THE CHAGOS ISLANDS FA

The Chagos Islands have cropped up this week already and indeed in the past. The reason was stimulated by my venture into a Barnsley barber who came from Turkistan and hence a link to the Chagos Islands....really? it goes on. Never let it be said that you don't have some conversation pieces for your post-Valentines' parties this weekend.
Below  the Chagos National Football Team badge which represents the archipelago of Chagos Islands.

https://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.com/2018/05/world-football-geography-lesson.html
https://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.com/2018/01/owah-baht-that-then.html   Nice kit!

The Chagos Islands make up an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, make up a British Indian Ocean Territory and are uninhabited save for a US Military Air Base on Diego Garcia island, the largest in the archipelago. The satellite image and map may give you an idea of where these islands are.


I have no idea where they find room for a pitch above sea level! I do know that the members of the Chagos Islands, mainly Creoles, were evicted by the British government between 1967-73 (for their own good? or to build an air base?), some of whom went to Mauritius and many migrated to England-apparently to Crawley!
Unlike their home atoll, the migrants will have adjusted to playing on grass, in Sussex-including using my last home town pitch at:

The migrants gathered together and formed their own football team, representing their country, they found a local coach, Jimmy Ferrar, who had coached at "semi-pro" Sussex clubs such as Oakwood, Crawley Down and Alfold, members of local Sussex Leagues. Ferrar had taken Alfold, a village side. to the Championship of the Southern Combination Div in 2018-19 (STEP 5).

Their first game was a friendly on December 4th 2011, against the countrymen of Raetia, a region on the South German, Swiss and Austrian Tyrol borders. Chagos won 6-1.
The next was against Sealand at Godalming Town FC on May 9th 2012. Sealand is (was) a micro-nation, sited at the Rough Tower, the Maunsell Sea Fort, 7.5 miles off the Suffolk coast. Training nights must be a challenge! Worth investigating this national team, which may be defunct now!!

The Chagos now lads play under the N.F.-Board involving Non-FIFA teams and are based in the Crawley area. With limited finances but plenty of enthusiasm, the Chagossians, including their "on site" migrants, have played in various friendlies, preparing for the VIVA World Cup (read the Kurdistan blog).

In 2016 the Chagos Islands played a friendly against Yorkshire FA in the "stadium" at Fitzwilliam Village near Wakefield and also took on Barawa (Somalia) and Matebeleland (W. Zimbabwe).

In 2019 they played Surrey FA at Crawley and friendlies against Cascadia (team from Washington State, Oregon and parts of Canada), Kernow (Cornwall), the Parishes of Jersey, Tuvalu and Surrey FA. 

In March 2020 they play in the Atlantic Heritage Cup in Yorkshire (at Ossett Utd and the CNG Stadium, Harrogate Town) hoping to qualify for the next CONIFA World Football Cup in Skopje, North Macedonia.