Confederation of Independent Football Associations

Last updated
Confederation of Independent Football Associations
Formation15 August 2013;11 years ago (15 August 2013)
Type Sports governing body
Headquarters Luleå, Norrbotten, Sweden
Membership 41 member associations
Official languages
English is the official language for minutes, correspondence, and announcements. French, German, Italian, and Spanish are additional languages [1]
President
Flag of Sweden.svg Per-Anders Blind
Website CONIFA.org

The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) is the international governing body for association football teams that are not affiliated with FIFA.

Contents

Competitions

Men's competitions

National league sanctioned by CONIFA

Women's competition

Futsal competition

Current title holders

CompetitionYearChampionsTitleRunners-upNext edition [3]
World Championships
CONIFA Men's World Football Cup 2018 (final)Flag of Transcarpathian Oblast.svg  Kárpátalja
1st
Flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.svg  Northern Cyprus June 2025
CONIFA Women's World Football Cup 2024 (final)Sami flag.svg  Sápmi
2nd
Bicolor flag of Tamil Eelam.svg  Tamil Eelam TBD
Continental Championships
CONIFA African Football Cup 2022Flag of Biafra.svg  Biafra
1st
Matabeleland football flag.svg  Matabeleland TBD
CONIFA Asian Football Cup 2023 [4] Bicolor flag of Tamil Eelam.svg  Tamil Eelam
1st
Hmong Flag (UNPO).svg Hmong FF TBD
CONIFA European Football Cup 2019 (final)Flag of South Ossetia.svg  South Ossetia
1st
Flag of Western Armenia.png  Western Armenia TBD
CONIFA North American Football Cup
TBD
CONIFA Oceanian Football Cup
TBD
CONIFA South American Football Cup 2022 Bandera Maule Sur.jpg Maule Sur
1st
Flag of the Mapuches (1992).svg Mapuche TBD
Futsal Championship
CONIFA No Limits Mediterranean Futsal Cup 2021 (final)Flag of the County of Nice.svg  County of Nice
Unknown
Flag of Sardinia.svg  Sardinia TBD

Women's football

All members of CONIFA are encouraged to invest in women's football in their communities, and to create female national selections to play and compete against other CONIFA members.

CONIFA's first ever official women's football match took place on 10 November 2018 in Northern Cyprus, with Sápmi ladies beating their Northern Cyprus hosts 4–0 in the Women's Friendship Cup. [5] CONIFA announced their first Women's World Football Cup on 31 January 2021, to be hosted by Székely Land between 23 and 30 June 2021 and involve 6 teams. [6]

Members

Types of members

CONIFA expressly uses the term "members" rather than "countries" or "states". A football association may be eligible to apply for membership of CONIFA if it, or the entity (ethnic or linguistic minority, indigenous group, cultural organization, territory) it represents, is not a member of FIFA and satisfies one or more of the following criteria:

List of members

Current members

As of January2025: [7]

Former members

Leadership

President

President of CONIFA
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Per-Anders BlindFlag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 7 June 2013Incumbent

Vice-Presidents

Vice-Presidents of CONIFA
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Malcolm BlackburnFlag of the Isle of Man.svg  Isle of Man 20142016
2Kristof WenczelFlag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 2015Incumbent
3Dimitri PagaveFlag of the Republic of Abkhazia.svg  Abkhazia 2016Incumbent

General Secretaries

General Secretaries of CONIFA
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Sascha DüerkopFlag of Germany.svg  Germany 7 June 201330 April 2020
2Jason Heaton Flag of England.svg England 30 April 20202 August 2021
3Piotr Podlewski Flag of Poland.svg Poland 2 August 20217 August 2022
4Jeroen Zandberg Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 7 August 2022Incumbent

African Presidents

African Presidents of CONIFA
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Masoud AttaiFlag of Zanzibar.svg  Zanzibar 7 June 20132017
2Justin WalleyFlag of England.svg  England 20172020
3Christian Lubasi Luzongo KalalalukaFlag of Zambia.svg  Zambia 20202022
4Ngala Maimo WajiriFlag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 2022Incumbent

Asian Presidents

Asian Presidents of CONIFA
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Tariq Abdulrahman Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq 7 June 20132017
2Jens JockelFlag of Germany.svg  Germany 20172020
3Motoko JitsukawaFlag of Japan.svg  Japan 20202022
4Ruby-Ann KagaoanFlag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 2022Incumbent

European President

European President of CONIFA
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Alberto RischioFlag of Italy.svg  Italy 7 June 2013Incumbent

Latin American Presidents

Latin American Presidents of CONIFA
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Jens JockelFlag of Germany.svg  Germany 20132017
2Zam GutierrezFlag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 20172019
3Diego BartolottaFlag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 2019Incumbent

Northern America and the Caribbean Presidents

Northern America and the Caribbean Presidents of CONIFA
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Mark DielerFlag of Germany.svg  Germany 20132017
2Noah WheelockFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 20172020
3Aaron JohnsenFlag of the United States.svg  United States 2020Incumbent

Oceanian Presidents

Oceanian Presidents of CONIFA
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Charles Reklai MitchellFlag of Palau.svg  Palau 20142017
2Ben SchultzFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 2017Incumbent

Directors of Women’s Football

Directors of Women's Football
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
Cassie ChildersFlag of the United States.svg  United States 6 September 20172019
1 Kelly Lindsey Flag of the United States.svg  United States February 201928 February 2020
2Håkan KuorakFlag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 28 February 2020 ???
3Norma AguileraFlag of Mexico.svg  Mexico  ???Incumbent

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sápmi football team</span> Unofficial national football team representing the Sámi people

The Sápmi football team is a football team representing the Sámi people, who inhabit northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The team is not a member of UEFA or FIFA, and therefore does not participate in their competitions, though is member of the ConIFA. It is organized by FA Sápmi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">N.F.-Board</span> N.F.-Board established on 12 December 2003

The N.F.-Board was a federation for football associations established on 12 December 2003. At the beginning, NFB was made up of teams that represent nations, dependencies, unrecognized states, minorities, stateless peoples, regions and micronations not affiliated to FIFA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Cyprus national football team</span> Mens association football team

The Northern Cyprus national football team represents Northern Cyprus, a de facto country, in association football. They were a member of the New Federations Board for non-FIFA-affiliated nations, until its dissolution in 2013. Northern Cyprus' home stadium is Nicosia Atatürk Stadium in North Nicosia and their head coach is Fırat Canova. They are the current FIFI Wild Cup champions, having won the event in Germany in June 2006. They are also the current ELF Cup champions, having won the event at home in November 2006.

Non-FIFA international football is the segment of international football that is not overseen by FIFA. FIFA is the international governing body of association football, overseeing football globally and with running international representative matches. However, some international football takes place outside its purview. This often consists of matches involving sub-national entities such as islands, colonies, or autonomous regions. Representative matches also occur involving states with limited international recognition who are unable to qualify for FIFA membership. There are also a limited number of states whose representative teams are not affiliated to FIFA. Historically, a number of competitions occurred outside FIFA's auspices. Member associations are national associations, usually affiliated to continental confederations which are subordinate to FIFA.

The Tamil Eelam National Football Team a representative football team for Tamil Eelam. The team, which consists of professional and semi-professional drawn from the Eelam Tamil diaspora community in Canada and Europe, was established in 2012 by the Tamileelam Football Association (TEFA). TEFA is affiliated to the Confederation of Independent Football Associations, an umbrella association for entities unaffiliated with FIFA therefore cannot compete for the FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup since they are not affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). As of March 2020, the team was ranked 16th in the CONIFA World ranking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artsakh national football team</span> Unofficial national football team representing the Artsakh nation

The Artsakh national football team, until 2017 known as the Nagorno-Karabakh national football team, was the national representative of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), which was internationally unrecognized. Consequently, it was not a member of FIFA or UEFA and was therefore not eligible to enter the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somaliland national football team</span> Mens association football team

The Somaliland national football team is the football team that represents Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as a de facto state. Although Somaliland is a de facto state, it has not yet received international de jure recognition. Somaliland is not a member of FIFA and CAF; it is, instead, an associate member of ConIFA, an association established in 2014 of teams from dependencies, unrecognised states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions that are not affiliated with FIFA.

The CONIFA World Football Cup is an international football tournament organized by CONIFA, an umbrella association for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA, which has been held every two years since 2014. This tournament is the successor of the Viva World Cup which was held from 2006 to 2012.

The CONIFA European Football Cup is an international football tournament organized by CONIFA, an umbrella association for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA, planned to be held every two years beginning with 2015. The 2017 edition was in Northern Cyprus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 CONIFA European Football Cup</span> International football competition

The 2015 ConIFA European Football Cup was the first edition of the ConIFA European Football Cup, an international football tournament for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA organised by CONIFA. The tournament was originally planned to be hosted by Ellan Vannin on the Isle of Man; this expanded to then see the group games and placement rounds held in South East England, while the semi-finals, third-place play-off and final would take place in Douglas. However, in March 2015, at the draw for the tournament, it was announced that the tournament would no longer be held in the Isle of Man, instead moving to be hosted by new entrant Székely Land in Hungary. In 2015, ConIFA announced that the tournament would serve as part of the qualification process for the 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup, with the top three teams qualifying automatically.

The 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification was the process to decide a number of the teams that will play in the 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup. This is the second tournament to feature a qualification process, following on from the 2016 qualification. The first qualification match played was on 13 March 2016 between the Tamil Eelam team and the team representing the Romani people, with the first goal scored by Tamil Eelam's Panushanth Kulenthiran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 CONIFA European Football Cup</span> International football competition

The 2017 ConIFA European Football Cup was the second edition of the ConIFA European Football Cup, an international football tournament for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA organised by ConIFA. It was hosted in Northern Cyprus.

The Kárpátalja football team is a team representing the Hungarian minority in Carpathian Ruthenia, a historic region mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast. It is a member of ConIFA, an umbrella association for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Székely Land football team</span> Unofficial national football team representing the region of Székely Land

The Székely Land football team is a team representing Székely Land, a historic and ethnographic region in eastern Transylvania, in central Romania, inhabited mainly by the Székelys, a subgroup of the Hungarian people. It is a member of ConIFA, an umbrella association for states, minorities,and regions unaffiliated with FIFA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Koreans in Japan football team</span> Football team in Japan

The United Koreans in Japan official football team represents the Korean population living in Japan. The team includes players holding passports from North Korea, South Korea and Japan. The team, run by the United Korean Football Association in Japan (UKFAJ), joined ConIFA in 2015, and played its first matches at the 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup.

The Sápmi women's football team is a football team representing the Sámi people, who inhabit northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The team is a member of the Confederation of Independent Football Associations. It is organized by FA Sápmi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liga de Balompié Mexicano</span> Mexican football league

Liga de Balompié Mexicano is a semi-professional football league in Mexico. It is the first division of the league system of the National Association of Mexican Football.

The 2022 CONIFA Women's World Football Cup was the first edition of the CONIFA Women's World Football Cup, an international football tournament for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA organised by CONIFA. It was cancelled following the COVID-19 pandemic and reorganised for July 2022.

The 2024 CONIFA Women's World Football Cup is the second edition of the CONIFA Women's World Football Cup, an international football tournament for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA organised by CONIFA.

References

  1. "CONIFA Constitution" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  2. "CONIFA Sanctions Liga de Balompié Mexicano, its First-Ever Professional League". CONIFA. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  3. "Calendar". www.conifa.org. Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA). Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  4. https://www.conifa.org/en/event/conifa-asia-cup-2023/
  5. "Sápmi Take Historic Win in First Women's Match". CONIFA. Archived from the original on 2018-11-18. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  6. "CONIFA Announces First-Ever Women's World Football Cup". CONIFA. Archived from the original on 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  7. "Members". www.conifa.org. Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA). Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  8. "Biafra De Facto Customary Government to participate in maiden CONIFA African Tournament". standardobservers.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-24. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  9. "Pakistan Football Association joins CONIFA" . Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  10. "Kuskatan joins CONIFA, reminds us of Latin American potential". kickingtheglobe.substack.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-23. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  11. "Profile". Archived from the original on 2022-12-24. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  12. "CONIFA – The Guerrilla Alternative". hamptonthink.org. Archived from the original on 2023-06-30. Retrieved 2022-12-24.