Third team pulls out of Shetland’s Island Games group 

John Allan prepares to tackle a Guernsey player at the island games in 2017. Also pictured are defenders (from left) Richard Arthur, Piotr Drosdowski and Joel Bradley. Photo: Kevin Jones.

The Falklands has become the latest football team to withdraw from the Orkney Island Games – leaving Shetland’s men’s team in a group of three.

The men’s team was originally in a group with Jersey, Guernsey and Gozo for the summer event.

However, Guernsey was the first to pull out. Åland was called in, but they too decided to withdraw.

Their replacement, the Falklands, has now announced it would be withdrawing from the tournament after being unable to get a team together following the late invitation.

This leaves 10 teams in the men’s competition, and 11 in the women’s – with Sheltand women’s group unaffected by the withdrawals.

International Island Games Association rules state that, for a ten-team tournament, there will be one group of four and two groups of three.

The top team of each group plus the best placed runners-up go through to the semi-finals.

Afterwards, winners of the semi-finals go through to the final and the two losing semi-finalists will compete for third and fourth place.