TRNC ready to face Felvidek in Conifa Cup

THE TRNC national football team will face Hungarian team Felvidek in their first game in the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (Conifa) World Football Cup tournament, being hosted in London between May 31 and June 9.

The Group Two game will be played at the Enfield Town FC ground beginning at 3pm on May 31.

Conifa is to charge £11 per game for entry, with £1 being to be given to the national team of each country.

The North Cyprus side will go on to play Tibet, at 5pm on June 2, again at Enfield Town, before facing 2016 champions Abkhazia at the same venue at 3pm the following day in the last of the group stage matches.

Sixteen teams will compete in four groups, with matches also taking place on pitches in the districts of Bromley and Sutton, and include European champions Padania and debutants such as Tibet, Barawa and Kabylia.

Group games end on June 3, with qualification rounds on June 5 culminating in semi-finals on June 7 and finals on Saturday, June 9. It was announced this week that international bookie Paddy Power Betfair had agreed to be the tournament’s headline sponsor. Conifa president Per-Anders Blind said: “Both Conifa and Paddy Power have reputations for doing things differently and we are excited about collaborating with them to deliver an incredible celebration of football, culture and international understanding in the sport’s spiritual home, London.” A spokesman for the firm said: “I’m thrilled to announce Paddy Power’s sponsorship of the Conifa World Football Cup which is organised for the outsiders and underdogs of international football who aren’t recognised by Fifa. “We all know that London was supposed to hold a major football tournament this summer, so we decided to serve one up for our UK punters which couldn’t be stolen away by Russian roubles. “It is especially exciting because it’s the first time Paddy Power has been involved in organising an entire tournament . . . or been mentioned in the same breath as the Dalai Lama.” For a full match calendar and ticket sales, go to https://www.eventim.co.uk/ eventseries/2118672/?affiliate=CNF