Day: January 27, 2019

CONIFA SportsBet.io World Football Cup 2020: Somaliland

Posted on by Robin Toal

On Sunday 27th January, it was decided by the CONIFA Executive Committee that the 2020 CONIFA SportsBet.io World Football Cup will be hosted by Somaliland.

Somaliland is an independent state in the Horn of Africa, which is not recognised by any other country. It declared sovereignty in 1991.

The Somaliland Football Association was founded in 2011, and represents Somaliland and Somalilanders living around the world.

This will be the fourth CONIFA World Football Cup, with previous tournaments having been hosted by Sapmi (2014); Abkhazia (2016); and Barawa (2018).

The County of Nice won the inaugural WFC in 2014, with Abkhazia and Karpatalya being crowned champions in 2016 and 2018 respectively.

The decision to award the tournament to Somaliland followed a non-binding vote at the CONIFA AGM by CONIFA member associations, where Somaliland was supported by the majority as a potential host nation.

The award of the CONIFA SportsBet.io World Football Cup 2020 to Somaliland is subject to a successful site visit, to be undertaken by members of the CONIFA Executive Committee in March 2019.

CONIFA 2019 European Football Cup – Draw

Posted on by Robin Toal

The draw for the 2019 CONIFA European Football Cup took place in Krakow today (Sunday 27th January).

Twelve teams, who represent 30 million people across Europe, will battle it out in the third CONIFA European Football Championship, which will take place in Artsakh in June.

The draw was made by Alberto Rischio, CONIFA European President; Ashot Danielyan, Minister of Science and Sport from the host nation of Artsakh; and Lucy Thomas, PR & Sponsorship Manager from tournament sponsors Sportsbet.io.

Group One:
Artsakh
Sapmi
Luhansk

Group Two:
Abkhazia
County of Nice
Chameria

Group Three:
Padania
Donetsk
Sardinia

Group Four:
Szekely Land
Western Armenia
South Ossetia

CONIFA, and hosts Artsakh, look forward to welcoming all players, coaches, and support staff from all competing football associations to the tournament – and we look forward to welcoming many fans to what will be a celebratory festival of culture and football.

As a final note, CONIFA and all CONIFA members wish to acknowledge Holocaust Memorial Day and to say that our thoughts are with victims of the Holocaust, their families, and in addition, all those affected by fascism and oppression throughout the world.