B71 Sandoy

B71 (Sandoy) (B71 being short for Bóltfelagið 1971 – literal translation: "Ball Club 1971") is a Faroese sports club, playing their home games Inni í Dal, Sandur. Teams are made up of players from all the towns on the island of Sandoy.

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

The Club history

Origins (1970–1971)

Although B71 is one of the youngest football-teams in the Faroe Islands, there has always been a considerable amount of interest in sports on the particular island from which the team fares. Football had been played well before B71 was established in 1970, but since sand-surfaces were deemed unsuitable for football, a team had yet to be formed.

In the late 1960s, two of the island's towns, Sandur and Skopun, started to compete. There were no goals, so instead they used two rocks each, representing goalposts. This rivalry between two of Sandoy's biggest towns went on for several summers, bringing in truckloads of people from Skopun, even though cars had yet to be accessible to the common man.

Sandoy

Sandoy (Danish: Sandø. English: Sandisland) is the first of the five southern islands that make up the Faroe chain, the fifth biggest of all the Faroe Islands, an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark. As of 2011, the largest population center on the island is the village of Sandur with a population of 599. Other settlements include Skarvanes, Skopun, Skálavík, Húsavík and Dalur.

Sandoy gets its name from the large beach at Sandur, and the general sandy soil of the island. It is the only island with dunes.

There are similarly named islands, Sanday in the Orkney Islands, Sanday in the Inner Hebrides and Sandøy in Norway.

A proposal has been approved by the Faroese parliament to build a tunnel connecting Sandoy with the more populous Streymoy to the north. Construction is not intended to be completed until 2021.

Agriculture

The island is considered the best island for agriculture due to its fertile sandy soil. The largest potato farm in the country is located on the island. And people who have gardening interests have generally an easier time getting plants to grow here.