N Cyprus face ‘tough teams’ in Conifa Cup
NORTH Cyprus has been drawn with Abkhazia, Felvidek, and Tibet in the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (Conifa) 2018 World Football Cup.
The tournament for unrecognised states, isolated dependencies and cultural regions who are not part of world football’s mainstream Fifa takes place in London between May 21 and June 10.
The draw for the cup, in which North Cyprus will be one of 16 competing teams, was held during the fifth annual general meeting of Conifa, hosted by North Cyprus, which also saw Cyprus Turkish Football Association (KTFF) foreign relations official Orçun Kamalı elected to the 15-member Conifa board.
The three-day AGM, which ended on Sunday, took place at Çatalköy’s Acapulco Hotel.
The draw for all four groups in the competition took place in the presence of Conifa head Per-Anders Blind and resulted in Barawa (Somalia), Ellan Vannin (Isle of Man), Tamil Eelam (Sri Lanka), and Cascadia (North America) in Group 1; North Cyprus, Tibet (north-east of the Himalayas), Abkhazia (northwestern Georgia) and Felvidek (highlands of Hungary) in Group 2; Padania (Italy), Szekely Land (Romania), Kiribati (Oceania), Matabeleland (Zimbabwe) in Group 3; and Panjab (India), United Koreans of Japan (Japan), Western Armenia (Armenia) and Kabylia (Algeria) in Group 4.
North Cyprus qualified for the cup competition as runner-up in Conifa’s Euro Cup, which it hosted last June.
Speaking to CyprusToday, Mr Kamalı said: “North Cyprus is in a tough group as it is paired with Abkhazia which was the Conifa World Champion in 2016 while Felvidek was third in Conifa’s European Cup. Tibet, a team set up with support from the Dalai Lama, is one of the most interesting teams, with one of the biggest followings.’’
Mr Kamalı said he believed Conifa’s world cup would attract many football fans, and commented: “London wished to host the 2018 Fifa World Cup but it did not happen. But we, as Conifa, will bring a world cup to London.
“This will also good for the promotion of North Cyprus. We had amazing feedback after hosting the Confia Euro Cup last year and we expect the same positive reactions again.”
It is estimated that Conifa tournaments have a global television audience of some 390 million, many of whom are from the organisation’s 45 member communities.
The North Cyprus AGM also welcomed the Yorkshire International Football Association, which received unanimous approval to become the newest member.
Conifa officials apologised to supporters for technical problems that prevented live streaming of the cup draw last Saturday.