TheConfederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA, originally styledConIFA) is the international governing body forassociation football teams that arenot affiliated withFIFA.
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, withSápmi ladies beating their Northern Cyprus hosts 4–0 in the Women's Friendship Cup.[3] 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.[4]
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 in possession of anISO 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 themember states of the United Nations.
The entity represented by the football association is a minority included in the World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples, maintained and published byMinority Rights Group International.
The entity represented by the football association is a linguistic minority, the language of which is included on thelist of ISO 639-2 codes.
^The Girl Power Organisation and the Pakistan Football Association are breakaway football associations in Afghanistan and Pakistan respectively. Both of those countries also have state-backed football associations—theAfghanistan Football Federation and thePakistan Football Federation—which are members of FIFA.
^^ The Federação Alternativa de Desporto de Estado de São Paulo (or São Paulo F.A.D.) is an independent regional football association dedicated to celebrating the culture and the people of the state of São Paulo.[14] The state also has an official football association, theFederação Paulista de Futebol, which is affiliated with theBrazilian Football Confederation, which in turn is a member of FIFA.
^"Calendar".www.conifa.org. Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA).Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved18 June 2022.
^"Members".www.conifa.org. Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA).Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved8 March 2023.
Per-Anders Blind
Men's World Football Cup
Women's World Football Cup
Asian Football Cup
European Football Cup
Kárpátalja
Northern Cyprus
Sápmi
Tamil Eelam
Biafra
Matabeleland
East Turkestan
South Ossetia
Western Armenia
Maule Sur
Mapuche
Monaco
Padania
County of Nice
Sardinia
Isle of Man
Hungary
Abkhazia
Germany
England
Poland
Netherlands
Zanzibar
Zambia
Cameroon
Iraq
Japan
Philippines
Italy
Mexico
Canada
United States
Palau
Australia
