Environment Forum
Global environmental challenges
In Antarctic soccer: Britain 2, United States 0
In a rare Antarctic soccer ‘international’, staff at a British base on the Antarctic Peninsula beat the crew of a visiting U.S. research vessel 2-0 on Saturday on a pitch with a view out over mountains and icebergs.
About 30 of us watched from the sidelines of the pitch (actually, the area in front of the aircraft hangar) at the Rothera research station on the Antarctic Peninsula with the occasional snow flurry in temperatures just below freezing. The cheerleaders tried to keep warm by leaping around (below). 
Carpenter Chris Hobson (above, in blue) was the hero for Rothera, scoring both goals in the first half — the first from the rebound after a disputed penalty awarded for handball. The second after a goalmouth scramble.
He’s now known as “Cristiano”.
The Americans from the Laurence M. Gould vessel, on a research cruise along the Antarctic Peninsula, had a few good chances but never managed to score. A few weeks at sea may have upset their balance.
