Matabeleland Football Confederacy joins CONIFA

The Matabeleland Football Confederacy (MFC) was recently approved to the for membership to the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA).

CONIFA was established in 2013 as a non-profit organisation comprising football teams from small countries, nations, unrecognised states, cultural regions, minorities and isolated territories around the world. Their inaugural World Cup tournament took place in Sweden in 2014 and the organisation plans to hold one every two years.

MFC's application was backed by Save Matabeleland Coalition who will also take a leading role in strengthening the Administration in partnership with CONIFA.  It will start hosting and participating in International Competitions as well as assembling a Matabeleland National Select Team which is expected to participate in the 2018 World Cup. Preparations for the 2018 World Cup will start soon.

A number of teams from Matabeleland will be taking part in the the ROYAL SUPER LEAGUE scheduled to start in March 2017 and the ROYAL SUPER CUP which will take place in December 2016. The National Team will be selected from Mthwakazians who will take part in the Royal Super competitions.

CONIFA's president Per-Anders Blind says his league has nothing to do with politics and borders.

"Our aim is to show that football can be a tool to bring our members to the global stage. We all have the same right to exist," he said.

Blind described how the idea for the CONIFA was inspired by his own life experience.

"My father is a reindeer herder in the Swedish and Norwegian mountains. I was born and raised as part of a group of forgotten people, the Sami, and endured discrimination because of that."

"Perhaps because of this, I have sacrificed my own money and relationships to ensure that anyone can take part in an international tournament," he said.

Blind explained: "FIFA and we serve different purposes: it's just not the same representing your ethnicity and representing your country."

The Matabeleland Football Confederacy officials said, "Football being the most played sport in the world makes people come together to play and watch, bringing them together with a sense of identity."

Pride in their identity was one of the things emphasised by the Matabeleland Football Confederacy offcials.

For more information contact the Public Relations Officer on matconfederancy@gmail.com