2024 CONIFA World Football Cup

Last updated
2024 CONIFA World Football Cup
Tournament details
Host countryTBD
DatesCanceled (would have been Summer 2025)
Tournament statistics
Top scorer(s)Flag placeholder.svg
2018
2026

The 2024 CONIFA World Football Cup would have been the fourth edition of the CONIFA World Football Cup, an international football tournament for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA organized by CONIFA. On 9 May 2023, Kurdistan Region was announced as the tournament host, [1] but was removed in September 2024 following their suspension by CONIFA.

Contents

On 30 April 2024, CONIFA announced that the tournament would be postponed until summer 2025 after security concerns meant that a large number of teams would not travel to the region. [2] On 9 September 2024, it was announced that Kurdistan would no longer host the tournament and had been suspended by CONIFA, no new host for the 2025 event was announced but an unofficial statement by the CONIFA President shared through social media suggested that Brazilian state of São Paulo was to become the new host. [3] [4]

On 18 December 2024, CONIFA announced that the rescheduled 2025 tournament would be canceled, after potential hosts São Paulo failed to show proof of organisational or financial ability. CONIFA announced that the next World Football Cup would now be scheduled to be held in either 2026 or 2027. [5]

Host selection

In April 2023, following a visit to the region a month earlier announced that the Kurdistan Region would host the 2024 CONIFA World Football Cup, the first since the 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup due to the COVID-19 Pandemic resulting in the cancellation of the 2020 CONIFA World Football Cup due to be held in Skopje, North Macedonia. [6] Following the suspension of Kurdistan Football Association by CONIFA, the former lost its hosting rights. Therefore, the 2024 CONIFA World Cup was canceled.

Qualification

CONIFA assigns the number of berths for each continent according to the percentage of CONIFA members that come from that continent, with each continent having guaranteed at least one spot in the tournament. [7] In addition, one place is reserved to the host team, other to the current champion (Kárpátalja) and one wild card. Hawaiʻi shared, via social media, that while they had been given an automatic ticket to the tournament, as Oceania's only member, they had declined the invitation and transferred their ticket to Asia, although no formal confirmation had been made by CONIFA. [8]

ContinentActive
members [9]
PercentageProposed
Spots
Actual
Spots
Africa110%11
Asia617%25
Europe1650%68
North America37%11
Oceania13%10
South America213%22

Qualified teams

TeamRegionMethod of
qualification
Date of
qualification
Finals
appearance
Previous
appearance
Previous best
performance
Flag of Transcarpathian Oblast.svg  Kárpátalja Europe2018 Champion9 June 20182nd2018Champion (2018)
Flag of Kurdistan.svg  Kurdistan Region AsiaHost team9 May 20233rd2014, 2016Quarterfinalist (2014, 2016)
Flag of Raetia.svg  Raetia EuropeEuropean Group B Winner17 June 20232nd2016Group stage (2016)
Flag of Szekely Land.svg  Székely Land EuropeEuropean Group C Winner2 July 20233rd2016, 2018Fourth (2018)
Flag of Cornwall.svg  Cornwall EuropeEuropean Group A Winner16 July 20231st
Bicolor flag of Tamil Eelam.svg  Tamil Eelam AsiaAsia Football Cup Winner8 August 20233rd2016, 2018Group Stage (2016)
Flag of Tibet.svg  Tibet AsiaAsia Football Cup Third Place8 August 20232nd2018Group Stage (2018)
Flag of Mexico.svg ANBM North AmericaSelected18 August 20231st
Flag placeholder.svg  Kabylie AfricaSelected14 September 20232nd2018Group Stage (2018)
Flag of the Republic of Abkhazia.svg  Abkhazia EuropeSelected14 September 20234th2014, 2016, 2018Champion (2016)
Panjab football flag.png  Panjab AsiaSelected7 November 20232nd2016, 2018Runners-up (2016)
Flag of Azad Kashmir.svg Kashmir AsiaSelected7 November 20231st
Flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1816).svg  Two Sicilies EuropeSelected7 November 20231st
Flag of South Ossetia.svg  South Ossetia EuropeSelected7 November 20232nd2014Fourth (2014)
Flag of Canton of Tessin.svg Canton Ticino EuropeSelected7 November 20231st
Bandeira do estado de Sao Paulo.svg São Paulo FAD South AmericaSelected28 February 20241st
Bandera Maule Sur.jpg Maule Sur South AmericaSelected20 March 20241st

References

  1. "Last month our president confirmed that the 2024 CONIFA World Cup hosting rights were awarded to @KurdistanFA". CONIFA Official. 9 May 2023.
  2. "Official Statement". X. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  3. "Suspension of Kurdistan FA". CONIFA. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  4. "Unreleased CONIFA Video". X. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  5. "Official communique 12-2024". CONIFA. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  6. "Kurdistan Region to host CONIFA World Cup 2024". Kurdistan 24. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  7. "Men´s World Football Cup 2024 – qualification". CONIFA. 7 December 2022.
  8. https://twitter.com/kanakapowawae/status/1686468773749063682?s=20
  9. Based on presentation during 2024 Annual General Meeting