THE REBEL WORLD CUP

With Andorra winning their first international match since 2004, it is time to write about the small fry! With 44 passes in the game (one every two minutes) they once beat Hungary, the great Magyars 0-1. Andorra had been 66 matches winless.

By chance this morning I was in Barnsley and having chosen from a variety of barbers in town, I came across one that was going to give me a grade 4 for £5, that's one grade per £1.25. The hairdresser wore a Manchester United shirt and like all good haircut experiences you need a conversation starter. So off we went on football, France v England and Pogba etc etc. Too good for England.

We soon established that his English was pretty good, though he did not think so, and that he came from Kurdistan. What did he say about his national team...not a lot....so I said to him, "I can research this and write about it in my blog". He understood that and I gave him my "blog address". So he might be reading this!

Where is Kurdistan? It is an autonomous region in northern Iraq but has a Premier League of 14 clubs and do play in "World Cups" designed for the stateless people and minorities.

Iraqi Kurdistan FA are not affiliated to FIFA or any other association though they can play in ConIFA tournaments having played their first "international" against the Sampi (Sami) a Swedish ethnic group in 2008 which ended in a draw 2-2. This report courtesy of the Guardian newspaper will tell you much about the Kurdish team.

https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/oct/14/football-alternative-world-cup-kurdistan-team-jack-losh-sebastien-rabas

It is worth reading, some of the videos take time BUT will give you a bit of an  ducation about the issues The Kurds and their neighbours have to face.