The Annual General Meeting of the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) on Saturday voted to revoke the provisional expulsion of the Manx International Football Alliance / Ellan Vannin (MIFA).

The CONIFA Executive Committee voted on 6 June 2018 to provisionally expel MIFA following their unilateral departure from the 2018 Paddy Power World Football Cup. MIFA’s departure occurred after the tournament management committee rejected MIFA’s challenge to the eligibility of a Barawa FA player.

Under the CONIFA Constitution, the expulsion required ratification from the subsequent Annual General Meeting, with a 75% majority.

In Krakow on Saturday, during the final session of the 2019 Annual General Meeting, a secret ballot was held following statements from MIFA and several other relevant stakeholders. Of the 208 available votes, 70 were cast in favour of expulsion, 118 were cast against expulsion and 20 votes abstained. Accordingly, the expulsion resolution did not carry and MIFA regained its CONIFA membership.

A CONIFA Executive Committee spokesperson said following the vote: ‘We look forward to welcoming MIFA back into the CONIFA family. The CONIFA Executive Committee will respect the democratic will of its members.’

A full summary from the 2019 Annual General Meeting will be provided soon.