The New York Times published in its paper edition this Sunday, June 10, the interview given by Mas Ferhat Mehenni, the president of the Kabylian Provisional Government in Exile (Anavad) on the occasion of the participation of the Kabyle national team in the World Cup of Nations without state organized by CONIFA in London from May 31 to June 09, 2018. Below, the article * of the NYT in its entirety, published as of Saturday evening 09 June in its electronic edition.
By Richard Martyn-Hemphill
LONDON — Sixteen soccer teams from places largely excluded from international sport and diplomacy — among them Tibet, Tamil Eelam, Cascadia and Matabeleland — are seizing the chance to play in an alternative World Cup here in the British capital.
Coming from regions not recognized as sovereign nations by most of the world, the teams are banned from participating in the FIFA World Cup, which starts next week in Russia.
“By taking part, we can achieve visibility internationally for our people and our cause,” said Ferhat Mehenni, the president of the provisional government of Kabylia, a region in the Atlas Mountains of Algeria.
His team of Kabyls and their families were subject to threats and intimidation from the Algerian authorities ahead of the tournament, Mr. Mehenni said, speaking by phone from France, where he lives and works in exile.