2016 ConIFA World Football Cup

The 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup was the second edition of the ConIFA World Football Cup, an international football tournament for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA organised by ConIFA. The tournament was hosted by the Football Federation of Abkhazia, with the Abkhazia team becoming the first host nation to win the tournament.

2016 ConIFA World Football Cup
Tournament details
Host countryAbkhazia
Dates29 May – 5 June
Teams12
Venue(s)2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Abkhazia (1st title)
Runners-up Panjab
Third place Northern Cyprus
Fourth place Padania
Tournament statistics
Matches played28
Goals scored115 (4.11 per match)
Top scorer(s)Panjab Amar Purewal (7 goals)
2014
2018

Host selection

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Following the 2015 ConIFA European Football Cup, in which the teams from Abkhazia and South Ossetia were refused visas by the Hungarian government, ConIFA announced that they had delivered strong objections to what they saw as political interference.[1] As a consequence, in July 2015, ConIFA announced that its executive committee had unanimously voted to award the 2016 World Football Cup to Abkhazia. It stated that, in addition to the quality of the bid, the decision would send out the message that ConIFA would stand by all of its members.[1]

Hosts

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  Abkhazia

Sukhumi Gagra
Dinamo Stadium Daur Akhvlediani Stadium
 
43°00′18″N 41°00′52″E / 43.004911°N 41.014472°E / 43.004911; 41.014472 (Dinamo Stadium) 43°17′10″N 40°15′38″E / 43.2860657°N 40.2606291°E / 43.2860657; 40.2606291 (Daur Akhvlediani Stadium)
Capacity:4,300 Capacity:1,500

Qualification

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Partial world map showing the national teams that entered the 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup. Note that the Panjab and Chagos teams largely consisted of diaspora members living in England.

The 2016 World Football Cup was the first ConIFA tournament to feature qualification, as the competitors in both the previous tournament and 2015 European Football Cup were invited. The qualification process was designed around a number of different tournaments; initially, ConIFA announced that the top three teams in the 2015 EFC would gain automatic qualification for the 2016 WFC.[2] Subsequent to this decision, ConIFA announced that it would sanction a number of friendly tournaments featuring its members as part of the qualification, with the first of these being the Niamh Challenge Cup, a four team tournament hosted by Ellan Vannin.[3] A further tournament, the Benedikt Fontana Cup was also planned to be hosted by Raetia.[4] The winners of these tournaments would gain qualification to the WFC.

In addition to the hosts, and the teams that gained entry to the tournament through the qualification process, ConIFA extended an invitation to the team representing the Aymara people to become the first South American side to participate.[5]

Qualified teams

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Team Continent Method of
qualification
Date of
qualification
Finals
appearance
Previous
appearance
Previous best
performance
Notes
  Aymará South America Invitation 13 May 2015 1st N/A N/A Subsequently, withdrew from competition
  Ellan Vannin Europe Niamh Challenge Cup winners 31 May 2015 2nd 2014 Runners-up (2014) Subsequently, withdrew from competition
  Padania Europe European Football Cup Winner 21 June 2015 2nd 2014 5th Place (2014) Expelled from competition subsequent to qualification; subsequently restored following withdrawal of Romani People
  County of Nice Europe European Football Cup Runner-up 21 June 2015 2nd 2014 Winners (2014) Subsequently, withdrew from competition
  Abkhazia Europe Host 7 July 2015 2nd 2014 8th Place (2014)
  Raetia Europe Benedikt Fontana Cup Winners 6 September 2015 1st N/A N/A
  Somaliland Africa Selected 9 January 2016 1st N/A N/A
  Chagos Islands Asia Selected 9 January 2016 1st N/A N/A
  Kurdistan Region Asia Selected 9 January 2016 2nd 2014 6th Place (2014)
  Panjab Asia Selected 9 January 2016 1st N/A N/A
  United Koreans in Japan Asia Selected 9 January 2016 1st N/A N/A
  Northern Cyprus Europe Selected 9 January 2016 1st N/A N/A
  Romani people Europe Selected 9 January 2016 1st N/A N/A Subsequently, withdrew from competition
  Sápmi Europe Selected 9 January 2016 2nd 2014 10th Place (2014)
  Western Armenia Europe Selected 9 January 2016 1st N/A N/A
  Székely Land Europe Selected 2 March 2016 1st N/A N/A Replaced Padania

Draw

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The twelve participating teams were divided into three pots of four for the group stage, which would see them drawn into four groups of three. The draw was made by ConIFA World President Per-Anders Blind in Luleå on 1 April 2016:[6]

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3

Withdrawals

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In December 2015, following advice from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office over security concerns regarding travel to Abkhazia, the Manx Independent Football Alliance announced that the Ellan Vannin team would withdraw from the World Football Cup, and instead take part in the 2016 Europeada Championship in Italy.[7] Subsequently, both the Aymará team, and County of Nice also withdrew.

In March 2016, ConIFA announced that Padania had been expelled from the tournament due to procedural irregularities, to be replaced by Székely Land.[8]

In May 2016, three weeks prior to the start of the tournament, ConIFA announced that the Romani team had been forced to withdraw from the tournament due to difficulties in obtaining travel documents for their squad. Padania, who had been expelled, were invited to take the place of the Romani team.[9]

Matches

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Group stage

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Key to colours in group tables
Team advanced to the quarter-finals
Team in the 9th-12th-place play-offs

Group A

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Abkhazia 2 2 0 0 10 0 +10 6
  Western Armenia 2 1 0 1 12 1 +11 3
  Chagos Islands 2 0 0 2 0 21 −21 0
Source: [citation needed]
Abkhazia  9–0  Chagos Islands
Dmitri Kortava   18' (pen.)
Vladimir Argun   19'
Dmitri Akhba   34'
Albert Prus   39', 43'
Ruslan Shoniya   47', 57'
Astamur Tarba   50'
Victor Pimpia   88'
Report
Chagos Islands  0–12  Western Armenia
Report David Ghandilyan   3', 20', 30', 34', 45', 53'
Tamaz Avolian   55'
Armen Kapikiyan   58', 81'
Ruslan Trapizoyan   64'
Vahagn Militosyan   69'
Hiraç Yagan   73'
Western Armenia  0–1  Abkhazia
Dmitri Kortava   9'

Group B

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Kurdistan Region 2 2 0 0 6 0 +6 6
  United Koreans in Japan 2 1 0 1 1 3 −2 3
  Székely Land 2 0 0 2 0 4 −4 0
Source: [citation needed]
Kurdistan Region  3–0  Székely Land
Farhang Wriya   34'
Farhan Shakor   55'
Hunar Ahmed   73'
Report
United Koreans in Japan  1–0  Székely Land
Lee Son-chon   60'
United Koreans in Japan  0–3  Kurdistan Region
Report Diyar Rahman   27'
Miran Khesro   45' (pen)
Hunar Ahmad   73'

Group C

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Northern Cyprus 2 2 0 0 9 1 +8 6
  Padania 2 1 0 1 7 2 +5 3
  Raetia 2 0 0 2 0 13 −13 0
Source: [citation needed]
Padania  1–2  Northern Cyprus
Matteo Prandelli   48' Report Ünal Kaya   62'
Halil Turan   67'
Raetia  0–6  Padania
Matteo Prandelli   23', 35', 54', 61'
Nicolo Mercorillo   21'
Andrea Rota   80'
Northern Cyprus  7–0  Raetia
Esin Sonay   5', 13', 48'
Tansel Ekingen   60'
Hüseyin Sadiklar   73'
Halil Turan   81', 87'

Group D

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Panjab 2 2 0 0 6 0 +6 6
  Sápmi 2 1 0 1 5 1 +4 3
  Somaliland 2 0 0 2 0 10 −10 0
Source: [citation needed]
Sápmi  5–0  Somaliland
Lars Iver Strand   15'
Jarkko Lahdenmäki   50'
Jon Steinar Eriksen   60'
Stein Arne Mannsverk   70'
Hans Åge Yndestad   80'
Report
Sápmi  0–1  Panjab
Report Gurjit Singh   2'
Somaliland  0–5  Panjab
Amar Purewal   30', 67', 80'
Arjun Purewal   38'
Gurjit Singh   74'

Knockout stage

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Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
1 June – Sukhumi
 
 
  United Koreans in Japan 1 (2)
 
4 June – Sukhumi
 
  Northern Cyprus1 (4)
 
  Northern Cyprus0
 
1 June – Sukhumi
 
  Abkhazia 2
 
  Abkhazia 2
 
5 June – Sukhumi
 
  Sápmi0
 
  Abkhazia1 (6)
 
2 June – Sukhumi
 
  Panjab 1 (5)
 
  Kurdistan Region 2 (6)
 
4 June – Sukhumi
 
  Padania2 (7)
 
  Padania0
 
2 June – Sukhumi
 
  Panjab 1 Third place
 
  Western Armenia 2
 
5 June – Sukhumi
 
  Panjab3
 
  Padania 0
 
 
  Northern Cyprus 2
 

Quarter-finals

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United Koreans in Japan  1–1  Northern Cyprus
On Song-tae   54' Ünal Kaya   31'
Penalties
Kim Kwang-woo  
On Song-tae  
Kim Su-yong  
An Suug-tae  
2–4   Esin Sonay
  Halil Turan
  Ünal Kaya
  Ibrahim Çıdamlı
Abkhazia  2–0  Sápmi
Dmitri Kortava   35', 73' (pen.)
Kurdistan Region  2–2  Padania
Matteo Prandelli   22' (o.g.)
Jassim Mohammed Haji   25'
Luca Ferri   13'
Marco Garavelli   71'
Penalties
Kosrat Baiz  
Kamaran Ali (?)  
Khalid Mushir  
Diyar Rahman  
Farhan Shakor  
Hunar Ahmad  
(?)  
Miran Khesro  
6–7   Matteo Prandelli
  Marco Garavelli
  Alex Mazzocca
  Luca Mosti (?)
  Luca Ferri
  Stefano Tignonsini (?)
  Gianluca Rolandone (?)
  Antonio Pizzolla
Western Armenia  2–3  Panjab
Tamaz Avolian   67'
Raffi Kaya   79'
Amar Purewal   2', 36', 44'

Semi-finals

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Northern Cyprus  0–2  Abkhazia
Levan Logua   9'
Ruslan Shoniya   69'
Padania  0–1  Panjab
Omar Rio Riaz   76'

Third-Place play-off

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Padania  0–2  Northern Cyprus
Halil Turan   50'
Tansel Ekingen   79'

Final

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Abkhazia  1–1  Panjab
Ruslan Shoniya   88' Report Amar Purewal   57'
Penalties
Anri Khagba  
Anri Khagush  
Dmitriy Akhba  
Tarash Khagba  
Ruslan Shoniya  
Alan Khugaev  
Shabat Logua  
Vladimir Argun  
6–5   Amar Purewal
  Radjpal Virk
  Terlochan Singh
  Karum Shanker
  Jhai Dhillon
  Aran Basi
  Amarvir Sandhu
  Aaron Minhas


 ConIFA World Football Cup 2016 winners 
 
Abkhazia

First title

Placement Rounds

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Placement round 1 Placement round 2 Placings
2 June – Gagra 3 June – Gagra   Sápmi 5th place
  Chagos Islands 2   Chagos Islands 3 (2)   Western Armenia 6th Place
  Somaliland 3   Raetia 3 (3)   United Koreans in Japan 7th Place
2 June – Gagra 3 June – Gagra   Kurdistan Region 8th Place
  Székely Land 7   Somaliland 3   Székely Land 9th place
  Raetia 0   Székely Land 10   Somaliland 10th place
3 June – Sukhumi 4 June – Gagra   Raetia 11th place
  United Koreans in Japan 1   United Koreans in Japan 1 (4)   Chagos Islands 12th place
  Sápmi 2   Kurdistan Region 1 (2)
3 June – Sukhumi 4 June – Gagra
  Kurdistan Region 0 (5)   Sápmi 3
  Western Armenia 0 (6)   Western Armenia 0

Placement Round 1

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Székely Land  7–0  Raetia
United Koreans in Japan  1–2  Sápmi
Kim Su-yong   2' ?   9' (pen.)
 ?   61'
Kurdistan Region  0–0  Western Armenia
Penalties
Miran Khesro  
Farhan Shakor  
Hunar Ahmad  
Farhang Wriya  
Diyar Rahman  
Aras Mustafa  
Znar Faidhi  
5–6   Hiraç Yagan
  Raffi Kaya
  Tamaz Avolian
  Loris Berberian
  Jules Tepelian
  Herant Yagan
  Denis Oz

Placement Round 2

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Chagos Islands  3–3  Raetia
Penalties
 
 
 
 
2–4  
 
 
 
United Koreans in Japan  1–1  Kurdistan Region
An Suug-tae   90+5' ?   80'
Penalties
Kim Su-yong  
An Suug-tae  
Kim Kwang-woo  
Huo Yang  
Shin Yong-ki  
4–2  
 
 
 

Final Positions

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Result
1   Abkhazia 5 4 1 0 15 1 +14 13
2   Panjab 5 4 1 0 11 3 +8 13
3   Northern Cyprus 5 3 1 1 12 4 +8 10
4   Padania 5 1 1 3 9 7 +2 4
5   Sápmi 5 3 0 2 10 4 +6 9 Eliminated
in the
Quarterfinals
6   Western Armenia 5 1 1 3 14 7 +7 4
7   United Koreans in Japan 5 1 2 2 4 7 −3 5
8   Kurdistan Region 5 2 3 0 9 3 +6 9
9   Székely Land 4 2 0 2 17 7 +10 6 Eliminated
in the
First Stage
10   Somaliland 4 1 0 3 6 22 −16 3
11   Raetia 4 0 1 3 3 23 −20 1
12   Chagos Islands 4 0 1 3 5 27 −22 1
Source: [citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Looking back and moving forward!". ConIFA. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  2. ^ "European Football Cup 2015". ConIFA. Confederation of independent Football Associations. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Ellan Vannin to host tournament at end of month". Yorkshire Evening Post. 13 May 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-07-15. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Benedikt Fontana Cup". ConIFA. Confederation of Independent Football Associations. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  5. ^ Jockel, Jens (16 May 2015). "Signing of Team Aymara – Chile-Trip of our South America Director". ConIFA. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  6. ^ The official draw CONIFA World Football Cup 2016 (Video). ConIFA. 1 April 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  7. ^ "Ellan Vannin set for new European adventure". IOM Today. 17 December 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  8. ^ "Replacement in ConIFA WFC 2016". Facebook. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  9. ^ "BREAKING!Sad news approached us from the Romani People Football Team". Facebook. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
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