Confederation of Independent Football Associations

Last updated
Confederation of Independent Football Associations
Formation15 August 2013;12 years ago (15 August 2013)
Type Sports governing body
Headquarters Luleå, Norrbotten, Sweden
Membership42 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, originally styled ConIFA) is the international governing body for association football teams that are not affiliated with FIFA.

Contents

Competitions

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Map of CONIFA tournaments

Red pog.svg Men's World Football Cup
Purple pog.svg Women's World Football Cup
Green pog.svg Asian Football Cup
Blue pog.svg European Football Cup

Men's competitions

National league sanctioned by CONIFA

Women's competitions

Futsal competition

Former competition

Current title holders

CompetitionYearChampionsTitleRunners-upNext edition [3]
World Championships
CONIFA Men's World Football Cup 2018 Flag of Transcarpathian Oblast.svg  Kárpátalja
1st
Flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.svg  Northern Cyprus TBD
CONIFA Women's World Football Cup 2024 Sami flag.svg  Sápmi
2nd
Bicolor flag of Tamil Eelam.svg  Tamil Eelam TBD
Men's Continental Championships
CONIFA African Football Cup 2022 Flag of Biafra.svg  Biafra
1st
Matabeleland football flag.svg  Matabeleland TBD
CONIFA Asian Football Cup 2025 Bicolor flag of Tamil Eelam.svg  Tamil Eelam
2nd
Kokbayraq flag.svg  East Turkestan TBD
CONIFA European Football Cup 2019 Flag of South Ossetia.svg  South Ossetia
1st
Flag of Western Armenia.png  Western Armenia Summer 2026
CONIFA South American Football Cup 2022 Bandera Maule Sur.jpg Maule Sur
1st
Flag of the Mapuches (1992).svg Mapuche TBD
Women's Continental Championships
No Limits Championships
CONIFA No Limits European Championship 2019 Flag of Monaco.svg  Monaco
1st
Flag of Padania.svg  Padania TBD
CONIFA No Limits Mediterranean Futsal Cup 2021 Flag of the County of Nice.svg  County of Nice
1st
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. [4] 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. [5]

Futsal Tournament

The first futsal Tournament was the 2021 CONIFA No Limits Mediterranean Futsal Cup which was held in Italy and consisted of disabled futsal teams near the Mediterranean Sea. [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 August2025: [7]

^^ The Federação Alternativa de Desporto de Estado de São Paulo (or São Paulo F.A.D.) is an independent regional football association dedicated to celebrating the culture and the people of the state of São Paulo. [14] The state also has an official football association, the Federação Paulista de Futebol, which is affiliated with the Brazilian Football Confederation, which in turn is a member of FIFA.

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 20202024
4Shaun HarrisFlag of the United States.svg United States 20242025
5Jaclyn GuenetteFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 2025Incumbent

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 20202022
3Alary DaltonFlag of the United States.svg United States 20222024
4Norma Alvares AguileraFlag of Mexico.svg Mexico 2024Incumbent

See also

References

  1. ↑ "CONIFA Constitution" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  2. ↑ "Suspension of Kurdistan FA". CONIFA. 2024-09-09. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
  3. ↑ "Calendar". www.conifa.org. Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA). Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  4. ↑ "Sápmi Take Historic Win in First Women's Match". CONIFA. Archived from the original on 2018-11-18. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  5. ↑ "CONIFA Announces First-Ever Women's World Football Cup". CONIFA. Archived from the original on 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  6. ↑ "CONIFA makes history with No Limits Mediterranean Futsal Cup". CONIFA. 2021-08-27. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  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. ↑ "Girl Power FA (Afghanistan)". CONIFA.org. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  10. ↑ "Pakistan Football Association joins CONIFA". 30 June 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  11. ↑ "Kuskatan joins CONIFA, reminds us of Latin American potential". kickingtheglobe.substack.com. 10 August 2020. Archived from the original on 2022-12-23. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  12. ↑ "Profile". Archived from the original on 2022-12-24. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  13. ↑ "CONIFA – The Guerrilla Alternative". hamptonthink.org. 29 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2023-06-30. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  14. ↑ https://www.conifa.org/en/members/fad/
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