in Malaysia
*The Football Association of Singapore used to enter a team in the Malaysian league, but pulled out after the 1994 season following a dispute with the Football Association of Malaysia over gate receipts, and launched its own S.League.

Oceania

flagicon|New Zealand → flagicon|Australia : New Zealander in Australia
* Wellington Phoenix play in the A-League as of the 2007-08 season.
* New Zealand Knights played in the A-League from 2005 to 2007.As New Zealand is a member of OFC and Australia is a member of AFC since moving from OFC in 2006, Wellington Phoenix are playing in the league of a member of another football confederation.

ources

* [http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/crossborder.html Where's My Country?] Article on cross-border movements of football clubs, at "RSSSF.com"

References