The Székely Land football team (Hungarian: Székely labdarúgó-válogatott) is a team representing Székely Land, a historic and ethnographic region in eastern Transylvania, in central Romania, inhabited mainly by the Székelys, a subgroup of the Hungarian people. It is a member of ConIFA, an umbrella association for states, minorities,and regions unaffiliated with FIFA.[1][2]
 | ||
| Nickname(s) | Székelyek | |
|---|---|---|
| Association | Székelyföld Labdarugó Egyesület (SZFE) | |
| Confederation | ConIFA | |
| Head coach | József Gazda | |
| ||
| First international | ||
 Kárpátalja 0–5 Székely Land  (Berehovo; 16 August 2014) | ||
| Biggest win | ||
 Somaliland 3–10 Székely Land (Gagra; 3 June 2016) Székely Land 7-0 Two Sicilies  (Csíkszereda; 2 July 2023) | ||
| Biggest defeat | ||
Székely Land 0–5 Western Armenia  (Askeran; 3 June, 2019) | ||
| World Cup | ||
| Appearances | CONIFA World Football Cup | |
| Best result | 4th 2018 | |
| Appearances | CONIFA European Football Cup | |
| Best result | 3rd 2017 | |
Székelyföld Labdarugó Egyesület
editThe Székelyföld Labdarugó Egyesület is the football association of Székely Land.[3]
History
editThe association named Székelyföld Labdarugó Egyesület (English: Székely Land Football Association) was founded in 2013 at Budapest, Hungary on the initiative of Kristóf Wenczel, a sports lawyer by profession. In January 2014, the Székelyföld Labdarugó Egyesület was admitted to the N.F.-Board, an organisation consisting of teams that represent nations, dependencies, unrecognized states, minorities, stateless peoples, regions and micronations not affiliated to FIFA. After the N.F.-Board became defunct later the same year, the Székelyföld Labdarugó Egyesület became member of the newly founded ConIFA. [4]
In 2023, they participated in the 2024 CONIFA World Cup Qualifiers. They were placed in Group C with Chameria and Two Sicilies. Sekler Land won both matches, 3-2 and 7-0 respectively, and qualified for the tournament.
Tournament records
editConIFA World Football Cup record
edit| Year | Position | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 2014 |
did not enter | ||||||
 2016 |
9th place | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 7 |
 2018 |
4th place | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 7 |
 2024 |
Qualified | ||||||
| Total | 0 titles | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 33 | 14 |
ConIFA European Football Cup record
edit| Year | Position | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 2015 |
6th place | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
 2017 |
3rd place | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 7 |
 2019 |
8th place | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 16 |
 2021 |
TBC | ||||||
| Total | 0 titles | 13 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 19 | 33 |
Current squad
editThe following players were called up for the 2019 CONIFA European Football Cup.[5]
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Levente Mihok | 27 May 1982 (aged 37) | 0 | 0 |  ACS Olimpic Cetate Râșnov
|
| 2 | DF | Hunor Ghinea | 24 February 1999 (aged 20) | 0 | 0 | KSE Târgu Secuiesc
|
| 3 | DF | Robert Oprea | 10 June 1988 (aged 30) | 4 | 0 | SK Nyárádszereda
|
| 4 | DF | Norbert Lazar | 27 April 1989 (aged 30) | 0 | 0 | Baróti VSC
|
| 5 | MF | István Hadnagy | 19 September 1996 (aged 22) | 4 | 1 | Malomfalvi Fiatalság
|
| 6 | MF | Norbert-Cristian Albu | 1 November 1996 (aged 22) | 0 | 0 | KSE Târgu Secuiesc
|
| 7 | MF | Barna Vékás | 12 August 1994 (aged 24) | 6 | 5 | AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
|
| 8 | MF | Csaba Dézsi | 13 December 1989 (aged 29) | 4 | 0 | AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
|
| 9 | FW | Ákos Kovács | 22 March 1983 (aged 36) | 8 | 1 | AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
|
| 10 | MF | Mozes Peter | 30 December 1984 (aged 34) | 8 | 2 | AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
|
| 11 | FW | Szilárd Magyari | 20 May 1998 (aged 21) | 9 | 6 | FK Miercurea Ciuc
|
| 12 | GK | Attila Farkas | 22 March 1999 (aged 20) | 0 | 0 | KSE Târgu Secuiesc
|
| 13 | FW | Attila Lazar | 10 July 1989 (aged 29) | 0 | 0 | Baróti VSC
|
| 14 | DF | Árpád Rózsa | 18 June 1989 (aged 29) | 15 | 0 | Free agent |
| 15 | DF | Norbert Benkő-Bíró | 8 October 1992 (aged 26) | 14 | 1 | Salgótarjáni BTC
|
| 16 | MF | Tankó Előd | 13 July 1995 (aged 23) | 0 | 0 | AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
|
| 17 | FW | Barna Bajkó | 16 May 1984 (aged 35) | 13 | 10 | FK Miercurea Ciuc
|
| 18 | MF | József Gazda | 26 October 1982 (aged 36) | 14 | 0 | KSE Târgu Secuiesc
|
| 19 | MF | Botond Kovács | 10 September 1996 (aged 22) | 0 | 0 | Szolnoki MÁV FC
|
| 20 | MF | Attila Gall | 2 June 1996 (aged 22) | 0 | 0 | KSE Târgu Secuiesc
|
| 21 | MF | Gothard Gajdo | 17 July 1991 (aged 27) | 0 | 0 | KSE Târgu Secuiesc
|
| 22 | FW | Rajmond Bálint | 8 December 1993 (aged 25) | 1 | 0 | AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
|
| 23 | FW | Norbert János | 30 May 1998 (aged 21) | 0 | 0 | FC Universitatea Cluj
|
Notable former players
editThe footballers enlisted below have played for Székely Land at least at one ConIFA World Football Cup or ConIFA European Football Cup and have had played at the top level.
Managers
editThe following managers have been the head coach of Székely Land at least at one ConIFA World Football Cup or ConIFA European Football Cup.
- Róbert Ilyés[6][7]
- József Gazda[5]
- Zoltán Jakab[4]
Honours
editNon-FIFA competitions
edit- CONIFA European Football Cup
- Third place (1): 2017
References
edit- ^ Hendicott, James (2019). CONIFA: Football for the Forgotten. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-0-244-17363-0 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Székely Land". CONIFA. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
- ^ "Short history of the Székelyland FA". riotingfootball.info.
- ^ a b Zátyi, Tibor (25 April 2014). "Világbajnokságra készül a székelyföldi fociválogatott". www.kronika.ro. Krónikaonline.
- ^ a b European Football Cup 2019 Squad Lists ConIFA. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
- ^ a b c d Zátyi, Tibor (31 May 2017). "Ilyés Róbert edző-játékossal készül az Eb-re a székely válogatott" [The Székely Land team prepares for the EC with player-manager Ilyés Róbert]. SzekelySport (in Hungarian). Romania. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h World Football Cup 2018 Squad Lists ConIFA. Retrieved 6 December 2020.