Rohingya national football team

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Rohingya
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Nickname(s) Rohingya Football Club (RFC)
AssociationRohingya Association of Malaysia
Confederation CONIFA
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The Rohingya national football team represents the Rohingya people, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group in Rakhine State, Myanmar (also known as Arakan, Burma). [1] [2] The team is not affiliated with FIFA and therefore cannot compete for the FIFA World Cup. However, it is a member of CONIFA, a federation of football associations representing ethnic minorities and stateless nations. [3]

Contents

The team is sponsored by Rohingya Vision TV, the Kick Project (NGO), and the Government of Australia. [4]

Rohingya Football Club

It is composed of refugees living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, who are members of the Rohingya Football Club (RFC), [5] [6] which was founded in 2015. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rohingya people</span> Indo-Aryan ethnic group of western Myanmar

The Rohingya people are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar. Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an estimated 1.4 million Rohingya lived in Myanmar. Described by journalists and news outlets as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, the Rohingya are denied citizenship under the 1982 Myanmar nationality law. There are also restrictions on their freedom of movement, access to state education and civil service jobs. The legal conditions faced by the Rohingya in Myanmar have been compared to apartheid by some academics, analysts and political figures, including Nobel laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu, a South African anti-apartheid activist. The most recent mass displacement of Rohingya in 2017 led the International Criminal Court to investigate crimes against humanity, and the International Court of Justice to investigate genocide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Dragon King</span> 1978 military operation in Arakan, Burma (present-day Rakhine State, Myanmar)

Operation Dragon King, officially known as Operation Nagamin in English, was a military operation carried in 1978 out by the Tatmadaw and immigration officials in northern Arakan, Burma, during the socialist rule of Ne Win.

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There is a history of persecution of Muslims in Myanmar that continues to the present day. Myanmar is a Buddhist majority country, with significant Christian and Muslim minorities. While Muslims served in the government of Prime Minister U Nu (1948–63), the situation changed with the 1962 Burmese coup d'état. While a few continued to serve, most Christians and Muslims were excluded from positions in the government and army. In 1982, the government introduced regulations that denied citizenship to anyone who could not prove Burmese ancestry from before 1823. This disenfranchised many Muslims in Myanmar, even though they had lived in Myanmar for several generations.

Insurgencies have been ongoing in Myanmar since 1948, the year the country, then known as Burma, gained independence from the United Kingdom. The conflict has largely been ethnic-based, with several ethnic armed groups fighting Myanmar's armed forces, the Tatmadaw, for self-determination. Despite numerous ceasefires and the creation of autonomous self-administered zones in 2008, many armed groups continue to call for independence, increased autonomy, or the federalisation of the country. The conflict is the world's longest ongoing civil war, having spanned more than seven decades.

The 2012 Rakhine State riots were a series of conflicts primarily between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar, though by October Muslims of all ethnicities had begun to be targeted. The riots started came after weeks of sectarian disputes including a gang rape and murder of a Rakhine woman which police allege was committed by three Rohingya Muslims. On 8 June 2012, Rohingyas started to protest from Friday's prayers in Maungdaw township. More than a dozen residents were killed after police started firing. A state of emergency was declared in Rakhine, allowing the military to participate in administration of the region. As of 22 August 2012, officially there were 88 casualties: 57 Muslims and 31 Buddhists. An estimated 90,000 people were displaced by the violence. Around 2,528 houses were burned; of those, 1,336 belonged to Rohingyas and 1,192 belonged to Rakhines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rohingya conflict</span> Sectarian conflict in western Myanmar since 1947

The Rohingya conflict is an ongoing conflict in the northern part of Myanmar's Rakhine State, characterised by sectarian violence between the Rohingya Muslim and Rakhine Buddhist communities, a military crackdown on Rohingya civilians by Myanmar's security forces, and militant attacks by Rohingya insurgents in Buthidaung, Maungdaw, and Rathedaung Townships, which border Bangladesh.

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Malaysia–Myanmar relations are foreign relations between Malaysia and Myanmar. Both are the members of ASEAN and enjoy good relations. Although the relations become strained in late 2016 due to the Rohingya people issues, the relations remained stable after the meeting between both countries' armed forces chiefs to play down the issues. Myanmar currently has an embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and Malaysia has an embassy in Yangon.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Rohingya refugee crisis</span> Mass human migration crisis

In 2015, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people were forcibly displaced from their villages and IDP camps in Rakhine State, Myanmar, due to sectarian violence. Nearly one million fled to neighbouring Bangladesh and some travelled to Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand by rickety boats via the waters of the Strait of Malacca, Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army</span> Insurgent group in Rakhine State, Myanmar

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), formerly known as Harakah al-Yaqin, is a Rohingya insurgent group active in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. According to a December 2016 report by the International Crisis Group, it is led by Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi, a Rohingya man who was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and grew up in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Other members of its leadership include a committee of Rohingya émigrés in Saudi Arabia.

The following lists events in the year 2017 in Myanmar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rohingya genocide</span> Ongoing ethnic cleansing in Myanmar (Burma)

The Rohingya genocide is a series of ongoing persecutions and killings of the Muslim Rohingya people by the military of Myanmar. The genocide has consisted of two phases to date: the first was a military crackdown that occurred from October 2016 to January 2017, and the second has been occurring since August 2017. The crisis forced over a million Rohingya to flee to other countries. Most fled to Bangladesh, resulting in the creation of the world's largest refugee camp, while others escaped to India, Thailand, Malaysia, and other parts of South and Southeast Asia, where they continue to face persecution. Many other countries consider these events ethnic cleansing.

Violent clashes have been ongoing in the northern part of Myanmar's Rakhine State since October 2016. Insurgent attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) have led to sectarian violence perpetrated by Myanmar's military and the local Buddhist population against predominantly Muslim Rohingya civilians. The conflict has sparked international outcry and was described as an ethnic cleansing by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In August 2017, the situation worsened and hundreds of thousands of refugees fled Myanmar into Bangladesh, with an estimated 500,000 refugees having arrived by 27 September 2017. In January 2019, Arakan Army insurgents raided border police posts in Buthidaung Township, joining the conflict and beginning their military campaign in northern Rakhine State against the Burmese military.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh</span> Displaced persons from Myanmar in Bangladesh

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh mostly refer to Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals from Myanmar who are living in Bangladesh. The Rohingya people have experienced ethnic and religious persecution in Myanmar for decades. Hundreds of thousands have fled to other countries in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Philippines. The majority have escaped to Bangladesh, where there are two official, registered refugee camps. Recently violence in Myanmar has escalated, so the number of refugees in Bangladesh has increased rapidly. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), more than 723,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since 25 August 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International reactions to the Rohingya genocide</span>

The Rohingya genocide is a term applied to the persecution—including mass killings, mass rapes, village-burnings, deprivations, ethnic cleansing, and internments—of the Rohingya people of western Myanmar.

The Chut Pyin massacre was a massacre of Rohingyas by the Myanmar Army and armed Rakhine locals that purportedly took place in the village of Chut Pyin, in Rakhine State, Myanmar on 25 August 2017, the same day Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) insurgents attacked security forces along the Bangladesh–Myanmar border. The event was first brought to attention after a report was published by Human Rights Watch, which detailed accounts of rape and killings from survivors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rohingya genocide case</span> International Court of Justice case

The Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide , commonly referred to as the Rohingya genocide case, is a case which is currently being heard by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The case was brought forward by the Republic of The Gambia, on behalf of 57 members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in 2019.

References

  1. Careem, Nazvi (2 October 2017). "Rohingya refugees' team aim to raise awareness through soccer". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  2. "Rohingya Football Club to give "happy news"". Al Jazeera . 31 March 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  3. "Rohingya – CONIFA". CONIFA. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  4. "Partners – Rohingya Football Club". Rohingya Football Club. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  5. Vogt, R. J. (20 April 2017). "For the Rohingya Football Club, Just Existing Is a Political Statement". VICE Sports. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  6. Goh, Melissa. "Rohingya Football Club: A small club with a big dream". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  7. "Rohingya FC: The Malaysian-based football club of Rohingya refugees". english.stadiumastro.com.