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Confederation of Independent Football Associations

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.


Column 1
15 August 2013 (15 August 2013)
Sports governing body
Luleå, Norrbotten, Sweden
38 member associations
English is the official language for minutes, correspondence, and announcements. French, German,Swedish Italian, and Spanish are additional languages.
Per-Anders Blind
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.

  • 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

  • CONIFA Women's World Football Cup

  • CONIFA No Limits Mediterranean Futsal Cup

  • Givova Trophy

CompetitionYearChampionsTitleRunners-upNext edition
CONIFA Men's World Football Cup2018Kárpátalja1stNorthern CyprusSummer 2027
CONIFA Women's World Football Cup2024Sápmi2ndTamil Eelam2026
CONIFA African Football Cup2022Biafra1stMatabeleland2026 11-16 August
CONIFA Asian Football Cup2025Tamil Eelam2ndEast TurkestanTBD
CONIFA European Football Cup2019South Ossetia1stWestern Armenia2026 2-6 June
CONIFA South American Football Cup2022Maule Sur1stMapucheTBD
CONIFA African Women's Football Cup2026 11-16 August
CONIFA No Limits European Championship2019Monaco1stPadaniaTBD
CONIFA No Limits Mediterranean Futsal Cup2021County of Nice1stSardiniaTBD

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. 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.

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.

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.
  • The entity represented by the Football Association is a territory or people defined by an ethnic, regional or historical cultural identity and which has formed through ethnical, historical and/or regional specializations.

As of April 2026:

^^ 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. The state also has an official football association, the Federação Paulista de Futebol, which is affiliated with the Brazilian Football Confederation, which in turn is a member of FIFA.

No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Per-Anders BlindSweden7 June 2013Incumbent
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Malcolm BlackburnIsle of Man20142016
2Kristof WenczelHungary2015Incumbent
3Dimitri PagaveAbkhazia2016Incumbent
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Sascha DüerkopGermany7 June 201330 April 2020
2Jason HeatonEngland30 April 20202 August 2021
3Piotr PodlewskiPoland2 August 20217 August 2022
4Jeroen ZandbergNetherlands7 August 2022Incumbent
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Masoud AttaiZanzibar7 June 20132017
2Justin WalleyEngland20172020
3Christian Lubasi Luzongo KalalalukaZambia20202022
4Ngala Maimo WajiriCameroon2022Incumbent
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Tariq AbdulrahmanIraq7 June 20132017
2Jens JockelGermany20172020
3Motoko JitsukawaJapan20202022
4Ruby-Ann KagaoanPhilippines2022Incumbent
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Alberto RischioItaly7 June 2013Incumbent
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Jens JockelGermany20132017
2Zam GutierrezMexico20172019
3Diego BartolottaMexico2019Incumbent
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Mark DielerGermany20132017
2Noah WheelockCanada20172020
3Aaron JohnsenUnited States20202024
4Shaun HarrisUnited States20242025
5Jaclyn GuenetteCanada2025Incumbent
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
1Charles Reklai MitchellPalau20142017
2Ben SchultzAustralia2017Incumbent
No.NameCountry of originTook officeLeft office
Cassie ChildersUnited States6 September 20172019
1Kelly LindseyUnited StatesFebruary 201928 February 2020
2Håkan KuorakSweden28 February 20202022
3Alary DaltonUnited States20222024
4Norma Alvares AguileraMexico2024Incumbent
  • N.F.-Board, the predecessor of non-FIFA football

  • Non-FIFA international football

  • World Unity Football Alliance – several CONIFA members also hold membership of WUFA

  • Official website

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