Nagorno-Karabakh to Host 2019 CONIFA European Football Cup

• 05.21.2019, 16:21
•  Europe,  World,  Armenia,  NKR

The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) today announced that Artsakh, a de facto state in the Caucasus, will host the 2019 European Football Cup.

The tournament will be held from Saturday 1st June – Sunday 9 June in Stepanakert, the capital. 

“After the incredible success of London 2018, we are excited to be taking our next tournament to a beautiful and relatively undiscovered part of the world,” said CONIFA President Per-Anders Blind. “During several official delegation visits to Stepanakert, CONIFA has received incredible hospitality. We are confident that participating teams, fans and travelling media will enjoy the same experience next year.”

Artsakh has been a member of CONIFA since our inception in 2013, and participated in our first-ever tournament in Sweden in 2014,” explained CONIFA’s European Director Alberto Rischio. “Given their long-term involvement in the CONIFA family, we were delighted when the Artsakh Football Federation first expressed interest in hosting the tournament.”

12 teams will contest the tournament. 2017 European Football Cup winners Padania and 2018 Paddy Power World Football Cup winners Karpatalya will join the host team as automatic qualifiers. The remaining teams will be determined during CONIFA’s annual general meeting in January.

“It will be a wonderful celebration of sport, culture and friendship,” said Minister of Education, Science and Sport of the Artsakh Republic, Narine Aghabalyan.

CONIFA is the international football confederation for teams not part of FIFA. Its members include states, unrecognised states, regions, minority groups and sports-isolated territories. CONIFA is a strictly politically neutral charity, and is run by volunteers.