Tibet & Isle of Man Among Teams Set for 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup in London Next Summer

The Confederation of Independent Football Associations has announced that its 2018 World Football Cup will be held in London - with teams from the world's five

The Confederation of Independent Football Associations has announced that its 2018 World Football Cup will be held in London - with teams from the world's five major continents all competing for the first time. 

CONIFA is a volunteer-led international football confederation for teams not part of FIFA, with members including states, partially-recognised states, regions, minority groups and sports-isolated territories. 

Football's coming home! #WFC2018 is #London2018
We re-invent football culture where it's coming from! pic.twitter.com/OKhyzVVBo0

— CONIFA (@CONIFAOfficial) September 3, 2017

Reigning champions Abkhazia - an autonomous region south of Russia and north-west of Georgia - return to defend the crown they won in Sweden in 2016, with Cascadia and Kiribati have each qualified for the tournament for the first time as the sole representatives of North America and Oceania respectively. 

Tibet, whose honorary president is his Holiness the Dalai Lama, also make their first appearance in the tournament after receiving a wildcard. 

“We are thrilled to be taking CONIFA to England – the spiritual home of football,” said CONIFA President Per-Anders Blind. “The World Football Cup just gets bigger and bigger. After hosting our inaugural tournament in Sweden in 2014, we reached new heights in Abkhazia last year with an event that received media coverage on every inhabited continent. 

Coming to #London2018 #WFC2018 means serious traveling for many of our teams, flocking in from across the world!#Travelmath #miles #airtime pic.twitter.com/X3bFrBFEZt

— CONIFA (@CONIFAOfficial) September 3, 2017

"We are confident 2018 will be our best tournament yet, and London will be the perfect host.”

The organisation’s General Secretary Sascha Düerkop added: “For the first time in our history, we will have a team representing each continent with CONIFA members: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania. We are particularly proud that the 2018 World Football Cup will be such an international spectacle, and provide a platform for our members to showcase they cultures, histories and footballing ability.”

The final moments of #Abkhazia2018 were so nerve-wracking that not even the #Abkhaz military security forces dared to watch! @PanjabFA pic.twitter.com/OBMwnJt1mV

— CONIFA (@CONIFAOfficial) September 3, 2017

The full list of competing teams is as follows.

Africa: Barawa, Matabeleland, Kabylia.

Asia: Tibet, Tamil Eelam, United Koreans of Japan, Panjab.

Europe: Abkhazia, Padania, Northern Cyprus, Western Armenia, Ellan Vannin (Isle of Man), Felvidek, Székely Land.

North America: Cascadia.

Oceania: Kiribati.