Breakaway Abkhazia Republic to Host World Football Championship

By The Moscow Times

May 27, 2016

Boys play soccer at a schoolyard in the town of Gal, Abkhazia. Maxim Stulov / Vedomosti

The breakaway republic of Abkhazia is to host a football tournament for fellow unrecognized states, Radio Free Europe reported Friday.

The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) championship tournament begins in the capital Sukhumi on May 28.

The organization brings together people who ?€?feel strong links to entities that are not represented in FIFA.?€?

Twelve teams are to compete in the competition, including Northern Cyprus, Kurdistan and Somaliland.

Abkhazia, which is only recognized as a country by a handful of countries apart from Russia, declared its independence from Georgia in 1992.

It is not the first time that the statelet has hosted an international event. The World Domino championships were also held in Abkhazia in 2011.

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