The CONIFA Executive Committee unanimously decided to let Manx International Football Alliance (MIFA) host the CONIFA European Football Cup. The EFC will be played in June 2015 on the Isle of Man.

The first CONIFA European Football Cup will be organized on the Isle of Man and will be hosted by Ellan Vannin. The EFC will take place in 2015, from the 13th till the 21st of June.

“We are fully confident that MIFA ticks all boxes to host the tournament in a way it will never be forgotten by anybody attending it”, CONIFA President Per-Anders Blind says. “An amazing stadium, the beautiful country, the professionalism of the organizing committee and their public support were main factors to give it to the stunning island in the Irish Sea.”

TWELVE TEAMS, DRAW IN FEBRUARY

Twelve CONIFA-members will compete during the EFC. The draw for the groups will take place in February 2015, on the Isle of Man. There will be 4 groups of 3 teams. The top 2 teams in each group play the quarter finals. Apart from the quarters, the semis and the final there also will be placement games.

All the games will be played at The Bowl in Douglas, the capital of the Isle Of Man. There will be an opening ceremony, a fanzone and cultural village, a youth exchance programma and a closing ceremony at the Villa Marina. More details will follow in the coming weeks. A reaction from MIFA you can read here.

ABKHAZIA AND NAGORNO KARABAKH WITHDRAW BID

There were three member applying to host the first CONIFA European Football Cup: MIFA, Abkhazia FA and Nagorno Karabakh FA. Abkhazia did withdraw from their initial intention to host the CONIFA EFC, because they do have presidential elections in September. They cannot make any definite decision which involves governmental support as the government might change until the kickoff of the tournament. Besides Abkhazia is building a new national stadium just at the seaside of Sukhum and it is not entirely sure that the stadium will be completed in time. Nevertheless Abkhazia and the Abkhaz people are still confident to bring a huge CONIFA tournament to Sukhum someday and surely they will come back with a stronger bid.

Unfortunately Nagorno-Karabakh also had to withdraw their bid. The grass of the national stadium in the city center of the Artsakh capital Stepanakert is just in renovation. Once finished this stadium will have an artificial pitch of the highest standards and it will probably be one of the best and biggest stadiums within the CONIFA world. Unfortunately the set-up of this artificial pitch will take its time and will finish in summer 2015 only. As a guaranteed finishing date before September could not be given by the building company the Nagorno Karabakh FA decided to withdraw. They want to host a major tournament in the future, but if they do, they want it to be perfect. We agree that it is a good decision to wait a bit longer until the highest standards are reached and the country’s infrastructure is 100% ready for such a huge event.