Millions of fans are currently glued to television screens watching the giants of the football world battle it out for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Just 2 weeks previous some of the worlds’ more obscure nations battled it out for the CONIFA World Football Cup in London.
The CONIFA (Confederation of Independent Football Associations) World Cup is an international tournament organised by CONIFA a football organisation established in 2013.
CONIFA is an umbrella football association for self-proclaimed nation states; these are de-facto states and bio-regions which are not affiliated to FIFA and unrecognized by the global community.
The tournament is held every two years with the 2018 tournament in London the third edition of the event.
The current holders are Abkhazia, a one time Georgian territory on the eastern coast of the Black Sea just south of the Caucasus mountain range.
In contrast to the billions of dollars that are generated by the FIFA event in Russia, the CONIFA tournament is a non-profit tournament underpinned by the goodwill of fans and the support of sponsors.
Teams travel by coach from a host student village in London while at every game a host of tournament volunteers ensure things ran smoothly.
Such support was needed as the 2018 event was the biggest yet.
While the first two CONIFA tournaments featured only a few venues, the expansion of the tournament from 12 to 16 nations saw a significant expansion in the number of venues.
Seven of the venues were located in London (including the home ground of Haringey Borough FC near Spurs newly renovated ground. Two grounds were in the towns of Slough and Bracknell in Berkshire.
A final host venue was located in Thurrock in Essex.
Promoting itself on tournament values underpinned by the highest of ethical standards and a dedicated membership, participants like Tibet and Northern Cyprus brought color and noise to the UK capital.
Meanwhile, online streaming was available for those who wished to watch matches at home.
Furthermore, sponsors like Paddy Power and Talksport served to create further interest in the tournament daily via online betting and radio channel features.
Serving to generate awareness, create participation and healthy competition the tournament was eventually won by a late entrant.
Prior to the tournament commencing organizers CONIFA announced Felvidek a team representing the Hungarian minority in Southern Slovakia had withdrawn. They were replaced by Kárpátalja, a team representing the Hungarian minority in Carpathian Ruthenia.
Kárpátalja defeated the much fancied Northern Cyprus 3-2 on penalties in a final held at Enfield FC.
