Far from Russia, rival world cup begins in London

LONDON: Far from the showpiece razzmatazz of this year’s official World Cup in Russia, 16 teams are set to do battle at an alternative World Cup for those outside the system.

The CONIFA World Football Cup 2018, being contested at non-league grounds around London, will see the likes of Tibet and Northern Cyprus mix it with Matabeleland, the Punjabi diaspora and the Russian-backed Abkhazia breakaway region of Georgia.

CONIFA, the Confederation of Independent Football Associations, is the federation for teams outside FIFA, the sport’s world governing body.

With a wider interpretation of international identity, its 47 members include sovereign states, nations, minorities, isolated dependencies and cultural regions.

The 16 world cup teams represent an estimated 334 million people worldwide.

“Many of our members have a history that is quite tragic,” CONIFA president Per-Anders Blind told AFP.

“Even if they never met before, they come on the same pitch and share similar stories.

“Many of these teams have been bullied, abused and neglected from governments, perhaps somebody wanted to take their territories. So there is a respect and understanding.”

At least 30 players taking part had played in one of Europe’s top divisions, according to the Times newspaper. Some have played in the Champions League.

“We are excited to be able to host our largest ever tournament in Greater London, the historic home of the beautiful game,” added Blind.

“With some teams based in the United Kingdom, some having large diaspora communities here and plenty of neutral favourites, we are confident of support.”

The 10-day tournament kicks off Thursday with an opening ceremony at Hayes Lane, the 5,000-capacity home of English fifth-tier side Bromley.

The subsequent match is nominal tournament hosts Barawa versus Tamil Eelam, two diaspora sides representing southern Somalia and Sri Lankan Tamils.

Padania, representing northern Italy, are the pre-tournament favourites at 2/1, followed by Abkhazia at 3/1, then Panjab and Barawa at 5/1.