Confederation of Independent Football Associations

International body for association football teams not affiliated with FIFA

Confederation of Independent Football Associations

Formation| 15 August 2013; 12 years ago (15 August 2013)
Type| Sports governing body
Headquarters| Luleå, Norrbotten, Sweden
Membership| 42 member associations

Official languages

| English is the official language for minutes, correspondence, and announcements. French, German, Italian, and Spanish are additional languages.[1]

President

|  Per-Anders Blind
Website| CONIFA.org

The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA, originally styled ConIFA) is the international governing body for association football teams that are not affiliated with FIFA.

## Competitions

[edit]

Further information: List of association football competitions

Sapmi 2014

Székely Land 2015

Abkhazia 2016

Northern Cyprus 2017

Barawa 2018

North Macedonia 2020 (cancelled)

Nice 2021 (cancelled)

Székely Land 2021 (cancelled)

Lisbon 2023

Iraq 2024 (cancelled)

London 2025

class=notpageimage|

Map of CONIFA tournaments

Men's World Football Cup
Women's World Football Cup
Asian Football Cup
European Football Cup

### Men's competitions

[edit]

* CONIFA Men's World Football Cup
* CONIFA African Football Cup
* CONIFA Asian Football Cup
* CONIFA European Football Cup
* CONIFA No Limits European Championship
* CONIFA South American Football Cup

#### National league sanctioned by CONIFA

[edit]

* Kurdistan Region[2]

### Women's competitions

[edit]

* CONIFA Women's World Football Cup
* CONIFA Women's Asian Football Cup

### Futsal competition

[edit]

* CONIFA No Limits Mediterranean Futsal Cup

### Former competition

[edit]

* Givova Trophy

### Current title holders

[edit]

See also: Portal:Current events/Sports, 2025 in association football, and 2025 in sports

For events postponed or cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, see Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports.

Competition  | Year  | Champions  | Title  | Runners-up  | Next edition[3]

|
|
|
|
|

World Championships
CONIFA Men's World Football Cup | 2018 |  Kárpátalja |

1st

|  Northern Cyprus | TBD
CONIFA Women's World Football Cup | 2024 |  Sápmi |

2nd

|  Tamil Eelam | TBD
Men's Continental Championships
CONIFA African Football Cup | 2022 |  Biafra |

1st

|  Matabeleland | TBD
CONIFA Asian Football Cup | 2023 |  Tamil Eelam |

1st

|  Hmong FF | July 2025
CONIFA European Football Cup | 2019 |  South Ossetia |

1st

|  Western Armenia | Summer 2026
CONIFA South American Football Cup | 2022 |  Maule Sur |

1st

|  Mapuche | TBD
Women's Continental Championships
CONIFA Women's Asian Football Cup |  |  |

|  | TBD
No Limits Championships
CONIFA No Limits European Championship | 2019 |  Monaco |

1st

|  Padania | TBD
CONIFA No Limits Mediterranean Futsal Cup | 2021 |  County of Nice |

1st

|  Sardinia | TBD

### Women's football

[edit]

All members of CONIFA are encouraged to invest in women's football in their communities, and to create female national selections to play and compete against other CONIFA members.

CONIFA's first ever official women's football match took place on 10 November 2018 in Northern Cyprus, with Sápmi ladies beating their Northern Cyprus hosts 4–0 in the Women's Friendship Cup.[4] CONIFA announced their first Women's World Football Cup on 31 January 2021, to be hosted by Székely Land between 23 and 30 June 2021 and involve 6 teams.[5]

### Futsal Tournament

[edit]

The first futsal Tournament was the 2021 CONIFA No Limits Mediterranean Futsal Cup which was held in Italy and consisted of disabled futsal teams near the Mediterranean Sea.[6]

## Members

[edit]

### Types of members

[edit]

CONIFA expressly uses the term "members" rather than "countries" or "states". A football association may be eligible to apply for membership of CONIFA if it, or the entity (ethnic or linguistic minority, indigenous group, cultural organization, territory) it represents, is not a member of FIFA and satisfies one or more of the following criteria:

* The football association is a member of one of the six continental confederations of FIFA, which are: AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, UEFA.
* The entity represented by the football association is a member of the International Olympic Committee.
* The entity represented by the football association is a member of one of the member federations of Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF).
* The entity represented by the football association is in possession of an ISO 3166-1 country code.
* The entity represented by the football association is a de facto independent territory. A territory is considered de facto independent if it meets all of the following criteria: (a) a well-defined territory; (b) a permanent population; (c) an autonomous government, and (d) diplomatic recognition by at least one of the member states of the United Nations.
* The entity represented by the football association is included on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories.
* The entity represented by the football association is included in the directory of countries and territories of the Travelers' Century Club.
* The entity represented by the football association is a member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) and/or the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN).
* The entity represented by the football association is a minority included in the World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples, maintained and published by Minority Rights Group International.
* The entity represented by the football association is a linguistic minority, the language of which is included on the list of ISO 639-2 codes.

### List of members

[edit]

#### Current members

[edit]

As of August 2025:[7]

| Africa (4)

Biafra[8]
Kabylie
Katanga
Yoruba
| Asia (9)

East Turkestan
Girl Power FA[9]
Hmong FF
Kashmir
Kurdistan Region
Pakistan All-Stars[10]
Panjab
Tamil Eelam
Tibet
| Europe (16)

Abkhazia
Canton Ticino
Carnia
Chameria
Cornwall
Ellan Vannin
Gozo
Kárpátalja
Northern Cyprus
Occitania
Padania
Raetia
Rouet-Provence FA
Sápmi
South Ossetia
Székely Land
Two Sicilies

| North America (5)

ANBM
Cascadia
Kiskeya
Indigenous Sport Council of Alberta
Kuskatan[11]
| Oceania (2)

Hawaiʻi
West Papua
| South America (6)

Armenian Argentine Community[12]
Aymara[13]
Guna People
Mapuche
Maule Sur
São Paulo FAD

#### Former members

[edit]

| Africa (9)

Barawa
Barotseland
Basotho
Chagos Islands
Darfur
Matabeleland
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Somaliland
Zanzibar
| Asia (6)

Arameans Suryoye
Karen
Lezghian
Rohingya
Ryūkyū
United Koreans in Japan
| Europe (21)

Artsakh
County of Nice
Délvidék
Donetsk People's Republic
Elba
Franconia
Felvidék
Greenland
Heligoland
Lazistan
Luhansk People's Republic
Monaco
Parishes of Jersey
Romani people
Sardinia
Sicily
Skåneland
Transnistria
Western Armenia
Yorkshire

| North America (1)

Quebec
| Oceania (3)

Kiribati
Mariya
Tuvalu
| South America (1)

Rapa Nui

## Leadership

[edit]

### President

[edit]

President of CONIFA  No. | Name | Country of origin | Took office | Left office

|
|
|
|

1 | Per-Anders Blind |  Sweden | 7 June 2013 | Incumbent

### Vice-Presidents

[edit]

Vice-Presidents of CONIFA  No. | Name | Country of origin | Took office | Left office

|
|
|
|

1 | Malcolm Blackburn |  Isle of Man | 2014 | 2016
2 | Kristof Wenczel |  Hungary | 2015 | Incumbent
3 | Dimitri Pagave |  Abkhazia | 2016 | Incumbent

### General Secretaries

[edit]

General Secretaries of CONIFA  No. | Name | Country of origin | Took office | Left office

|
|
|
|

1 | Sascha Düerkop |  Germany | 7 June 2013 | 30 April 2020
2 | Jason Heaton |  England | 30 April 2020 | 2 August 2021
3 | Piotr Podlewski |  Poland | 2 August 2021 | 7 August 2022
4 | Jeroen Zandberg |  Netherlands | 7 August 2022 | Incumbent

### African Presidents

[edit]

African Presidents of CONIFA  No. | Name | Country of origin | Took office | Left office

|
|
|
|

1 | Masoud Attai |  Zanzibar | 7 June 2013 | 2017
2 | Justin Walley |  England | 2017 | 2020
3 | Christian Lubasi Luzongo Kalalaluka |  Zambia | 2020 | 2022
4 | Ngala Maimo Wajiri |  Cameroon | 2022 | Incumbent

### Asian Presidents

[edit]

Asian Presidents of CONIFA  No. | Name | Country of origin | Took office | Left office

|
|
|
|

1 | Tariq Abdulrahman  |  Iraq | 7 June 2013 | 2017
2 | Jens Jockel |  Germany | 2017 | 2020
3 | Motoko Jitsukawa |  Japan | 2020 | 2022
4 | Ruby-Ann Kagaoan |  Philippines | 2022 | Incumbent

### European President

[edit]

European President of CONIFA  No. | Name | Country of origin | Took office | Left office

|
|
|
|

1 | Alberto Rischio |  Italy | 7 June 2013 | Incumbent

### Latin American Presidents

[edit]

Latin American Presidents of CONIFA  No. | Name | Country of origin | Took office | Left office

|
|
|
|

1 | Jens Jockel |  Germany | 2013 | 2017
2 | Zam Gutierrez |  Mexico | 2017 | 2019
3 | Diego Bartolotta |  Mexico | 2019 | Incumbent

### Northern America and the Caribbean Presidents

[edit]

Northern America and the Caribbean Presidents of CONIFA  No. | Name | Country of origin | Took office | Left office

|
|
|
|

1 | Mark Dieler |  Germany | 2013 | 2017
2 | Noah Wheelock |  Canada | 2017 | 2020
3 | Aaron Johnsen |  United States | 2020 | Incumbent

### Oceanian Presidents

[edit]

Oceanian Presidents of CONIFA  No. | Name | Country of origin | Took office | Left office

|
|
|
|

1 | Charles Reklai Mitchell |  Palau | 2014 | 2017
2 | Ben Schultz |  Australia | 2017 | Incumbent

### Directors of Women’s Football

[edit]

Directors of Women's Football  No. | Name | Country of origin | Took office | Left office

|
|
|
|

– | Cassie Childers |  United States | 6 September 2017 | 2019
1 | Kelly Lindsey |  United States | February 2019 | 28 February 2020
2 | Håkan Kuorak |  Sweden | 28 February 2020 | ???
3 | Norma Aguilera |  Mexico | ??? | Incumbent

### Director of Youth Football

[edit]

Director of Youth Football  No. | Name | Country of origin | Took office | Left office

|
|
|
|

– | Olufemi Emmanuel Olugbodi |  Nigeria | ??? | Incumbent

## See also

[edit]

* New Football Federations-Board
* Non-FIFA international football
* World Unity Football Alliance – several CONIFA members also hold membership of WUFA

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "CONIFA Constitution" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
2. ^ "Suspension of Kurdistan FA". CONIFA. 2024-09-09. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
3. ^ "Calendar". www.conifa.org. Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA). Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
4. ^ "Sápmi Take Historic Win in First Women's Match". CONIFA. Archived from the original on 2018-11-18. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
5. ^ "CONIFA Announces First-Ever Women's World Football Cup". CONIFA. Archived from the original on 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
6. ^ "CONIFA makes history with No Limits Mediterranean Futsal Cup". CONIFA. 2021-08-27. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
7. ^ "Members". www.conifa.org. Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA). Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
8. ^ "Biafra De Facto Customary Government to participate in maiden CONIFA African Tournament". standardobservers.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-24. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
9. ^ "Girl Power FA (Afghanistan)". CONIFA.org. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
10. ^ "Pakistan Football Association joins CONIFA". 30 June 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
11. ^ "Kuskatan joins CONIFA, reminds us of Latin American potential". kickingtheglobe.substack.com. 10 August 2020. Archived from the original on 2022-12-23. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
12. ^ "Profile". Archived from the original on 2022-12-24. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
13. ^ "CONIFA – The Guerrilla Alternative". hamptonthink.org. 29 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2023-06-30. Retrieved 2022-12-24.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) members

Africa|

* Barawa
* Chagos Islands
* Darfur
* Kabylia
* Matabeleland
* Somaliland
* Western Sahara
* Zanzibar
* Yoruba

Americas|

* Cascadia
* Quebec
* Mapuche
* Rapa Nui

Asia|

* Arameans Suryoye
* East Turkestan
* Iraqi Kurdistan
* Panjab
* Rohingya
* Ryūkyū
* Tamil Eelam
* Tibet
* United Koreans of Japan
* West Papua

Europe|

* Abkhazia
* Artsakh
* Canton Ticino
* Chameria
* County of Nice
* Ellan Vannin
* Felvidék
* Franconia
* Kárpátalja
* Kernow
* Monaco
* Northern Cyprus
* women
* Occitania
* women
* Padania
* Parishes of Jersey
* Raetia
* Romani people
* Sápmi
* women
* Sardinia
* Sicily
* South Ossetia
* Székely Land
* Transnistria
* Two Sicilies
* Western Armenia
* Yorkshire

Oceania|

* Hawaiʻi
* Kiribati
* Mariya
* Tuvalu

* v
* t
* e

CONIFA World Football Cup

Tournaments|

* Sápmi 2014
* Abkhazia 2016
* Barawa 2018
* ~~North Macedonia 2020~~
* ~~Kurdistan 2024~~

Qualification|

* 2016
* 2018
* 2024

Squads|

* 2018

* Category

* v
* t
* e

International association football

FIFA
Federations
Teams
Competitions
World Rankings
The Best FIFA Football Awards
Timeline
Most successful clubs

World|

| FIFA|

FIFA World Cup

U-20
U-17
Olympic Games
Youth

Defunct

FIFA Confederations Cup
FIFA Gold Cup

|

Africa|

| CAF|

CAF Africa Cup of Nations

U-23
U-20
U-17
CAF African Nations Championship
African Games

|

Regional|

CECAFA
COSAFA
WAFU

Defunct

CEMAC
Central African Games

Asia|

| AFC|

AFC Asian Cup

U-23
U-20
U-17
Asian Games

Defunct

AFC Challenge Cup
AFC Solidarity Cup

|

Regional|

ASEAN
CAFA
EAFF
SAFF
WAFF
Arabian Gulf Cup
East Asian Games
South Asian Games
Southeast Asian Games
West Asian Games

Defunct

Far Eastern Games

Europe|

| UEFA|

UEFA European Championship

U-21
U-19
U-17
UEFA Nations League

|

Regional|

Baltic Cup

Defunct

Central European Cup
Balkan Cup
British Home Championship
Nordic Championship

North,
Central America
& the Caribbean|

| CONCACAF|

CONCACAF Gold Cup

U-23
U-20
U-17
U-15
CONCACAF Nations League

Defunct

CONCACAF Championship
CONCACAF Cup
NAFC Championship
CCCF Championship

|

Regional|

LIFA Cup
WIFA Cup
Central America and Caribbean Games
Central America Games

Defunct

North American Nations Cup
Copa Centroamericana
CFU Championship
Caribbean Cup

Oceania|

| OFC|

OFC Nations Cup

U-23
U-19
U-16
Pacific Games

Mini

|

Regional|

Melanesia Cup
Micronesian Games

Defunct

Polynesia Cup

South America|

| CONMEBOL|

CONMEBOL Copa América

U-23
U-20
U-17
U-15
South American Games

|

Regional|

Bolivarian Games

Intercontinental|

| Africa & Asia|

Indian Ocean Island Games

Defunct

Afro-Asian Cup of Nations
Afro-Asian Games

|

Africa & Ocenia|

Defunct

AFC–OFC Challenge Cup

Arab/Islamic|

FIFA Arab Cup
Arab Games
Islamic Solidarity Games

Defunct

Islamic Games
Palestine Cup
Kuneitra Cup

Europe &
South America|

CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions

Francophone|

Francophone Games

Defunct

Overseas Cup

Lusophone|

Defunct

Lusofonia Games

Mediterranean|

Mediterranean Games

Defunct

Mediterranean Cup

Pan American|

Pan American Games

Defunct

Panamerican Championship

Other|

Goodwill Games

Defunct

GANEFO

Non-FIFA|

| CONIFA|

World Football Cup
African Football Cup
Asian Football Cup
European Football Cup
South American Football Cup

|

UIAFA|

Defunct

UIAFA Great European Tournament

Other|

Island Games
Universiade

Defunct

FIFI Wild Cup
WUFA World Series

See also
Geography
Codes
Player/Club of the Century
Women's football
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