What do the Rohingya populations, Tibet, Somaliland or even Transnistria have in common? If we are talking about CONIFA, do not imagine a conifer or even a new variant of Covid-19. No, it is indeed the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA), which therefore brings together these diverse and varied regions. Throughout the last week, it organized – virtually, health crisis requires – its annual general meeting. A week of exchanges, discussions and development of projects of all kinds to finally formalize Sunday a great news. Next June will be the first CONIFA Women’s World Cup.
A considerable step forward for the organization founded in 2013, which serves as FIFA’s pre-chamber. CONIFA brings together to date 60 members representative of territories, minorities and ethnic groups seeking to emancipate themselves or to have their culture recognized through football, failing to obtain political recognition. Since its creation more than seven years ago, CONIFA has even organized several international competitions: European Championships which took place in Hungary, Northern Cyprus, Nagorno-Karabakh; World Cups in Sweden, Abkhazia and London. The first team to be crowned world champion is none other than … the County of Nice, no offense to OGC Nice.
The 2020 edition of the World Cup, which was to take place last June in North Macedonia, unfortunately did not resist the Covid-19. “The pandemic has been a great challenge for us, but at the same time, it has allowed us to take the time and think about our strategy for the future.“, testifies Per-Anders Blind, founder and current president of CONIFA. As this amateur referee explains and business developer in the “real life“, taking care of the instance is a somewhat time-consuming activity. Entirely managed by volunteers and financed by membership fees, donations and sponsorship contracts, CONIFA is an international project, and by definition takes a lot of time.
FIFA target for some members
“We constantly receive new applications“, proudly explains the Swedish leader, who specifies that five new members were admitted within CONIFA in 2020. But not all requests are accepted, far from it. To join the list of members, the candidate selections must satisfy at least one criterion among a series of ten : represent, for example, a linguistic minority, be a member of the Federalist Union of European Communities (UFCE), or be part of the Organization of Unrepresented Nations and Peoples (UNPO). All without being a FIFA member.
© CONIFA
–
Because none of the 60 selections of CONIFA is registered within the global body headed by Gianni Infantino. Despite similarities, CONIFA and FIFA do not maintain “official relation“, indicates Per-Anders Blind. However, certain selections of CONIFA, like Tuvalu or Kiribati (in Oceania), do not have vocation to remain eternally member of the organization. And fight for several years to join FIFA. .
“We support them, would like to underline the president of CONIFA. I think that being part of an organization like ours can help them, prepare them to be part of FIFA. Everyone has their own ambitions when they join CONIFA: some want to be part of FIFA, others simply want to promote their culture and language through sport..”
Diplomatic turmoil
Promoting its culture is the mission that the selection of Occitanie has set for itself by joining CONIFA and participating in the World Cup in 2014. “We associate our sports services with the promotion of Occitan culture, indicates Didier Amiel, coach of the Occitanie team from 2008 to 2017. I wanted Lapland to know who we are. We brought our past, our language, our culture and we made Occitanie travel beyond the French borders.“
An export and a sharing of cultures that benefits all members of the organization, according to Per-Anders Blind: “CONIFA has a pacifying mission, to bring together all these ethnic groups, these territories, to share good times all together around the same passion.“. “It was an incredible experience, we changed countries, we discovered new cultures, regions of the world that we absolutely did not know“, confirms Franck Delerue, player from the County of Nice, who won the first World Cup organized by CONIFA in 2014.
© Robin Millard/AFP
–
Because of this emancipation through sport of its members, CONIFA is not immune to diplomatic troubles. During almost every competition, the presence of a selection provokes political reactions. In 2016 and 2018, the participation of the selection of Northern Cyprus in the CONIFA World Cups angered the Turkish and Cypriot authorities. The presence of Tibet, in 2018, at the World Cup held in London, offended China. Ukraine went further, in reaction to the victory of Sub-Carpathian Ruthenia in this 2018 World Cup. The Minister of Sports, Igor Zhdanov, had then denounced a “sports separatism “. Decision had been taken to prohibit the players of the selection to evolve at the professional and amateur level in Ukraine.
Great ambitions for the future
“We don’t play politics. I have football in my blood and politics don’t matter to me“, defends Per-Anders Blind, who ensures that CONIFA does not support any project of independence or secession.”Our members are often populations that have been historically brutalized and have low self-esteem. The objective of CONIFA is simply to give them the opportunity to show their beauty, and to educate the world by making them known.“, adds the president of the organization.
On the sidelines of the corruption scandals that have affected FIFA for several years, CONIFA naturally appears as a model out of step with the world of football, which some are calling for to reinvent following the Covid-19 crisis. Enough to attract some surprising candidates to say the least. “Some African FIFA member countries even asked to join CONIFA, because they felt neglected“, specifies Per-Anders Blind. Overwhelmed by the enthusiasm caused by his organization, the Swedish president of CONIFA does not intend to stop there.
The creation of a football game, like the FIFA franchise, could see the light of day in the medium term. “The idea would be to add an interface to be able to educate the players and make known the territories and the ethnic groups present in the game.“, indicates Per-Anders Blind. Last week, during the annual general assembly of CONIFA, the plans for continental competitions, like the European Championship, were also discussed and will be organized in the future. .
Just like the development of women’s football, which will therefore see the organization of a first CONIFA World Cup next June. Provided, it goes without saying, that the health crisis allows it. Despite the current difficulties, Per-Anders Blind remains confident: according to him, CONIFA version football still has a bright future ahead of him.
–
