AuthorJeffEyesRimmer While much of our attention is now focused on the big event this summer in Russia there is another World Cup about to start in London on the 31st May – The CONIFA World Cup. CONIFA stands for the Confederation of Independent Football Associations and are for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA. That’s putting it politely; they are in reality not recognised by FIFA. Consequently, they can’t compete in the normal international competitions and so started their own World Cup. This edition in London will be the third such iteration in its current form; there have been other World Cups similar such as the FIFI World Cup and VIVA World Cup. These both aimed to do the same thing with allowing unaffiliated states to play each other. This year’s competition was to be hosted by the Barawa FA. However, under CONIFA's criteria, the "host" does not necessarily have to play the tournament in the host's territory. Barawa is located in Somalia, but the Barawa FA represents members of the Somali diaspora in England and so that’s why its being played in England this time out. It’s a pretty big competition too; the final last time out attracted over 10,000 fans into the stadium and this year’s final will see former English Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg taking charge. This year’s World Cup has expanded too, with 16 teams now competing in the tournament compared to 12 teams last time out. The matches will be played at ten venues across London and include such grounds as Sutton United’s Gander Green Lane, Bromleys Hayes Lane and Carshalton Athletics Colston Avenue stadium. Those ground hold between 3000 to 5000 people so not bad crowds at all. So who are taking part? The current Champions are Abkhazia, who won the title two years ago in their homeland. Abkhazia is a disputed territory on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, south of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, in north western Georgia. The other groups and states trying to dethrone the champions are: Group 1: Barawa, Ellan Vannin, Tamil Eelam, Cascadia Barawa, also known as Brava, is a port town in the southwestern Lower Shebelle region of Somalia. They were selected as the host nation and elected to play in England with the diaspora community living there. Currently ranked 11th in the world they will be looking for large home support to cheer them on. Ellan Vannin or the Isle of Man as many of us would know them is a small island located just off the UK in the Irish Sea, north of Wales. With likely good home support and being 3rd in the world they would be considered one of the favourites for the competition. They came third in 2015 at the European championships and came second in the 2014 Conifa World Cup. Can they go one better? Tamil Eelam is located in the north eastern portion of Sri Lanka and with 3 million people they are one of the largest nations at the tournament. They came 11th at the 2014 version and are 9th in the World, so they have potential to reach the knockout phase. Cascadia are represents the Cascadia region of the US and Canada. They are composed of players from Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. So America will be present at one World Cup this year. They are unranked and this will be their first competition but they have an admirable aim of creating a mixed men’s and women’s national team. Group 2: Abkhazia, Northern Cyprus, Karpatalya, Tibet The state of Abkhazia is only recognised by Russia and the current champions will be looking to win back to back titles this time around, however they will be up against it with them being ranked 8th in the World at the moment. Northern Cyprus or the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to give them their full name is an independent de-facto nation in the Northern part of the Mediterranean Sea island of Cyprus. Currently ranked third in the world they have a realistic shot at taking the title. They have form too, winning the 2006 FIFI World Cup, which was one of the predecessors to this competition. Karpatalya are Hungarians in the Ukraine and number 156,600 people according to the Ukrainian census of 2001 and are the fifth largest national minority in the country. They are concentrated in the Zakarpattia Oblast part of the Ukraine. They are competing at their first World Cup and are not ranked currently. It could be a long competition for them. Tibet is probably one of the most well-known diaspora nations, with many living in India. They have competed in several international football tournaments previously, like the 2006 FIFI Wild Cup but are the lowest ranked team in the world rankings at 13th. Group 3: Padania, Székely Land, Tuvalu, Matabeleland Padania is an alternative name for the Pado Valley in Northern Italy and consists of eight regions in the area. They are ranked 2nd in the world and so should be major force in the tournament. Not something you can say of the current Italian team is it? Székely Land is an area located in Romania and in mainly a subgroup of the Hungarian peoples from eastern Transylvania. They are currently 5th in the world, coming 9th in the 2014 World Cup and then reaching the knockout stages in the last edition. They have had a good lead up to the tournament as well with a crushing 10 – 3 victory over Somaliland. Tuvalu is group of nine tiny islands in the South Pacific which won independence from the United Kingdom in 1978. They are an associate member Oceania Football Confederation and have recently beaten America Samoa in a friendly. They entered the tournament due to Kiribatai having to withdraw so how prepared they are might be an issue. Matabeleland is a region in Zimbabwe divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe. Currently unranked they may find it hard against the more seasoned sides in the group. Group 4: Panjab, United Koreans in Japan, Western Armenia, Kabylia Panjab are the current number one ranked team in the world and will have a large community of fans following them in England. Panjab is a geographical region comprising vast territories of northern India and eastern Pakistan. They came second in the last world cup, losing on penalties and will likely be the team to beat this time out. United Koreans in Japan are the delegates from “Zainichi Koreans”. The “Zainichi” is a Japanese word, which means “foreigners who stay in Japan”, but when they say “Zainichi Koreans”, it refers to long-term Korean residents of Japan who trace their roots to Korea. They haven’t had much opportunity to play for various reason but are still 6th in the world and some of their players have previously been selected to play for North Korea. So they have a fair amount of quality in their side. Western Armenia is, as the name would suggest, the western part of the Armenian Highlands which is now part of Turkey. Currently 10th in the world they only formed in 2015 but came 6th in the 2016 World Cup. They won’t be pushovers at this year’s tournament. Kabylia is located in North Africa, between the Tell Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. It’s nicknamed the African Switzerland and that sounds amazing. They are one of the largest groups of peoples represented at the tournament, with 10million Kabyles. Unranked and at their first tournament, they could be up against it in a group containing established teams. It could be easy to dismiss this World Cup but keep in mind that around 40-45% of the players on show are former professionals, so the quality will be good. Additionally, plenty of scouts will be heading along from clubs to spot some rough diamonds. So if you are in London go and check out the football from the CONIFA World Cup.
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