World Unity Football Alliance

Last updated

World Unity Football Alliance
Formation7 July 2020;3 years ago (2020-07-07)
TypeFederation of associations
Membership
19 Members
Official languages
English, Spanish
Website worldunityfootballalliance.org

The World Unity Football Alliance (WUFA) is an international governing body for association football teams that are not affiliated with FIFA, similar to but smaller than the older Confederation of Independent Football Associations. WUFA was founded in 2020 to oversee international competition among the non-FIFA affiliated associations in the world, the alliance of football associations does not have a centralised management structure. [1] [2]

Contents

History

WUFA initially announced 9 founding members, and were joined by the Yorkshire International Football Association on 8 July. [3] Of the 18 members of WUFA, 11 are also members of CONIFA, Darfur left CONIFA prior to establishing WUFA, and Surrey were not a member of any federation prior to joining WUFA. [4] [5] On 13 July 2020, WUFA announced a partnership with COSANFF – Consejo Sudamericano de Nuevas Federaciones de Fútbol, establishing an alliance. [6] 3 members, the Armenian Argentine Community, Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Mapuche Nation later joined as members of the World Unity Football Alliance as well as the COSANFF.

On 12 September 2020, WUFA announced their first tournament, the World Series, scheduled for 2021. [7] On 6 April 2021, International Surrey Football announced it would host the first stage of the WUFA World Series, all 4 games were played behind closed doors due in part to local COVID restrictions imposed in the United Kingdom at the time. [8] On 7 July 2021, WUFA announced the Kashmir Football Association as its newest member. Kashmir was not previously a member of any non-FIFA organisation prior to joining WUFA. [9] [10] On 29 June 2021, WUFA announced plans to organise the WUFA Women's World Unity Cup, its first major international tournament. [11] On 15 March 2022, the World Unity Football Alliance announced the election of its first General Secretary, President and founder of members International Surrey Football. [12]

Members

Europe (3)
TeamMW
Flag of Jersey.svg Parishes of Jersey Yes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Flag of Surrey.svg Surrey [13] Yes check.svgYes check.svg
Yorkshire Flag.png  Yorkshire Yes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Asia (5)
TeamMW
Flag of Hong Kong.svg All Black FC Hong Kong Yes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Flag of the Karen National Union.svg Karen [14] Yes check.svgYes check.svg
Flag of Azad Kashmir.svg Kashmir Yes check.svgYes check.svg
Bicolor flag of Tamil Eelam.svg  Tamil Eelam Yes check.svgYes check.svg
Morning Star flag.svg West Papua Yes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Africa (5)
TeamMW
Flag of Ogaden National Liberation Front(2).svg  Barawa Yes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Flag of CSSC.svg  Chagos Islands Yes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Flag of Darfur.svg  Darfur Yes check.svgYes check.svg
Matabeleland football flag.svg  Matabeleland Yes check.svgYes check.svg
Flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.svg  Western Sahara Yes check.svgDark Red x.svg
North America (2)
TeamMW
Flag of California.svg California [15] Yes check.svgDark Red x.svg
El escudo del Senorio de Kuscatan con simbolo de altepetl.png Kuskatan Yes check.svgDark Red x.svg
South America (4)
TeamMW
Flag of Armenia and Argentina.svg Armenian Argentine Community Yes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Flag of the Mapuches (1992).svg Mapuches Yes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Flag of Rapa Nui, Chile.svg  Rapa Nui Yes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Bandeira do estado de Sao Paulo.svg São Paulo Yes check.svgDark Red x.svg

Member Federation

Tournaments

Men's World Unity Cup

Women's World Unity Cup

World Series

Organisation

General Secretary

General Secretary of WUFA
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Danny ClarkeFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 18 February 202230 June 2023

See also

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sahrawi Football Federation</span>

The Sahrawi Football Federation (FSF) is the governing body of association football in Western Sahara, a territory that is disputed between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. It was formed in 1989 and it is based in the city of Laayoune. The board runs the Sahrawi national football team. The Sahrawi Football Federation hosts the Sahrawi Republic Cup.

The South American Board of New Football Federations, also known by its acronym COSANFF is the administrative and controlling body for non-FIFA football federations in South America. It was also initially affiliated with the now defunct N.F.-Board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Sahara national football team</span> National association football team

The Western Sahara national football team represents Western Sahara (SADR), a disputed territory, in association football. Controlled by the Sahrawi Football Federation, they are members of World Unity Football Alliance for non-FIFA-affiliated nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chagos Islands national football team</span>

The Chagos Islands national football team is a football team representing the territory of the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean. However, this area, which falls under the administration of the British Indian Ocean Territory, is uninhabited save for the presence of a US military base on the island of Diego Garcia, after the United Kingdom evicted the local population between 1967 and 1973. As a consequence, the team in fact represents the Chagossian diaspora around the world. They are led by Sussex-based manager Jimmy Ferrar, who has previously managed at Oakwood, Crawley Down and Alfold where he won the Southern Combination Div 1 for season 2018/19.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artsakh national football team</span> Unofficial national football team representing the partially recognised state of Nagorno-Karabkh

The Artsakh national football team, until 2017 known as 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 World Cup or the European Championship.

The Cascadia national soccer team is a soccer team representing the men's side of the Cascadia region of the United States and Canada and is controlled by the Cascadia Association Football Federation (CAFF). The team is composed of players from the U.S states of Oregon, Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia. The stated mission of the team is "...to allow Cascadia as a distinct cultural entity, isolated bioregion and growing society with common interests to be represented at the international level in the sport we are all passionate about." CAFF is a member of ConIFA. Cascadia is not a member of FIFA or any confederation or sub-confederation as the region is wholly a part of both the United States or Canada. However, CAFF is not opposed to those organizations and sees itself coexisting as a non-FIFA regional representative team.

The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) is the international governing body for association football teams 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 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">Yorkshire football team</span> CONIFA regional football team

Yorkshire international football team represents Yorkshire as a region in international association football. The team are affiliated with WUFA, it does not play in FIFA and UEFA matches. The team were previously affiliated with CONIFA.

The Parishes of Jersey football team is a representative team of Jersey in international football. As opposed to the Jersey official football team, which is administered by the Jersey Football Association and is seen as part of the English FA, the Parishes of Jersey team is independent and operates as a member of the WUFA. As it is not a member of UEFA or FIFA, it cannot compete in the FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Championship. Parishes of Jersey were members of CONIFA between 2018 and 2021 and had qualified for the 2020 CONIFA World Football Cup before the tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19.

The Kernow football team represents Cornwall at international association football since 2018. It uses the native Cornish name of the region, Kernow, to represent its team, and is managed by the Kernow Football Alliance. As the side is not a member of UEFA or FIFA, it cannot qualify for the UEFA European Championship or FIFA World Cup, although it is a member of ConIFA and is eligible to participate in the ConIFA World Football Cup and ConIFA European Football Cup. The team is currently co-managed by Phil Lafferty and Darren Gilbert, and coached by Darren Wright and Andrew Graham. In 2023 Kernow faced FA Sápmi in a deciding match to join the 2024 ConIFA World Football Cup. Kernow won 2-1 progressing to the 2024 CONIFA World Football Cup finals.

The 2021 FIFA U-17 World Cup should have been the 19th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It would have been hosted by Peru.

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

The Mapuche football team is a football team representing the Mapuche of Chile and Argentina and is controlled by the Mapuche Football Association, founded in 2007. The stated mission of the team is "...to allow Mapuche as a distinct cultural entity, with common interests to be represented at the international level in the sport. Mapuche is a member of ConIFA and COSANFF. Mapuche would have participated in the 2020 ConIFA World Football Cup.

The 2021 South American U-17 Championship was originally going be the 19th edition of the South American U-17 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by CONMEBOL for the men's under-17 national teams of South America. It was scheduled to be held in Ecuador between 31 March – 25 April 2021, before its suspension and subsequent cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2021 South American U-20 Championship was originally going be the 30th edition of the South American U-20 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by CONMEBOL for the men's under-20 national teams of South America. It was scheduled to be held in Colombia between 2 and 27 February 2021, before its suspension and subsequent cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yorùbá Football Federation was founded as a football organization for the Yoruba people internationally. The organization was admitted into second world organization organizing a football cup aside from FIFA, the CONIFA Confederation of independent football association in October, 2020. The Yoruba Football Federation is not a member of FIFA, CAF or WAFU therefore it can't play any games organised by these organizations.

References

  1. "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE". World Unity Cup 2016. 8 July 2020.
  2. Price, Steve. "Soccer Or Activism? Darfur United And Teams Outside FIFA Form World Unity Football Alliance". Forbes.
  3. "Breaking news for the Yorkshire team! – YIFA for YORKSHIRE". Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  4. @DarfurUnited (15 June 2020). "To better serve its mission and values, Darfur United has decided to part ways with CONIFA effective immediately" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  5. "Surrey joins World Unity Football Alliance – International Surrey Football".
  6. "The South American Council of New Federations joins WUFA". World Unity Football Alliance. 13 July 2020.
  7. "2021 WUFA World Series". World Unity Football Alliance. 12 September 2020.
  8. "WUFA World Series Coming to Surrey – International Surrey Football".
  9. "Kashmir Football Association Joins WUFA". World Unity Football Alliance. 7 July 2021.
  10. "World stage for Kashmir as Bradford to host international teams". The Telegraph and Angus. 22 July 2021.
  11. "WUFA Announces First Major Tournament: WUFA Women's World Unity Cup". World Unity Football Alliance. 29 June 2021.
  12. "World Unity Football Alliance Vote for Interim General Secretary". World Unity Football Alliance. 15 March 2022.
  13. "About us". International Surrey Football.
  14. "Organisation". Karen Football Association.
  15. "About". California Football Federation.