DPR and LPR national teams will not play at the European Football Championship among unrecognized countries

The national teams of the so-called DPR and LPR will not play at the European Championship among unrecognized states, which will be held next summer in Nice, according to the website of the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (ConIFA) - they were not among the 12 participants in the upcoming tournament.

The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (ConIFA) is a football organization formed on June 7, 2013. It unites football associations of states (unrecognized and partially recognized states, autonomy within recognized states, ethnic teams), not officially included in the IFF (FIFA) and continental confederations.

As a result, in June 2022, the national teams of Nice, Northern Cyprus, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Sardinia, Lapland, Szekei Territory, Padania, Western Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), Cornwall and Chameria will play in this tournament.

It is curious that, for example, the Padania team represents a part of Italy, which, created from different northern regions, their inhabitants, since the time of Garibaldi, advocate separation from the common state. And the Lapland national team represents the space inhabited by the Sami - the people living in Finland, Sweden, Norway and even Russia. The Szekei region is represented by Hungarians living in Romania.

Meanwhile, the media of the unrecognized DPR and LPR explain the absence of their teams at the European Championship for several reasons.

First, they have serious problems with funding the sport. Secondly, the players of these national teams have problems with obtaining visas (but, for example, Abkhaz footballers with Russian passports solve this problem easily). Thirdly, the teams of the LPR and DPR practically do not play “international” matches, which ConIFA pays great attention to.

“But most likely there is no enthusiasm. It's a pity, of course. Participation in such competitions would give more for the popularization of the Donbass republics than victories in regional competitions in Russia. With all due respect to the latter, of course. So, in the summer we will be rooting for the “football separatists” from the near abroad: Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Artsakh”, - the Donbass Solves channel writes.

In April 2021, the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF) made a decision to ban players from this sport for life who performed in the teams of the "terrorist groups of the DPR and LPR".

It is also interesting that in June 2019, the DPR and LPR teams themselves refused to participate in the ConIFA European Football Cup among unrecognized countries. The truth about the reasons for this decision, they did not say anything.