MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

HMS Protector's football fixture included playing in the Antarctic Circle

The “distraction of the spectacular backdrop” was perhaps to blame for the Royal Navy crew's loss

Sailors from the Royal Navy's Ice Patrol Ship continued their tour of impressive football pitches (starting with Grytviken in South Georgia), when they kicked off inside the Antarctic Circle.

However, the “spectacular backdrop” might have been a bit of a distraction as the HMS Protector crew lost the game.

Alongside some pictures of the action, HMS Protector posted on Twitter: “Another stop, another football game, this time inside the Antarctic Circle! We may have lost but it was a fun game and our excuse was the distraction of the spectacular backdrop; a definite home team advantage!”

The sailors from HMS Protector recently went head to head with British Antarctic Survey staff during a game of football on the most southerly and arguably the worst pitch in the world.

The playing field, found at Grytviken, the largest settlement of South Georgia, in the South Atlantic, is billed as the most southerly in the world – it's 2,476 miles from the South Pole, to be precise.