Chagos Islands 1 v 6 Tuvalu

Saturday 9th June 2018
Friendly
Bedfont Recreation Ground, Bedfont
Admission: £10.00 online (plus mandatory £1 donation for ConIFA member association of one's choice)
Programme: £5.00 (covering entire tournament)
Attendance: 70 (rough head count)
Match Rating: 3

For the final day of the ConIFA World Football Cup, I booked my tickets in advance for two games today, one for the final this evening taking place at Enfield Town, and one at the other end of the spectrum, for the 15th/16th Placement game (aka the wooden spoon play-off). However, the latter game was scuppered thanks to Ellan Vannin pulling out of the tournament after an unsuccessful appeal against an alleged ineligible player fielded by the team they lost out to in the group stages, Barawa. That resulted in opponents having to be found for the teams that Ellan Vannin should have been playing in the placement rounds to play friendly fixtures instead. Fortunately the Chagos Islands were able to step in at such short notice to provide the opposition. Originally, I had considered seeking a refund and going to another game instead, with £11.00 an awful lot of money to pay for a friendly game between two of the weakest ConIFA teams. However, once Tuvalu were confirmed as taking part in this fixture, I decided to go, as they were one of the teams I had targeted to watch in this tournament, and whose participation in this tournament was quite remarkable, travelling all the way from their remote tiny islands in Oceania, located between Australia and Hawaii.

The Bedfont Recreation Ground is about a ten minute walk from Hatton Cross underground station, and has been significantly upgraded since my last visit in 2010, mirroring the host club’s rise from starting their second season of senior football, in the Step 4 Combined Counties League Division One, to achieving promotion into the Step 4 Isthmian League Central Division for the coming season. Spectators enter via a turnstile block next to the main clubhouse building, which is really pleasantly fitted out and decorated inside. Immediately beyond the turnstiles there is a tea bar hatch, and towards the corner flag there are three uncovered metal steps to stand on, but without any rails, is a little precarious to stand on. There is cover in front of the clubhouse straddling the half way line, which has some seats scattered around and even a couple of table footballs. Towards the furthest corner flag there are a couple of rows of covered seating attached to the clubhouse building, with the nicely decorated player’s tunnel located in the corner. A further couple of rows of covered seating is located beyond the corner flag, and then a modern metallic stand behind the goal, which is quite nicely decorated. Narrow cover against the perimeter fence stretches around the corner, then along the middle two thirds of the length there are two rows of cover. Along the remaining length, again there is some narrow cover, the middle two thirds having two rows of seating along it. A nice touch is that each area of seats has “Welcome to Bedfont Sports” spelt along them. One thing that hasn’t changed about the ground is its location right under the flight path for Heathrow, with planes regularly taking off and passing close above the ground.

Tuvalu themselves were not originally scheduled to take part in this tournament, but took the place of Kiribati in March, when the latter had to pull out for financial reasons. Unfortunately, but perhaps unsurprisingly, Tuvalu have struggled in this tournament, losing every game in the group stage – 0-4 against eventual semi-finalists Székely Land 0-4 and Padania 0-8, and then Matabeleland 1-3, and in the placement matches they lost 0-5 against United Koreans in Japan, and finally Tamil Eelam 3-4, despite being 3-1 up with four minutes of normal time remaining. The Chagos Islands lost 0-1 against Matabeleland on Thursday in their other friendly match.

On a warm afternoon – but certainly not as hot as last Saturday – this was an entertaining game that was generally, as expected, low on quality but was not as one-sided as the final score would indicate. Tuvalu took the lead on 7 minutes, rather fortunately, as an attempted clearance ricocheted off a Tuvalu’ striker Okilani Tinilau and went into the net. They doubled their lead on 18 minutes, following a lovely clipped ball forward which sent Matti Uaelesi clear before delivering a composed low finish past the keeper. Chagos Islands came close to pulling a goal back on 20 minutes when some good footwork inside the box by Jimmy Degrade ended with a close range shot being parried low by the keeper. Tuvalu should have made it three when Taufaiva Ionatana burst through the middle clear of the defence, but as he approached the keeper, he laid the ball off to his Uaelesi, who was offside. But they did make it three on 25 minutes, when a corner was headed by Afalee Valoa amongst a crowd, heading just inside the near post and although there was a Chagossian player on the line, the ball bounced off the top of his head and into the roof of the net. But Chagos Islands were given hope of getting back in the game when they were awarded a penalty on 28 minutes following a trip in the box on Degrace. The ball was dispatched from the spot into the bottom right corner by Leonce. Despite some huffing and puffing, the score remained 3-1 at half time, with Tuvalu in control, but Chagos Islands not out of it yet, especially considering how Tuvalu blew a two goal lead late on in their previous game.

After a fairly quiet start to the second half, it was Tuvalu who scored the crucial next goal. After winning possession in their own half, probably thanks to a foul by the Tuvalu player, they quickly attacked and an eventual short pass inside the area allowed Tinilau to clip the ball past the keeper and into the net. Chagos Islands defender Dylan Digobert was then shown a green card for dissent, followed by a red card when the dissent continued. Chagos Islands were looking a beaten side now, not helped by multiple substitutes being made, and on 70 minutes, Tuvalu scored their fifth. A ball forward was laid off beautifully by a back heel by Uaelesi to team mate Sosene Vailine, and he drove the ball low across the keeper and into the net. On 80 minutes Tuvalu made it six, when an initial shot was blocked and the loose ball was struck into the roof of the net by Uaelesi. Tuvalu were also reduced to ten minutes in the closing minutes, when a player had to go off injured after they had already made all of their substitutions. With the last kick of the game, Chagos Islands came close to a second consolation goal, when a free kick right on the edge of the area by Hansley Sagai was well saved low to the keeper’s left. But it was Tuvalu who finished their campaign very much on a high, and enjoyed some reward for their long, long journey of well over 9,000 miles to participate in this tournament. As for Chagos Islands, full credit to them for taking part in fixtures with precious little  preparation time and just a few days notice, and they deserved a narrower defeat today. They will hope the two friendly fixtures were a taste to build towards qualification for future tournaments.

Although this was a very low key game, with quite a small crowd and none of the atmosphere, noise or colour of many other games in this tournament, it was still a most enjoyable game to watch, with both teams contributing to a competitive game, generally played in very good spirits, with it quite clear how much it means to play for their respective countries.

Northern Cyprus 3 v 1 Tibet

Saturday 2nd June 2018
ConIFA World Cup Group B
Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield
Admission: £11.00
Programme: £5.00 (covering entire tournament)
Attendance: 1,200 (estimate)
Match Rating: 5

Following my earlier game at Haringey, I made my way northwards by bus to the home of Enfield Town, for the game I was looking forward to the most today, being played between two teams whose participation in the tournament was controversial to say the least. It would also be intriguing to watch a match that would be surely well attended thanks to a large Turkish Cypriot population in London, and a rare opportunity to watch a team representing Tibet in action, who would surely get a large sympathetic support, as well from Tibetans in exile.

The Queen Elizabeth II Stadium is about a five minute walk from Cambridge Gardens bus stop, or about a half hour walk to Enfield Town train station, and has seen no noticeable alterations since my previous visit in 2013. Spectators enter in one corner of the ground, with a large building stretching roughly between corner flags. The clubhouse and changing rooms are located on the bottom floor, whilst on the top bar, there is an additional bar, along with a seated area, and a balcony either side of the seating area to watch the game from. Closer to the pitchside railings, there are separate areas of a few open terrace steps to stand on. Straddling the half way line on the other side there is a black modern metallic stand, whilst behind both goals, modern metallic stands cover a few terrace steps. Unfortunately an athletics track runs around the pitch, meaning views are somewhat distance along both lengths (which makes the first floor balcony on the clubhouse perhaps the best area to watch the action from), although spectators are much closer to the pitch behind both goals.

Both teams had to endure considerable pressure against their participation in this competition. Greek Cypriot organisations protested loudly about Northern Cyprus being allowed to play in an area with a large Greek Cypriot population, and additionally contacted each Council hosting matches in the competition (not just those involving Northern Cyprus) asking them to force the hosting club to pull out. According to the competition organisers, potential sponsors of the tournament pulled out, concerned about China's reaction to the participation of Tibet, leaving just bookmaker Paddy Power as the sole sponsor for the tournament, a big blow for a volunteer run organisation that struggles to raise sufficient funds as it is. Fortunately, such pressure had no influence. Northern Cyprus were ranked third in the ConIFA rankings, and are traditionally one of the power houses of the organisation, finishing in fifth place two years ago and runners-up in 2012 in previous editions of the World Football Cup, and were runners up in the European Football Cup last year. Tibet, drawn from players exiled from their homeland, were very much an unknown quantity, and were offered a wild card to participate in this competition. This would be their first World Football Cup tournament. In their opening fixtures in this competition on Thursday, Northern Cyprus drew 1-1 with Kárpátalja, while Tibet lost 0-3 to reigning World Football Cup champions Abkhazia.

With temperatures still remaining very warm for this evening game, the scheduled 5pm kick-off time was delayed by 15 minutes due to crowd congestion at the turnstiles. Indeed, the crowd would be a reported record for the ground, and there was a real carnival atmosphere all around, with flags of both "nations" abundant all around the ground, with plenty of singing taking place throughout, and a couple of Northern Cyprus supporters circulating the ground pretty much throughout the match banging a drum with a trumpet playing. Northern Cyprus were big favourites to win this match. And with barely two minutes on the clock, they took the lead. Halil Turan ran onto a ball over the top down the right wing, and he powerfully struck the ball from just inside the outer corner of the penalty area across the keeper and into the net. They went on to dominate much of the first half, but squandered chances that came their way. Tibet battled gamely to stay in the game, and they were fully rewarded two minutes before half time with a goal to level the scores when Kalsang Topgyal deflected a low cross from the left into the net via a deflection through the goalkeeper, to cue wild celebration amongst the Tibetan supporters. So a surprising half time scoreline, one that rewarded Tibet's tenacity, although Northern Cyprus really should have put the game to bed long before the equaliser.

Tibet actually started the second half the stronger, looking quite comfortable and even looked just about the likelier to take the lead, and four minutes after the break almost took advantage of a defensive slip, when a long range shot hit the post. Gradually, Northern Cyprus got back into the game, and on 61 minutes, a ball curled into the box was flicked on by a head, to divert the ball onto the top of the bar. But on 64 minutes, Northern Cyprus retook the lead. The ball was played diagonally into the penalty area, and Turan ran onto the ball wide of the six yard box and fired the ball home, beating the keeper at his near post - the keeper really should have done better with it. And on 70 minutes, Northern Cyprus opened up a two goal cushion with their third goal. A perfectly judged flighted ball over the defence found Ugur Gok, who chipped the ball over the keeper and into the net. That sealed the victory, as they comfortably controlled the rest of the game, and progression to the quarter finals is very much in their hands, just needing to avoid defeat to Abkhazia tomorrow. Tibet have a tough task ahead to gain a positive result in their final game against Kárpátalja, and will probably have to wait for the following placement matches to gain a positive result. But they certainly impressed with their style of play, and whilst second best for long periods today, looked far from outclassed.

As I made my way to the train station after the game, I felt exhausted after two games standing in hot conditions, but reflected on a thoroughly enjoyable day, where pride in their respective "nations" was really evident, giving a gloriously colourful, friendly international feel to proceedings, with little of the trappings of the modern commercial game. It left very much looking forward to my next taste of the competition, on finals day next Saturday,

Székely Land 5 v 0 Matabeleland

Saturday 2nd June 2018
ConIFA World Cup Group C
Coles Park, Haringey
Admission: £11.00
Programme: £5.00 (covering entire tournament)
Attendance: 400 (estimate)
Match Rating: 4

With domestic fixtures ending at the end of May, with the FA forcing a curfew on all competitive men’s football throughout the month of June, June usually represents a month of rest from football. However, this year the hosting of the ConIFA World Football Cup at grounds across London offered me the opportunity to extend my season by a further two weekends, starting with two group stage matches today.

Having previously visited all host stadia to be used in the competition, out of a choice today of the home grounds of Carshalton Athletic, Bracknell Town, Slough Town, Haringey Borough and Enfield Town, I chose visits to the latter two, as they would be the easiest to combine for a double – as well as being attractive fixtures in their own right. For the first game I headed for Coles Park, home of Haringey Borough today, for a 2 o'clock fixture. My only previous visit was back in 2012, when the ground hosted Step 5 football, and various improvements have been made as the club has progressed into step 4 and has just won promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division. The ground has more of an enclosed feel about it now, with quite an attractive wooden turnstile block situated next to the main stand, painted in yellow and green club colours and although the seating offers good elevation, there are supporting pillars and railings along the from to get in the way of the view. Behind the stand there is a separate building containing the clubhouse. The ground is enclosed by metal fencing panels, and there is only hard standing around three sides of the ground. Beyond the main stand, there is burger van, and then a covered standing area towards the corner flag. The ground is rather scruffy and has little aesthetic appeal, but it serves its purpose. A plastic pitch has been installed since my last visit. An 84 page programme was produced by the organisers covering the whole tournament, and while £5 may initially seem on the expensive side, it proved decent value for money, packed full of information about the competition, its history and the participating teams – all invaluable information for a tournament the vast majority of visitors would know next to nothing about. It was also very attractively and professionally produced, with a nice glossy, hardened cover.

ConIFA is an organisation that administers the game for often generally unrecognised nations, regions and peoples that do not and usually cannot belong to FIFA, and this World Football Cup followed a qualifying format, although some teams were offered wild cards to participate. This match had plenty intriguing about it. Székely Land is a region in central Romania inhabited mainly by Hungarians – the Székelys – and their football team is currently ranked fifth in the ConIFA world rankings. Matabeleland is located in the western part of Zimbabwe, and their participation in this tournament was in doubt right up until they were due to fly out, having to rely on crowdfunding appeals and successful visa applications, but their presence promised to bring a welcome dose of brightness to the competition. In their opening fixtures of the tournament on Thursday, today’s teams fared rather differently – Székely Land winning 4-0 against rank outsiders Tuvalu, while Matabeleland lost 1-6 against one of the tournament favourites Padania.

On a very hot and sticky afternoon, there was an early taste of the colourful, noisy afternoon I was to encounter as soon as I walked out of Wood Green underground station, to be confronted with a group of Szekely Land fans singing, passed them still in full voice as I passed them on the bus, and as they entered the ground. Indeed, this was to be a memorable occasion where they provided terrific support to their team, their area decorated with flags and they intermittently lets off flares in the Hungarian colours of green, white and red, while a small group of Matabeleland followers also gave great encouragement to their team throughout, some dressed in their traditional attire, as they danced and sang their support in a very African style, which contrasted really well with the more "Ultras" support of the Hungarians. After the national anthems were played, Matabeleland were certainly the quickest team out of the blocks, within the first minute a ball over the top saw their striker run onto it and the eventual powerful shot was diverted away for a corner. And soon after, a long ball drilled forward by the keeper found a forward who had sprung the offside trap, and he lobbed the keeper as he came out to meet him, but the goalbound shot was cleared by a defender. And indeed, Matabeleland looked by the far the most likely to score in the opening stages, producing some excellent, free-flowing, fearless attacking, although their unorthodox defending looked very unlikely to maintain a clean sheet. The game changing moment came on 23 minutes, which perhaps would spoil the game as a spectacle and as an even contest. A ball down the left wing sent Szilard Magyari clear and as the keeper came racing well out of his area, Magyari chipped the ball over him to send the ball towards goal, but was cleared by a defender. However, Magyari was flattened by the keeper just after he struck at goal, and the referee pulled the game back to award a free kick and send the keeper off. That free kick came to nothing, but seven minutes, Lorand Fulop ran onto a low ball into the box, only to be brought down from behind, and a penalty was awarded. Fulop himself fired the ball into the left side of the goal, despite the keeper going the right way. From then on, it was to prove a difficult afternoon for the Africans, as Szekely Land doubled their lead on 40 minutes, Arthur Gyorgyi firing in a free kick full of dip and swerve which deceived the keeper as it nestled in the bottom right corner of the goal. And two minutes later, the game was put beyond all realistic doubt. A ball down the left sent the forward clear as he bore down towards the left outer corner of the penalty area, and he cooly passed the ball low to Laszlo Hodgyai, who tapped the ball into the net.

Szekely Land soon made it four after the break, on 53 minutes. A defender got into a tangle as he tried to deal with a cross from the right into the box, and Magyari pounced to fire the ball over the keeper and into the net. They had other decent chances to extend their lead but were not ruthless enough, and Matabeleland also had a couple of good chances to grab a consolation, but in the end, it was Szekely Land who had the final say with their fifth of the game on 88 minutes. The ball was chipped over the defence for Hodgyai to run onto and he just managed to get a shot away before the keeper managed to get in the way at the edge of the area, and the ball trickled into the net.

This result, and Padania beating Tuvalu 8-0 in the later game here, meant that Szekely Land were guaranteed progression to the quarter finals, and the top two teams will play off tomorrow decide who will progress as group winners. Matabeleland will play Tuvalu in a battle of the minnows, and with a decent chance of claiming a win heading into the placement matches if they can recreate their attacking flair shown at times today. Apparently, the party atmosphere continued well after the final whistle, with the players staying on the pitch to celebrate with their fans, with the Matabeleland supporters also joining in with the singing, but unfortunately I had to make a quick exit to make my second game at Enfield on time. But this was a thoroughly entertaining way to begin my experience of this ConIFA World Football Cup 2018, with an entertaining game on the pitch and a wonderful clash of cultures off of it, and I looked forward for more of the same at Enfield. I was certainly not to be disappointed.

Video highlights of this game can be viewed by clicking here.