Moving from CONIFA to the FIFA-recognised OFC, Tuvalu and Kiribati are now on the football map. But does this mean for them and the OFC?
Tag: conifa
Working with football federations in most need of kits and equipment, Leyburn Sports have a unique approach to jersey design and approach
Standing behind the goal at Enfield Town’s Queen Elizabeth II stadium, I was engulfed by an explosion of noise, a cloud of pyro smoke, and a huge sense of occasion. A 2,500-strong…
Northern Cyprus will play Kárpátalja in the final of the CONIFA World Football Cup after a dramatic day in Carshalton. Two barnstorming matches were decided by brilliant individuals, with Billy Mehmet and…
Back in April 2004, London-born Billy Mehmet was lining up for the Republic of Ireland Under 21s against Poland. Mehmet’s appearance in green was made possible via his maternal grandmother, who had followed…
In just over a week, 736 footballers will descend on Russia. Thousands of high-definition cameras will record their every move, with armies of pundits crowbarring analyses and veering to hare-brained conclusions. It might…
Two years ago, Barawa’s first competitive game ended in misery. Tamil Eelam were just too good at Gander Green Lane, romping to a 4-0 victory in the World Unity Cup. On Thursday evening,…
As CONIFA members go, Ellan Vannin are already fairly long in the tooth. Approaching their third World Football Cup, having competed at the organisation’s previous tournaments in Östersund in 2014 and Abkhazia…
Type ‘Matabeleland’ into any internet search engine and the most immediate results will inevitably exhibit a litany of sobering headlines regrettably punctuated with the words massacre, genocide and terror. In the early…
On 16 July 2017, at the whim of warehouse manager and proud Yorkshireman Phil Hegarty, the Yorkshire International Football Association (YIFA) was founded. Just six months later, as the new year rolled…
Among the slightly lesser-known folk arriving in London from every corner of the globe, intent on proudly representing their stateless nations, unrecognised countries, self-declared republics, de facto regions, ethnic groups and indigenous…
When, in October of last year, the United States of America fell to an unthinkable 2-1 defeat away to modest footballing islanders Trinidad and Tobago, stalling fatally in their final 2018 FIFA…
Having retired from refereeing two years ago, Per-Anders Blind now divides his time between looking after his herd of reindeer and serving as the President of the Confederation of Independent Football Associations…
On May 31, the third CONIFA Football World Cup will get underway in London. Participation in the tournament is limited to teams representing what the organisation calls “nations, de-facto nations, regions, minority…
“The worst thing about Manx people is that they don’t like change,” according to Chris Bass, manager of the Isle of Man’s international football team. “At least, they say they don’t –…
Justin Walley: the English coach gunning for success at the CONIFA World Cup with Zimbabwe’s minnows
For Justin Walley, football has long been an all-consuming passion in many shapes and guises over the years: from long drives as a student to Southampton just to see Matt Le Tissier…
On the evening of 14 June this summer, at the palatial Luzhniki Stadium in central Moscow, a second or two either side of 6pm, the referee’s whistle will sound, kick-off will be initiated,…
DRUG ABUSE, toad-infested football pitches and almost non-existent funding: the conditions outlined above might not be considered the most suitable for starting a national football team with aspirations of joining FIFA –…