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Background

East Turkistan is located in the heart of Asia and is made up of Turkic people such as Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, and Tatars. Two years before invading Tibet, the Chinese communist state annexed the Republic of East Turkistan in 1949.
As an occupied nation, East Turkistanians have unique languages and cultural heritage that are significantly distinguishable from those of Han Chinese. East Turkistan Football Association (ETFA) is the governing body of the East Turkistanian diaspora association football leagues in the following countries: United States, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, and Australia. Founded in 2019, ETFA is the first East Turkistan national football association since 1949, and it is responsible for overseeing all aspects of both amateur and professional games in the East Turkistanian diaspora communities around the world. ETFA is a member of CONIFA (previously registered as Uyghur United), and it sanctions all competitive football matches within its remit at the national level, and indirectly at the local level through the country football association leagues. It runs numerous competitions, the most famous of which is the ETFA Freedom Cup. It is also responsible for appointing the management of the men’s, women’s, and youth national football teams.

Latest News

February 25

Groups announced for first-ever CONIFA World Women’s Football Cup

Sapmi and Northern Cyprus, who played in CONIFA’s first-ever official women’s match in November 2018,...

July 08

Media Advisory: Major CONIFA Announcement July 9

Football fans, supporters and members of the press: CONIFA will hold a press conference, viewable...

October 21

East Turkistan v West Papua match report

There is an old saying that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a...

September 20

Working together in The Hague: CONIFA with West Papua and East Turkistan

In August 2019, Asia President Jens Jockel and Member Development Director Paul Watson, headed to...