| Nickname | Sa Natzionale | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Sardinian National Sports Federation (Federatzione Isport Natzionale Sardu) | ||
| Confederation | CONIFA | ||
| Head coach | Vittorio Pusceddu | ||
| Captain | Claudio Pani | ||
| Mostcaps | Simone Pinna Daniele Molino (3) | ||
| Top scorer | Davide Arras (4) | ||
| FIFA code | SRD | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
(Oristano,Sardinia; 5 June 1990) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
(Torpè,Sardinia; 15 May 2022) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
(Oristano,Sardinia; 5 June 1990) | |||
TheSardinia national football team (Sardinian:Natzionale sarda de Bòcia) is the official football team ofSardinia. It is organised by the Sardinian National Sports Federation (Federatzione Isport Natzionale Sardu), founded in 2012. The team has been colloquially referred with the nameSa Natzionale.
Sardinia is not affiliated with eitherFIFA orUEFA and is therefore not allowed to participate in either theFIFA World Cup or theUEFA European Championship.
However, since 2018 the National Federation is associated with theCONIFA, therefore the team can participate in theCONIFA World Football Cup and inCONIFA European Football Cup.
The first official documented appearance of a Sardinian national team dates back to 1990. TheEngland national football team was inSardinia for a training camp in order to prepare the1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, where, among other things, it was to play two of the three group stage matches inCagliari (againstEgypt andIreland).[1] Therefore, an island representative XI was formed including the best Sardinian players playing betweenSerie C andAmateurs to face the Three Lions in their first friendly match. The first players to wear the jersey of the Sardinian national team, under the orders of Mariano Dessì, dean of the Sardinian coaches of that time, were Nioi as goalkeeper, Spano, Moro, Bortolini and Tomasso in defense, the future sporting director ofCagliari CalcioFrancesco Marroccu, Martinez, Tolu and Ennas in the midfield, Corda andGianfranco Zola, the only professional and at that time militant in freshScudetto's winnersS.S.C. Napoli. In the second half, Toffolon, Laconi, Carta, Nieddu, Di Laura, Mura, Napoli, Fara, and Angioni also entered. The game ended 10–2 for England: curiously, Sardinia went ahead, but only thanks to a voluntary own goal bySteve McMahon in the first minute before the island players still touched the ball. This gesture metaphorically symbolized what would have been any violent actions of theHooligans, the most frenzied fringe of English fans, at the time feared throughout Europe. After this demonstration, given the imbalance of power, the game was dominated by England who scored with McMahon himself, a hat-trick byNeil Webb and one byPeter Beardsley, a double bySteve Bull and a goal byDavid Platt. However, for Tomasso there was the glory of scoring the first goal in the history of theNatzionale.[2][3]
Seven years were needed before watching again a Sardinian selection in a football field. In July 1997, at the Stadio Quadrivio inNuoro, thanks to the Sardinian leader of theSardinian separatist partySardinia Nation Francesco Cesaraccio, a friendly match was organized between the national teams of the sister Islands, Sardinia and theCorsica national football team. Compared to previous calls-up against England, the roster contained several professional players and essentially the best of Sardinian football at the time. The manager wasGustavo Giagnoni who called Gianfranco Pinna and Giuseppe Nioi as keepers. In defense Gian Battista Scugugia,Vittorio Pusceddu,Gianluca Festa andSalvatore Matrecano. In midfield Pier Giovanni Rutzittu, Marco Sanna, Pietro Garau, Massimiliano Pani, Alessandro Manca, Igor Marziano and two sons of emigrants: the Sardinian-GermanSergio Allievi and the Sardinian-Dutch Daniel Agus. In attackGianfranco Zola, Tomaso Tatti, Roberto Manca, Roberto Cau, Emanuele Matzuzzi and another emigrant, the Sardinian-Belgian Antonio Lai. The goalkeeper Nioi and Zola were the only ones called in both appointments, thus becoming record holders in the caps ranking. The game itself had been balanced and Sardinia won by 1–0 with a goal at the twentieth minute of the second half by the futureChelsea F.C.'s strikerGianfranco Zola.[4]
History showed that the project of a National team of Sardinia remained occasional and it came back under the shadow. Only 11 years later it returned to talking about Nazionale Sarda. In 2008, in fact, inGonnosfanadiga was founded theLega Federale Calcio Sardegna (on the path of theLega Federale Calcio Padania) by thetuscan Giampiero Sogus, son of a Sardinian migrant, with the involvement, as vice president of the Gonnosfanadiga's mayor Sisinnio Zanda at that time, as counselor the hotelier Marco Sardu and as secretary the lawyer Franco Loi. The League is immediately associated at theNF-Board, in that era the main board of theNon-FIFA international football, who organized theVIVA World Cup. While remaining officially affiliated with this confederation until its dissolution in 2008, no Sardinian national team will ever be formed, not even for friendly matches, except for an amateur tournament in Tuscany in which Sogus himself entered a team named "Sardinia" but with Tuscan players without island origins.[5]
In 2012, thanks to the cultural initiatives byProject Republic of Sardinia, another separatist party, the Sardinian National Sports Federation (Federatzione Isport Natzionale Sardu) was created with the aim of creating Sardinian national selections, not only limited to football. The first experiences has been indeed related to the creation of the Sardinianfutsal team, which played in 2012 and 2013 first atFordongianus and then inNuoro for some friendlies against the homologous selection ofCatalonia.[6]
Simultaneously, in 2013, due to the unfortunate occurrence of theCyclone Cleopatra in Sardinia, which caused 19 victims, the Sardinian society returned to propose the establishment of a football selection, even if only for a charity match able to raise funds for the victims and for the reconstruction of the inhabited centers hit by the natural disaster. Vittorio Sanna, journalist fromAssemini (one of the towns crashed by the disaster) but above all radio commentator of theCagliari Calcio matches for the private radio stationRadiolina, proposed himself for this organization and got in touch with the various professional Sardinian football players at the time. At the beginning the organization moved for a friendly match againstSerie A's teamCagliari Calcio but the presidentMassimo Cellino did not give consent. Subsequently, an attempt was made to organize another friendly match againstCorsica and the date was set for May of the following year, but eventually the plan had been abandoned.[7][8]
Only 5 years later, the Sanna's projects and the FINS plans coincided and on 13 October 2018 the Federation announced the affiliation to theCONIFA, the maximum international organization for football not affiliated toFIFA, which groups all the "National teams without a State" and organizes, among other competitions, theCONIFA World Football Cup, a trophy that replaced theVIVA World Cup. Simultaneously with the entry into CONIFA, FINS announced its participation in the2019 European Championships inArtsakh.[9] The following week the new technical commissioner was announced, the Sardinian Bernardo Mereu, historical Sardinian coach who led island formations in the various professional and interregional championships.[10]
The first game of the FINS era, the third in total of the history of theNatzionale, was held on 19 March 2019 at the Stadio Franco Frogheri inNuoro against the Istrangios de Sardigna, a selection formed by the best foreign militants in the Sardinian amateur formations, and won by the Sardinians 7–1.Francesco Virdis fromSavona F.B.C. scored a hat-trick, Daniele Molino fromSanremese, Samuele Spano, Toni Gianni and Daniele Bianchi one goal each. For the occasion, over 50 players were called: the professional clubs, however, given the current sporting season, did not give the "go-ahead" for participation. The squad was therefore composed only by amateur players with the exception of twoArzachena Costa Smeralda's players,Robert Acquafresca (FC Sion) and Paolo Dametto (FeralpiSalò) with the latter two sitting on the bench, though.[11]
However, on 6 May 2019, FINS announced the withdrawal from participation in the2019 CONIFA European Football Cup inArtsakh, accusing the absence of organizational and logistical guarantees to allow theNatzionale, composed by professional players, to face such a demanding trip, deciding to divert the commitment to the organization of the friendly match against Corsica. Despite the abandonment of the event, the federation has guaranteed the permanence in CONIFA.[12]
On 25 January 2020, the FINS, the Sardinian Federation, announced the new coachVittorio Pusceddu (former defender who played, among all the other teams in his career, forCagliari Calcio,S.S.C. Napoli,A.C.F. Fiorentina andTorino F.C.) who took the place of Bernardo Mereu after one year of management.[13]
In 2022 the federation planned to compete in2022 CONIFA European Football Cup and the team was drawn withCounty of Nice andTwo Sicilies, but eventually in May they decide to withdraw from the tournament due to safety reasons and moving to the planning of an International Tournèe againstCorsica,Sicily andMalta, with the latter that could be the firstUEFA opponent in their history after the first inaugural match against England.[14]
From the FINS era, the main color used is light green, according to the federation"a historical reminder and a wish that Sardinia will return, also in the football field, to a period of cultural and economic prosperity, playing and opening up in first person to the world".[15]

The emblem of theNatzionale is a rounded shield with different elements taken from the Sardinian culture. In the upper part, on a green background there is the lettering, in Sardinian language, "Natzionale Sarda de Bòcia". In the main part there are the classicQuattro mori' although with the Saint George's cross in green version instead of red. At the center of the cross then, set in a green pentagon extrapolated from the iconic standard of the soccer ball, a stylized eradicated tree, symbol of theJudicate of Arborea, the last entity representing the independent Sardinia and symbol that still characterizes the coats of arms in the most different variants of more than 80 municipalities of the island.[15]
In 2025 a new, slightly different, version was created. The shape of the tree was designe in a more natural and traditional style, the heads of the Moors were faded away and the lettering on top was shortened to "Natzionale de", leaving the big name "SARDIGNA".
In the first match against England in 1990 the Sardinian XI played with a white jersey with blue details and a polo-style collar, while the shorts were red.[16] In the second experience in 1997 the formation used a total red suit with a largeflag of the four Moors in the chest. In 2018, with the rebuilding of the National team, the new official jerseys, produced by the made in Sardinia technical sponsor Eye Sportswear, were presented. For the home jersey was chosen a white uniform embellished with green details, colours derived by theJudicate of Arborea and a pattern inspired by the typical embroidery of Sardinian craftsmanship in the central part of the shirt. Meanwhile, for the away jersey, it was decided to a completely red uniform with white lapels, in honor of the flag of the four Moors.[17]
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 1990 | ![]() 1997 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 2018– |
| Year | Position | P | W | D | L | F | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ConIFA World Football Cup | |||||||
| Not a member of ConIFA | |||||||
| Cancelled | |||||||
| Did not enter | |||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Year | Position | P | W | D | L | F | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ConIFA European Football Cup | |||||||
| Not a member of ConIFA | |||||||
| Withdrew | |||||||
| Withdrew, later cancelled | |||||||
| Cancelled | |||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
This is a list of results for the matches played since 1990, includingfriendly matches against fullFIFA international teams and others against fellow representative teams which arenot aligned to FIFA and against professional or amateur clubs.
| 5 June 1990Friendly | Sardinia | 2–10 | Oristano, Italy | |
| McMahon Tomasso | Report | Webb Beardsley Bull McMahon Platt | Stadium:Stadio Tharros Attendance: 2000 Referee: Guzzardo |
| July 1997 (1997-07)Friendly | Sardinia | 1–0 | Nuoro, Italy | |
| Zola | Report | Stadium:Stadio Quadrivio |
| 19 March 2019Friendly | Sardinia | 7–1 | Nuoro, Italy | |
| Bianchi Molino Virdis Spano Gianni | Report | Andruetto | Stadium:Stadio Franco Froghieri |
| 2 June 2019Friendly | Sardinia | 1–1 (1-4p) | Olbia, Italy | |
| Cabeccia | Cabella | Stadium:Stadio Bruno Nespoli |
| 15 May 2022Friendly | Torpè | 1–13 | Torpè, Italy | |
| Magrini | Report | Siazzu Arras Pinna Suella Ligios Cordeddu Budroni | Stadium:Campo Sportivo "Tonino Cossu" |
| 10 June 2022Friendly | Sicily | 4–1 | Mazara del Vallo, Italy | |
| 18:45 | Ortisi Savanarola Bulevardi Curiale | Report | Bianco | Stadium:Stadio Nino Vaccara Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Alessandro Angelo |
| 22 May 2024Corsica Cup SF | Corsica | 3-0 | Corte, France | |
| 19:00 CET (UTC+01:00) | Santelli | Report | Stadium:Santos-Manfredi |
Below is the list of players called by coachVittorio Pusceddu for the2024 Corsica Cup in May 2024 .[18]
Caps, goals and numbers as per 25 May 2024.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1GK | Marco Manis | (1983-02-04)4 February 1983 (age 42) | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1GK | Werther Carboni | (1996-04-04)4 April 1996 (age 29) | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1GK | Gabriele Mereu | (1998-07-24)24 July 1998 (age 27) | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2DF | Andrea Congiu | (1993-12-19)19 December 1993 (age 31) | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2DF | Alessio Fadda | (1995-10-04)4 October 1995 (age 30) | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2DF | Fabio Fredrich | (2002-02-12)12 February 2002 (age 23) | 1 | 0 | Unattached | |
| 2DF | Fabio Porru | (2000-01-03)3 January 2000 (age 25) | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2DF | Luca Melis | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2DF | Matteo Saias | (1995-06-13)13 June 1995 (age 30) | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2DF | Francesco Canu | (2004-06-12)12 June 2004 (age 21) | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3MF | Francesco Bianco | (2000-11-23)23 November 2000 (age 25) | 3 | 1 | ||
| 3MF | Andrea Porcheddu | (1999-08-19)19 August 1999 (age 26) | 2 | 0 | ||
| 3MF | Giovanni Boi | 1 | 0 | |||
| 3MF | Gianluigi Illario | (2005-03-03)3 March 2005 (age 20) | 1 | 0 | ||
| 3MF | Daniele Orro | (2003-07-20)20 July 2003 (age 22) | 1 | 0 | ||
| 3MF | Andrea Poli | (2004-08-09)9 August 2004 (age 21) | 1 | 0 | ||
| 3MF | Alberto Piras | (1996-05-02)2 May 1996 (age 29) | 1 | 0 | ||
| 3MF | Sandro Scioni | (1993-02-18)18 February 1993 (age 32) | 1 | 0 | ||
| 3MF | Andrea Manca | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3MF | Giovanni Piga | (2000-09-11)11 September 2000 (age 25) | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4FW | Alessio Virdis | (2000-11-19)19 November 2000 (age 25) | 2 | 0 | ||
| 4FW | Alessandro Aloia | (1996-07-13)13 July 1996 (age 29) | 1 | 0 | ||
| 4FW | Gabriele Dore | (2001-06-11)11 June 2001 (age 24) | 1 | 0 | ||
The following players were called up in previous fixtures and are still avavilable for selection.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Andrea Mainas | (1993-02-26)26 February 1993 (age 32) | 2 | 0 | v. | |
| GK | Paolo Pilotto | (2004-02-21)21 February 2004 (age 21) | 1 | 0 | Unattached | v. |
| GK | Giuseppe Ciocci | (2002-01-24)24 January 2002 (age 23) | 0 | 0 | v. | |
| GK | Marco Ruzittu | (1991-06-15)15 June 1991 (age 34) | 2 | 0 | v. | |
| GK | Mauro Vigorito | (1990-05-22)22 May 1990 (age 35) | 0 | 0 | v. | |
| GK | Alessandro Lai | (2000-01-01)1 January 2000 (age 25) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| DF | Simone Pinna | (1997-10-17)17 October 1997 (age 28) | 3 | 1 | v. | |
| DF | Antonio Ligios | (1999-10-10)10 October 1999 (age 26) | 2 | 1 | v. | |
| DF | Federico Sirigu | (2000-11-28)28 November 2000 (age 24) | 2 | 0 | v. | |
| DF | Ignazio Carta | (1991-05-18)18 May 1991 (age 34) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| DF | Riccardo Fancellu | (2002-09-06)6 September 2002 (age 23) | 0 | 0 | v. | |
| DF | Andrea Zinellu | (2002-11-21)21 November 2002 (age 23) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| DF | Emerson Ramos Borges | (1980-08-16)16 August 1980 (age 45) | 2 | 0 | v. | |
| DF | Simone Varrucciu | (1992-09-11)11 September 1992 (age 33) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| DF | Fabio Boi | (2002-06-29)29 June 2002 (age 23) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| DF | Fabiano Todde | (2001-11-28)28 November 2001 (age 23) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| DF | Marco Cabeccia | (1987-05-25)25 May 1987 (age 38) | 2 | 1 | v. | |
| DF | Giampaolo Sirigu | (1994-03-03)3 March 1994 (age 31) | 2 | 0 | v. | |
| DF | Giuseppe Ghiani | (1999-06-17)17 June 1999 (age 26) | 0 | 0 | v. | |
| DF | Mattia Pitzalis | (2000-04-04)4 April 2000 (age 25) | 0 | 0 | v. | |
| DF | Marco Russu | (1995-10-15)15 October 1995 (age 30) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| DF | Antonio Usai | (1993-07-21)21 July 1993 (age 32) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| DF | Paolo Dametto | (1993-06-28)28 June 1993 (age 32) | 0 | 0 | v. | |
| MF | Daniele Molino | (1987-01-15)15 January 1987 (age 38) | 3 | 1 | v. | |
| MF | Andrea Demontis | (1995-01-10)10 January 1995 (age 30) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| MF | Alessandro Masia | (1995-09-28)28 September 1995 (age 30) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| MF | Davide Budroni | (1995-10-12)12 October 1995 (age 30) | 1 | 2 | v. | |
| MF | Gianmarco Paulis | (1995-03-20)20 March 1995 (age 30) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| MF | Fabio Occhioni | (2001-06-11)11 June 2001 (age 24) | 0 | 0 | v. | |
| MF | Alessandro Deiola | (1995-08-01)1 August 1995 (age 30) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| MF | Daniele Giorico | (1992-01-01)1 January 1992 (age 33) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| MF | Pietro Ladu | (1995-06-02)2 June 1995 (age 30) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| MF | Giuseppe Nuvoli | (1987-11-16)16 November 1987 (age 38) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| MF | Toni Gianni | (1995-03-08)8 March 1995 (age 30) | 1 | 1 | v. | |
| MF | Alessandro Masala | (1996-11-17)17 November 1996 (age 29) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| MF | Stefano Mereu | (1987-04-08)8 April 1987 (age 38) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| FW | Alessandro Cadau | (1984-10-01)1 October 1984 (age 41) | 2 | 0 | v. | |
| FW | Michele Suella | (1995-01-09)9 January 1995 (age 30) | 2 | 2 | v. | |
| FW | Alessio Allegria | (1995-07-28)28 July 1995 (age 30) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| FW | Michele Fadda | (1995-08-24)24 August 1995 (age 30) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| FW | Nicola Mereu | (2001-06-21)21 June 2001 (age 24) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| FW | Davide Arras | (1998-04-02)2 April 1998 (age 27) | 1 | 4 | v. | |
| FW | Mattia Cordeddu | (1988-08-25)25 August 1988 (age 37) | 1 | 2 | v. | |
| FW | Federico Marigosu | (2001-04-21)21 April 2001 (age 24) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| FW | Luca Belloni | (2003-05-08)8 May 2003 (age 22) | 0 | 0 | v. | |
| FW | Samuele Spano | (1994-07-07)7 July 1994 (age 31) | 2 | 1 | v. | |
| FW | Daniele Ragatzu | (1991-09-21)21 September 1991 (age 34) | 0 | 0 | v. | |
| FW | Emanuele Fini | (2000-04-30)30 April 2000 (age 25) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| FW | Paolo Palmas | (1993-08-04)4 August 1993 (age 32) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
| FW | Nicolò Sanna | (1999-09-05)5 September 1999 (age 26) | 1 | 0 | v. | |
As of 10 June 2022, players inbold are still active within the selection.
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