CONIFA Announce 2019 European Football Cup to Be Played in Artsakh After Success of London 2018
The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) have announced that itsi 2019 European Football Cup will be held in Artsakh (also known as Nagorno-Karabakh), a de facto state in the Caucasus.
The tournament will be CONIFA's third European Football Cup, and comes on the back of a well-attended 2018 World Football Cup tournament in London this summer - won by Kárpátalja on penalties after a tense final at Enfield Town FC.
Image by Chris Deeley
CONIFA President Per-Anders Blind said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to build on the momentum of the 2018 Paddy Power World Football Cup. 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.
"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.”
The summer's tournament in London saw 250,000 people watch the live-streamed matches online, while 3,000 people attended the final at Enfield Town FC to see Northern Cyprus lose on penalties for their second final in a row - having lost out to two-time European champions Padania in the 2017 Euros.
Both of the 2017 finalists will be given spots at next year's tournament, along with the hosts and 2018 World Football Cup winners Kárpátalja.
Narine Aghabalyan, Minister of Education, Science and Sport of the Artsakh Republic, said:“It will be a wonderful celebration of sport, culture and friendship."
