In London in early June 2018, a very special international football tournament is taking place. We went along to one of the fixtures to experience the CONIFA World Football Cup for ourselves.
There’s a buzzing atmosphere at Enfield Town’s Art Deco Queen Elizabeth II Stadium in North London. 1,200 people have gathered for Tibet versus Northern Cyprus.
This a group match in the CONIFA World Football Cup. CONIFA is the Confederation of Independent Football Associations, a non-profit organisation that represents associations outside FIFA. These associations include “nations, de facto nations, regions, minority peoples and isolated territories.”
The first CONIFA World Football Cup took place in Sweden in 2014, with the County of Nice in southern France running out victors. The 2018 edition takes place at non-league football grounds in and around London, including Enfield Town, Bromley FC, Carshalton and Sutton.
Sixteen teams compete in the 2018 tournament, including Ellan Vannin (Isle of Man), Tuvalu, Western Armenia, Matabeleland, Panjab and a host of other places you may not know how to locate on a map. The English county of Yorkshire joined in January 2018 – too late for involvement in this tournament – and other well-known territories, such as Sardinia and Quebec, are also members of CONIFA.
This CONIFA tournament also sees the trialing of the ‘green card’ punishment for minor offences.
Northern Cyprus v Tibet
The protagonists in this match, Northern Cyprus and Tibet, are both disputed territories. Northern Cyprus was invaded by Turkish forces in the summer of 1974 and is recognised only by Turkey, while Tibet has been occupied by China since 1951.
There’s a brilliant atmosphere provided by a strong Turkish contingent and strong support for Tibet. Northern Cyprus took the lead within the first two minutes and came close as they dominated the first half, with Tibet scoring a popular equaliser just before the break. Northern Cyprus hit two in the second half as their physical advantage really told and ran out 3-1 winners.
The final is on 9 June at Bromley and, like the opening match, will be refereed by former Premier League ref Mark Clattenburg. You can find more information and tickets on the CONIFA website. Check out our podcast with Chris Francis from CONIFA media partner, Away Day Neutrals, for more on the tournament: