ConIFA, the Confederation of Independent Football Associations, the alternative to FIFA for the stateless nations, signed in early February a partnership with the Irish bookmaker Paddy Power, founded in 1988, to be the official sponsor title of the World Cup football tournament in which Kabylia will participate, which will start on Thursday, May 31 and will end with the grand final on Saturday, June 9.
ConIFA President, Sweden’s Per-Anders Blind, said: “We consider Paddy Power as a fantastic solution to support our biggest event.” (…) “We are delighted to be working with them to organize an incredible celebration of football, culture and international understanding in the spiritual home of sport, London. ”
As for Paddy Power’s spokesperson, he said: “I am delighted to announce Paddy Power’s sponsorship of the ConIFA World Football Cup, organized for the underdogs and outsiders of international football who are not recognized by the FIFA.
The ConIFA Football World Cup sponsored by Paddy Power 2018 will bring together 16 teams representing the five continents, including defending champions 2016 in Sweden; Abkhazia, European champions 2017 of European stateless nations; Padania and new teams such as Kabylia, Tibet, Matabeleland and Barawa …
Read more :
– ConIFA: //conifa.org
– PaddyPower: //paddypower.com
Roger
From Playing Games In Secret To Mammoth Away Trips – Why You Should Watch The CONIFA World Football Cup This Summer
By Trevor Murray
Thursday 15th March 2018
Murmurs of World Cup boycotts have gathered volume in recent weeks as fans have increasingly expressed concern about their safety in Russia come June – then, of course, there are the excessive working hours reportedly being experienced by site labourers in Qatar ahead of the 2022 edition in under four years’ time.
FIFA has long been linked with corruption; the ousting of former president Sepp Blatter back in 2015 gave supporters of the beautiful game hope that a new dawn was coming, but controversy is never far away – and the influence of money has led many to the conclusion that football has lost its innocence and purity across the board.
The increasingly commercialised nature of the game has quite simply turned a lot of people off.
For the football purists, however, CONIFA – the organisation that gives minnow nations cast aside by FIFA the chance to represent themselves on a global stage – should be looked to as an alternative option with its World Football Cup. It goes beyond technology, side-line pundits and slow-motion replays, to a side of the game we don’t see enough of.
Thanks to its broad reach which goes in search of hidden football gems, it shines a light on parts of the football community too many people know nothing about – like Kabylia, a region in northern Algeria that has had to fight oppression just to earn the right to represent their people in a football context.
“The Kabylia team had to play games in secret to avoid the Algerian police,” CONIFA director Paul Watson tells TheSportsman.
“Their president was arrested and held without charge for five days. Their team and management are having to hide from the secret police – all for playing the game they love,” Watson adds.
It might seem almost unfathomable that a team in this day and age would have to literally hide their playing activity from the authorities, but Kabylia are living proof of that.
“I hope London 2018 showcases the amazing cultures and identities that have been denied a voice through football,” says Watson.
It is the tenacity and hope in the face of persecution, however, that really stands out – and Kabylia are not the only team battling to overcome obstacles set to feature in the English capital come the end of May.
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https://www.thesportsman.com/articles/from-playing-games-in-secret-to-mammoth-away-trips-why-you-should-watch-the-conifa-world-football-cup-this-summer