Chameria national football team
The Chameria national football team (Albanian: Përfaqësuesja e futbollit të Çamërisë, Greek: Εκπρόσωπος ποδοσφαίρου της Τσαμουριάς) represents Cham Albanians of Chameria, a coastal part of Epirus, Greece. It is not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA and therefore cannot compete for the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championships.
 | ||
| Association | Federata e Futbollit të Republikës së Çamërisë (FFRÇ) | |
|---|---|---|
| Confederation | CONIFA | |
| Head coach | Arben Kasolli | |
| ||
| First international | ||
 Chameria 6–0 Kurdistan Region  (The Hague, Netherlands; 17 June 2017) | ||
| Biggest win | ||
| Chameria 6–0 Kurdistan Region (The Hague, Netherlands; 17 June 2017) | ||
| Biggest defeat | ||
 Abkhazia 3–1 Chameria (Askeran, Republic of Artsakh; 2 June 2019) | ||
| CONIFA European Football Cup | ||
| Appearances | 1 (first in 2019) | |
| Best result | 4th, (2019) | |
History
First match
The Chameria national football team was formed during mid-2017 and has played a number of friendly matches. On 17 June 2017, the first one that was simultaneously also the first biggest win and the first-ever competitive win was against Iraqi Kurdistan in the framework of the 2017 Unrepresented Nations Cup and the match ended with a 6–0 home win.[1][2]
Membership in CONIFA
On 24 May 2018, Chameria was accepted in CONIFA and would now play in the various tournaments and individual matches against other national teams.[3]
On 2 June 2019, Chameria played its first international match after the membership in CONIFA against Abkhazia in the framework of the 2019 CONIFA European Football Cup and the match ended in a 3–1 defeat, that was simultaneously also the biggest defeat and the first defeat of Chameria.[4]
Competitive record
UNPO World Cup
| UNPO World Cup record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad |
 2017 |
Champion | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | |
| Total | — | 1/1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | — |
CONIFA European Football Cup
On 20 February 2019, in Krakow, it was decided that Chameria should be part in Group 2 of the 2019 CONIFA European Football Cup, together with Abkhazia and County of Nice.[5] On 22 May 2019, CONIFA announced that County of Nice was withdrawal from competition and the group where the Chameria was is changed, where besides Abkhazia, will also faced with the host country, Artsakh and Sápmi.[6] On 2 June 2019, Chameria made his debut on CONIFA European Football Cup with a 3–1 away defeat against Abkhazia.[4]
| CONIFA European Football Cup record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad |
 2015 to  2017 |
Team did not exist | ||||||||
 2019 |
Fourth place | 4th | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 | Squad |
| Total | — | 1/3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 | — |
Fixtures and results
2017
| 17 June 2017 UNPO World Cup2017 | Chameria | 6–0 | Kurdistan Region | The Hague, Netherlands |
| 11:30 | Stadium: Sportpark De Verademing |
2019
| 2 June 2019 CONIFA EC GS | Abkhazia | 3–1 | Chameria | Askeran, Republic of Artsakh |
| 16:00 | Maskayev  48'Logua 49', 74' |
Report | Prendi 30' |
Stadium: Askeran City Stadium Attendance: 500 Referee: Ahmed Sabah Radha Ahmed (Iraq Kurdistan) |
| 3 June 2019 CONIFA EC GS | Chameria | 4–1 | Artsakh | Martuni, Republic of Artsakh |
| 18:00 | Çema 58', 90+3' Mziu 85'Gjoka 90+5' |
Report | Sargsyan 83' |
Stadium: Avakyan Arena Attendance: 1,080 Referee: Ivan Mrkalj (Germany) |
| 4 June 2019 CONIFA EC GS | Chameria | 4–0 |  Sápmi | Martakert, Republic of Artsakh |
| 18:00 | Mziu 5' Hoxha 22', 45'Çema 78' |
Report | Stadium: Vigen Shirinyan Stadium Attendance: 2,300 Referee: Ivan Mrkalj (Germany) |
| 6 June 2019 CONIFA EC SF | South Ossetia  | 0–0 (6–5 p) | Chameria | Askeran, Republic of Artsakh |
| 16:00 | Report | Stadium: Askeran City Stadium Attendance: 500 Referee: Ahmed Sabah Radha Ahmed (Iraq Kurdistan) |
| 8 June 2019 CONIFA EC 3rd | Abkhazia | 0–0 (5–4 p) | Chameria | Stepanakert, Republic of Artsakh |
| Report | Stadium: Stepanakert Republican Stadium Attendance: 6,200 Referee: Dmytro Zhukov (Donetsk People's Republic) |
Players
Current squad
The following players have been called up for the 2019 CONIFA European Football Cup.[7]
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | GK | Fatjon Çollari | 2 April 1999 |  Elbasani | ||
| 6 | DF | Feliks Cane | 28 October 1990 | Devolli | ||
| 3 | DF | Xhorxhian Boçi | 14 February 1994 | Iliria | ||
| 14 | DF | Flavio Prendi | 12 October 1995 | Tërbuni | ||
| 18 | MF | Tedi Baholli | 24 January 1990 | Luzi 2008 | ||
| 15 | MF | Anxhelo Isaraj | 25 December 1991 | Tërbuni | ||
| 4 | MF | Jurgen Vogli | 12 June 1993 | Egnatia | ||
| 10 | MF | Kevis Gjeçi | 26 August 1996 |  Espaly | ||
| 12 | MF | Shyqyri Hasa | 17 October 1996 | Luzi 2008 | ||
| 13 | MF | Rei Zaimi | 30 October 1998 | Gramshi | ||
| 8 | MF | Klajdi Kryemadhi | 9 December 1998 | Besëlidhja | ||
| 7 | FW | Samet Gjoka | 9 January 1990 | Luzi 2008 | ||
| 17 | FW | Vilson Mziu | 15 July 1991 | Luzi 2008 | ||
| 11 | FW | Edmond Hoxha | 16 May 1997 | Besëlidhja | ||
| 9 | FW | Marko Çema | 16 January 1998 | Kukësi | ||
Head-to-head records against other countries
- As of 8 June 2019
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abkhazia |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0.00 |
 Ambazonia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 100.00 |
| Artsakh |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 100.00 |
| Kurdistan Region |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 100.00 |
| Sápmi |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 100.00 |
| South Ossetia |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0.00 |
| 6 Countries | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 5 | +13 | 57.14 |
Managers
| Manager | Period | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.0 | |
| 2018 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 40.0 | |
| Arben Kasolli |
2019- | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 40.0 |
| Totals | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 53.84 | |
References
- "Chameria vs Kurdistan". Football Federation of the Republic of Chameria. 17 June 2017. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
As part of the Unrepresented Nations Cup
- "Chameria wins international tournament". Football Federation of the Republic of Chameria. 17 June 2017. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
On Saturday 17 June 2017 an international footbal tournament was held in The Hague, the Netherlands. The event brought together eight teams from various nationalities who played for the World Cup of unrecognised nations. Teams from West Papua, Kurdistan, Chameria, Southern Cameroons and others played against each other in the tournament. Many of the players came from far away. There were also many supporters who showed their excitement for their team and nation through song and dance and traditional cuisine. Chameria won its group matches and subsequently went to the final, which they won with three to two
- "Chameria joins World Football Federation CONIFA". Football Federation of the Republic of Chameria. 24 May 2018. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- "Abkhazia 3–1 Chameria". CONIFA. 2 June 2019.
- "Sportsbet.io sponsors the 2019 CONIFA European Football Cup". Sportsbet.io. 20 February 2019.
Looking at the draw, Group 2 is already being dubbed the "Group of Death", featuring as it does two former CONIFA World Football Cup Champions in the form of Abkhazia (winners in front of a home crowd in 2016) and the County of Nice, which one the inaugural tournament in 2014. The teams are drawn alongside Chameria, which is making its debut at the competition
- "Match schedule: CONIFA Sportsbet.io European Football Cup 2019". CONIFA. 22 May 2019.
After the unfortunate late withdrawal of Sardinia, County of Nice, Donetsk and Luhansk, the previous four groups were merged into two, entitled A and B, and are as follows. Group A: Artsakh, Sápmi, Abkhazia, Chameria
- "Chameria squad" (PDF). CONIFA. May 2019.
External links
- Official website (in English)