Abbreviation | ISF |
---|---|
Formation | 2017 |
Founded at | Birmingham, England, United Kingdom |
Headquarters | Birmingham, United Kingdom |
Region | Worldwide |
Official language | English |
Honorary vice president | Tim Ollerenshaw |
Honorary vice president | Shahzeb Mehmood Trunkwala |
CEO | Thanos Papadopoulos |
Head of sponsorship | Christoph Köchy |
Affiliations | Leisure Leagues (some members) |
Website | soccafederation.com |
The International Socca Federation (ISF) is a governing body for socca.[1]
This organization sets up the Socca World Cup, a world championship in socca, and more 5, 6, 7 or 8-sided tournaments for professional teams.[2]
The ISF was formed in late 2017 by small-sided football teams across Europe and the rest of the world. It was launched at a ceremony in Birmingham in February 2018, with guests of honour including World Cup and EURO referee Mark Clattenburg.[3][4] 51 countries invited to the launch.[5]
Eligibility criteria are minimal. Anyone who wants to run a national 6-a-side team in their country can register with the ISF if no such team already exists, subject to an approval process.[6]
The governance structure announced involves a number of top figures from the Socca world. Pakistani businessman Shahzeb Mehmood Trunkwala of World Group[7] was elected as Honorary Vice President, along with English solicitor and charity founder Tim Ollerenshaw.[8]
Greek businessman Thanos Papadopoulos[9] took over as CEO, and German events mogul Christoph Köchy[10] became Head Of Sponsorship.[11] Stuart Winton, a socca referee, was appointed tournament director.[12][13]
Popular football figures were signed on to be ambassadors, led by Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldinho, who has played in socca exhibition games in Pakistan in summer 2017.[14][15] Other players that signed up to be ambassadors included Robert Pires and Ryan Giggs.[16]
62 nations sorted by 2023 full men ranking: [17]
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The inaugural 2018 Socca World Cup took place in Lisbon, Portugal, at the Trunkwala Stadium. It was refereed by Clattenburg.[18][19][20] Successive World Cups were held in Rethymno, Crete[21] (2019), Budapest, Hungary[22] (2022), and Essen, Germany[23] (2023).
A Socca Champions League was held in October 2018 in Porec, Croatia. Dynamik Toruń from Poland emerged as champions.[24] A second Champions League was held in Maribor, Slovenia in September 2019. Slovenian side ARKO Kljucarovci beat Dynamik Toruń 4–2 in overtime.[25]
In 2023, The first Socca EuroCup took place in Chișinău, Moldova. Kazakhstan won 2-1 on penalties against Romania.[26] 13 teams participated.
In 2024, the second Socca EuroCup took place in Chișinău, Moldova. Kazakhstan won against Croatia.