2018 CONIFA World Football Cup
The 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup was the third edition of the CONIFA World Football Cup, an international football tournament for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA organised by CONIFA. The tournament was hosted by Barawa Football Association, with all games held in and around London.[1] The tournament was sponsored by Irish bookmaker Paddy Power. After being a late entry to the tournament, Kárpátalja won their first title on 9 June 2018, defeating Northern Cyprus 3–2 on penalties in the final (0–0 after 90 minutes).
|  | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | .svg.png.webp) Barawa (official)  England (location) | 
| Dates | 31 May – 9 June | 
| Teams | 16 | 
| Venue(s) | 10 (in 3 host cities) | 
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Kárpátalja (1st title) | 
| Runners-up |  Northern Cyprus | 
| Third place |  Padania | 
| Fourth place |  Székely Land | 
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 41 | 
| Goals scored | 158 (3.85 per match) | 
| Top scorer(s) |  Kamaljit Singh (6 goals) | 
Host selection
    
In June 2017, at the CONIFA meeting held during the 2017 CONIFA European Football Cup, it was announced that the Barawa Football Association had been selected to act as the host for the 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup. However, under CONIFA's criteria, the "host" is the CONIFA member that heads the organising committee for the tournament, which does not necessarily mean that it needs to be played in the host's territory.[2] Barawa is located in Somalia, but the Barawa FA represents members of the Somali diaspora in England.[3]
Venues
    
The first two CONIFA World Football Cup tournaments both featured no more than two venues each; the 2014 tournament featured all games played at the same stadium, while the 2016 edition had a stadium in each of two cities. The expansion from twelve to sixteen participants in 2018 saw a significant expansion in the number of venues used, with a total of ten selected in four separate towns and cities - of these, seven were located in Greater London itself, two were in the towns of Slough and Bracknell in Berkshire, and one in the borough of Thurrock in Essex.
| Greater London | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sutton | Bromley | Enfield | Haringey | 
| Gander Green Lane | Hayes Lane | Queen Elizabeth II Stadium | Coles Park | 
| Capacity: 5,000 | Capacity: 5,000 | Capacity: 2,500 | Capacity: 2,500 | 
|  | .jpg.webp) |  |  | 
| Greater London | Greater London | ||
| Carshalton | Rotherhithe | ||
| Colston Avenue | St Paul's Sports Ground | ||
| Capacity: 5,000 | Capacity: 1,000 | ||
|  |  | ||
| Greater London | Essex | ||
| Bedfont | Aveley | ||
| Bedfont Recreation Ground | Parkside | ||
| Capacity: 3,000 | Capacity: 3,500 | ||
|  |  | ||
| Berkshire | |||
| Bracknell | Slough | ||
| Larges Lane | Arbour Park | ||
| Capacity: 2,500 | Capacity: 2,000 | ||
|  | |||
Qualification
    

The process of qualification for the World Football Cup was originally laid out in a set of criteria published by CONIFA at its 2017 annual general meeting, which goes into the various ways by which teams can qualify.[4] This was subsequently revised by CONIFA in June 2017.[5]
- Host - Providing at least 10 places are available for other qualifiers, then all hosts will qualify automatically. If there are less than 10 other places available, then the number of automatic host places is calculated by the total number of places in the tournament minus 10.
- World Football Cup Holder - The current holder of the World Football Cup qualifies automatically.
- Wild Card - CONIFA's Executive Committee issues a Wild Card place to a team that has not yet qualified for the WFC no later than 9 months prior to the start of the tournament. The committee also has the right to issue a second Wild Card if approved by CONIFA's Annual General Meeting.
- Qualification tournament - Any member of CONIFA has the right to request that a tournament it hosts be sanctioned as a qualifier, providing it is held between 1 January of the year of the previous WFC, and 31 December of the year before the next WFC, and consists of at least four CONIFA members. The request to have the tournament sanctioned as a qualifier must be submitted at least two months prior to the start, and must be approved by CONIFA's Executive Committee.
- Continental tournament - If a CONIFA continental championship is held after the previous WFC, then a number of its participants qualify for the WFC; the total qualifiers is worked out by the number of participants in the tournament divided by 4.
- Qualification points - Remaining places are distributed according to the final positions in the various CONIFA continental rankings according to their accumulated ranking points. If two or more teams have the same number of qualification points, qualification will be determined by the CONIFA World Rankings.
| Qualification points | |
|---|---|
| Opposition Factor (OF) | Result Factor (RF) | 
| CONIFA Member = 3 | Win = 3 | 
| Other international opposition = 2 | Draw = 2 | 
| Any other opposition = 1 | Defeat = 1 | 
| Points for a single match = OF × RF | |
| 
 | |
By the criteria set out, the qualification process began in January 2016, when Western Armenia played its first official game against the reserve team of the French club Olympique de Marseille.[6] The first team to qualify automatically was Tamil Eelam, by winning the single match CONIFA Challenger Cup against the Romani people in March 2016. Following this, two further, multi-team competitions were awarded qualification status by CONIFA, the Hungary Heritage Cup, played between four CONIFA members representing the Hungarian diaspora, and the World Unity Cup, which was a tournament containing teams representing a number of displaced peoples.[7] The winners of both of these tournaments were guaranteed qualification for the World Football Cup.
Qualified teams
    
| Team | Region | Method of qualification | Date of qualification | Finals appearance | Previous appearance | Previous best performance | Notes | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Tamil Eelam | Asia | ConIFA Challenger Cup winners | 13 March 2016 | 2nd | 2014 | Placement round (2014) | |
|  Abkhazia | Europe | ConIFA World Football Cup winners | 6 June 2016 | 3rd | 2016 | Winners (2016) | |
| _football_flag.png.webp) Felvidék | Europe | Hungary Heritage Cup winners | 3 August 2016 | 1st | N/A | N/A | Subsequently withdrew | 
|  Western Armenia | Asia | Wild card | 14 January 2017 | 2nd | 2016 | Quarter-final (2016) | |
| .svg.png.webp) Barawa | Africa | Host | 8 June 2017 | 1st | N/A | N/A | |
|  Tibet | Asia | Wild card | 8 June 2017 | 1st | N/A | N/A | |
|  Kiribati | Oceania | Regional qualification | 8 June 2017 | 1st | N/A | N/A | Subsequently withdrew | 
|  Cascadia | North America | Regional qualification | 8 June 2017 | 1st | N/A | N/A | |
|  Padania | Europe | ConIFA European Football Cup winners | 10 June 2017 | 3rd | 2016 | 4th place (2016) | |
|  Northern Cyprus | Europe | ConIFA European Football Cup runners-up | 10 June 2017 | 2nd | 2016 | 3rd place (2016) | |
|  Panjab | Asia | Regional qualification | 2 September 2017 | 2nd | 2016 | 2nd place (2016) | |
|  United Koreans in Japan | Asia | Regional qualification | 2 September 2017 | 2nd | 2016 | Quarter-final (2016) | |
|  Matabeleland | Africa | Regional qualification | 2 September 2017 | 1st | N/A | N/A | |
|  Kabylia | Africa | Regional qualification | 2 September 2017 | 1st | N/A | N/A | |
|  Ellan Vannin | Europe | Regional qualification | 2 September 2017 | 2nd | 2014 | 2nd place (2014) | |
|  Székely Land | Europe | Regional qualification | 2 September 2017 | 2nd | 2016 | Placement round (2016) | |
|  Tuvalu | Oceania | Replacement | 7 March 2018 | 1st | N/A | N/A | Replaced Kiribati | 
|  Kárpátalja | Europe | Replacement | 4 May 2018 | 1st | N/A | N/A | Replaced Felvidék | 
Draw
    
In December 2017, the sixteen participating teams were seeded into four pots of four for the group stage draw, based on the ConIFA rankings. The draw for the group stage was held on 6 January 2018 in Northern Cyprus.[8][9]
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | 
|---|---|---|---|
Withdrawals
    
In March 2018, ConIFA announced that, owing to financial difficulties, the Kiribati team had been forced to withdraw from the tournament, with their place taken by Tuvalu.[10] In May 2018, it was announced that the Felvidék team had withdrawn, to be replaced by Kárpátalja.[11]
Squads
    
    
Referees
    
ConIFA announced a total of 28 referees for the tournament, led by former Premier League official Mark Clattenburg.[12] During the tournament, referees used a third card in addition to the red and yellow; the green card, introduced as a concept by the tournament sponsor Paddy Power, was issued to players either for dissent or diving; a player given a green card was required to be substituted immediately.[12]
| Referees | |
|---|---|
| Referee | Country | 
| Mark Clattenburg | England | 
| Oliver Potter | |
| Karl Parker | |
| Clément Auclair | France | 
| Raymond Mashamba | Zimbabwe | 
| Dmitrii Zhukov | Ukraine | 
| Vitalii Mazin | |
| Valerii Kravchenko | |
| Aleksandr Demenko | |
| Givi Todua | Russia | 
| Kristian Michel | Slovakia | 
| Vinze Otten | Netherlands | 
| Alan Martinez | United States | 
| David Murphy | Scotland | 
| James Turpin | Isle of Man | 
| Denis Pérez González | Spain | 
| Andrew Mario Parody | Gibraltar | 
| Utku Hamamcioglu | Turkey | 
| Fehim Dayı | Northern Cyprus | 
| Zekai Tore | |
| Isfendiyar Açiksoz | |
| Esposito Pasquale | Italy | 
| Mario Guastafierro | |
| Massimo Amitrano | |
| Mario Sasso | |
| Wilhelm Gürtler | Germany | 
| René Jacobi | |
| Martin Heiland | |
| Martin Rauh | |
| Leon Dastych | |
| Ivan Mrkalj | |
Matches
    
    
Group A
    
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .svg.png.webp) Barawa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 6 | Advance to quarter-finals | 
|  Cascadia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 6 | |
|  Ellan Vannin | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | Advance to placement round | 
|  Tamil Eelam | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | −12 | 0 | 
| Ellan Vannin  | 4–1 |  Cascadia | 
|---|---|---|
| Whitley  15' Jones  41' Caine  62' McVey  70' | Report | Doughty  18' | 
| Barawa .svg.png.webp) | 4–0 |  Tamil Eelam | 
|---|---|---|
| Sambou  17' Lucien  30' (pen.), 80' (pen.) Crichlow  43' | Report | 
| Ellan Vannin  | 2–0 |  Tamil Eelam | 
|---|---|---|
| Whitley  47' Caine  57' | Report | 
| Barawa .svg.png.webp) | 2–0 |  Ellan Vannin | 
|---|---|---|
| Bettamer  40' Ismail  56' | Report | 
Group B
    
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Kárpátalja | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 7 | Advance to quarter-finals | 
|  Northern Cyprus | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 5 | |
|  Abkhazia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 | Advance to placement round | 
|  Tibet | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 0 | 
| Abkhazia  | 0–2 |  Kárpátalja | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Gajdos  11' I. Sándor  90+8' | 
| Northern Cyprus  | 3–1 |  Tibet | 
|---|---|---|
| Turan  2', 67' Gök  73' | Report | Topgyal  38' | 
| Abkhazia  | 2–2 |  Northern Cyprus | 
|---|---|---|
| Maskayev  21' Argun  90' (pen.) | Report | Kaya  27' Oshan  77' | 
Group C
    
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Padania | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | +15 | 9 | Advance to quarter-finals | 
|  Székely Land | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 6 | |
|  Matabeleland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 12 | −8 | 3 | Advance to placement round | 
|  Tuvalu | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 15 | −14 | 0 | 
| Székely Land  | 4–0 |  Tuvalu | 
|---|---|---|
| Bajkó  23', 63', 68' Magyari  75' | Report | 
| Padania  | 6–1 |  Matabeleland | 
|---|---|---|
| Innocenti  10', 45' Piantoni  39', 42' Rosset  60' Rota  61' | Report | Ndlela  78' | 
| Székely Land  | 5–0 |  Matabeleland | 
|---|---|---|
| Fülöp  31' (pen.) Györgyi  40' Magyari  42', 54' Hodgyai  90+1' | Report | 
| Padania  | 8–0 |  Tuvalu | 
|---|---|---|
| Corno  8', 12', 38' Ravasi  17' Valente  32', 44', 89' Rosset  71' | Report | 
| Padania  | 3–1 |  Székely Land | 
|---|---|---|
| Rolandone  19' Innocenti  27' Pllumbaj  45' | Report | Szőcs  90' | 
| Tuvalu  | 1–3 |  Matabeleland | 
|---|---|---|
| Timuani  27' | Report | S. Ndlovu  25', 38' Mlalazi  90+1' (pen.) | 
Group D
    
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Western Armenia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 7 | Advance to quarter-finals | 
|  Panjab | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 4 | |
|  United Koreans in Japan | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | Advance to placement round | 
|  Kabylia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 12 | −12 | 1 | 
| United Koreans in Japan  | 0–0 |  Western Armenia | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | 
| Panjab  | 8–0 |  Kabylia | 
|---|---|---|
| Sandhu  24', 53' Purewal  45', 62' G. Singh  51' (pen.), 90+3' K. Singh  75', 82' | Report | 
| United Koreans in Japan  | 0–0 |  Kabylia | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | 
| Panjab  | 0–1 |  Western Armenia | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Militosyan  14' | 
| Panjab  | 1–1 |  United Koreans in Japan | 
|---|---|---|
| Purewal  77' (pen.) | Report | Mun  90+4' | 
| Western Armenia  | 4–0 |  Kabylia | 
|---|---|---|
| Mosoyan  23' Valenza-Berberian  61', 87' Militosyan  89' | Report | 
Knockout stage
    
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 5 June – Sutton | ||||||||||
| .svg.png.webp) Barawa | 0 | |||||||||
| 7 June – Carshalton | ||||||||||
|  Northern Cyprus | 8 | |||||||||
|  Northern Cyprus | 3 | |||||||||
| 5 June – Bracknell | ||||||||||
|  Padania | 2 | |||||||||
|  Padania | 2 | |||||||||
| 9 June – Enfield | ||||||||||
|  Panjab | 0 | |||||||||
|  Northern Cyprus | 0 (2) | |||||||||
| 5 June – Sutton | ||||||||||
|  Kárpátalja | 0 (3) | |||||||||
|  Kárpátalja | 3 | |||||||||
| 7 June – Carshalton | ||||||||||
|  Cascadia | 1 | |||||||||
|  Kárpátalja | 4 | |||||||||
| 5 June – Bromley | ||||||||||
|  Székely Land | 2 | Third place | ||||||||
|  Western Armenia | 0 | |||||||||
| 9 June – Enfield | ||||||||||
|  Székely Land | 4 | |||||||||
|  Padania | 0 (5) | |||||||||
|  Székely Land | 0 (4) | |||||||||
Quarter-Finals
    
| Barawa .svg.png.webp) | 0–8 |  Northern Cyprus | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Gök  15', 80' Önet  51' Turan  54', 69' Ali  58' (o.g.) Mehmet  84' Osman  88' | 
| Kárpátalja  | 3–1 |  Cascadia | 
|---|---|---|
| Gyürki  49' Takács  59' Gadjos  87' (pen.) | Report | Haddadi  80' | 
| Western Armenia  | 0–4 |  Székely Land | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Tankó  36' Csizmadia  61' L. Fülöp  65' Bajkó  86' | 
Semi-Finals
    
| Northern Cyprus  | 3–2 |  Padania | 
|---|---|---|
| Mehmet  36', 84' Turan  80' | Report | Ravasi  30' Pavan  47' | 
| Kárpátalja  | 4–2 |  Székely Land | 
|---|---|---|
| Toma  36', 57' Gyürki  75' (pen.) Peres  90+1' | Report | Csizmadia  77' Bajkó  79' | 
Third-Place Play-Off
    
| Padania  | 0–0 |  Székely Land | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| 5–4 | ||
Final
    
| Northern Cyprus  | 0–0 |  Kárpátalja | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| Mehmet  Kurt  Oshan  Ersalan  Turan  | 2–3 |  Gyürki  Toma  Baksa  I. Sándor  Svedjuk | 
|       Northern Cyprus |         Kárpátalja | 
| ConIFA World Football Cup 2018 Winners | 
|---|
|  Kárpátalja First title | 
Placement Round 1
    
| Ellan Vannin  [note 1] | 0–3 Awarded |  Tibet | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | 
| Matabeleland  | 0–0 |  Kabylia | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| P. Ndlovu  Mlalazi  G. Ndlovu  George  Nkomo  Sthamburi  | 3–4 |  Belalsa   Hadid    Mezaib | 
| Abkhazia  | 6–0 |  Tamil Eelam | 
|---|---|---|
| Akhvlediani  40', 71' Logua  63' Shoniya  74', 88' Tarba  83' | Report | 
| United Koreans in Japan  | 5–0 |  Tuvalu | 
|---|---|---|
| Taniyama  18' Lee  20', 58' Shin  23' Mun  83' | Report | 
Placement Round 2
    
| Ellan Vannin  [note 2] | 0–3 Awarded |  Matabeleland | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | 
| Tamil Eelam  | 4–3 |  Tuvalu | 
|---|---|---|
| Ragavan  7', 86', 90+1' Perananthan  90+4' | Report | Petoa  3', 73' Vailine  55' | 
| Tibet  | 1–8 |  Kabylia | 
|---|---|---|
| Topgyal  43' (pen.) | Report | Baudia  25', 74', 77', 87' Hadid  45' Mezaib  49', 51' Bouabbas  81' | 
| Abkhazia  | 2–0 |  United Koreans in Japan | 
|---|---|---|
| Akhvlediani  38' Kogoniya  78' | Report | 
| Cascadia  | 4–0 |  Western Armenia | 
|---|---|---|
| Ferguson  24', 62' Oldham  54' Farkas  79' | Report | 
Placement Round 3
    
| Ellan Vannin  [note 2] | 0–3 Awarded |  Tuvalu | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | 
| Matabeleland  | 1–0 |  Tamil Eelam | 
|---|---|---|
| Ndlela  81' | Report | 
| Tibet  | 1–1 |  United Koreans in Japan | 
|---|---|---|
| Yougyal  20' | Report | Gelek  84' (o.g.) | 
| Penalties | ||
| 1–4 | ||
| Barawa .svg.png.webp) | 0–7 |  Western Armenia | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | N. Hovsepyan  D. Hovsepyan  Yedigaryan  Guzel  Varjabetyan  Militosyan  Mosoyan  | 
Statistics
    
    Goalscorers
    
- 6 goals
 Kamaljit Singh Kamaljit Singh
- 5 goals
 Calum Ferguson Calum Ferguson
 Halil Turan Halil Turan
 Barna Bajkó Barna Bajkó
- 4 goals
 Ruslan Akhvlediani Ruslan Akhvlediani
 Sami Boudia Sami Boudia
 Billy Mehmet Billy Mehmet
 Giacomo Innocenti Giacomo Innocenti
- 3 goals
 Ruslan Shoniya Ruslan Shoniya
 Zsolt Gajdos Zsolt Gajdos
 Ronald Takács Ronald Takács
 Uğur Gök Uğur Gök
 Federico Corno Federico Corno
 Giulio Valente Giulio Valente
 Nathan Minhas Nathan Minhas
 Amar Singh Purewal Amar Singh Purewal
 Szilárd Magyari Szilárd Magyari
 Prashanth Ragavan Prashanth Ragavan
 Vahagn Militosyan Vahagn Militosyan
- 2 goals
 Shabat Logua Shabat Logua
 Dmitri Maskayev Dmitri Maskayev
.svg.png.webp) Mohamed Bettamer Mohamed Bettamer
.svg.png.webp) Shaun Lucien Shaun Lucien
 Josh Doughty Josh Doughty
 Yuri Farkas Yuri Farkas
 Tayshan Hayden-Smith Tayshan Hayden-Smith
 Hector Morales Hector Morales
 Jon Nouble Jon Nouble
 Sam Caine Sam Caine
 Stephen Whitley Stephen Whitley
 Enzo Mezaib Enzo Mezaib
 Gergő Gyürki Gergő Gyürki
 István Sándor István Sándor
 György Toma György Toma
 Thabiso Ndlela Thabiso Ndlela
 Shylock Ndlovu Shylock Ndlovu
 Gabriele Piantoni Gabriele Piantoni
 Riccardo Ravasi Riccardo Ravasi
 Nicolò Pavan Nicolò Pavan
 William Rosset William Rosset
 Amarvir Sandhu Amarvir Sandhu
 Gurjit Singh Gurjit Singh
 Csaba Csizmadia Csaba Csizmadia
 Kalsang Topgyal Kalsang Topgyal
 Tenzin Yougyal Tenzin Yougyal
 Alopua Petoa Alopua Petoa
 Lee Tong-soung Lee Tong-soung
 Mun Su-hyeon Mun Su-hyeon
 Arman Mosoyan Arman Mosoyan
 Vicken Valenza-Berberian Vicken Valenza-Berberian
- 1 goal
 Vladimir Argun Vladimir Argun
 Aleksandr Kogoniya Aleksandr Kogoniya
 Georgi Zhanaa Georgi Zhanaa
 Astamur Tarba Astamur Tarba
.svg.png.webp) Gianni Crichlow Gianni Crichlow
.svg.png.webp) Shaquille Ismail Shaquille Ismail
.svg.png.webp) Solomon Sambou Solomon Sambou
 Hamza Haddadi Hamza Haddadi
 Max Oldham Max Oldham
 Frank Jones Frank Jones
 Jack McVey Jack McVey
 Nadjim Bouabbas Nadjim Bouabbas
 Ilyas Hadid Ilyas Hadid
 Csaba Peres Csaba Peres
 György Sándor György Sándor
 Alex Svedjuk Alex Svedjuk
 Sipho Mlalazi Sipho Mlalazi
 Ünal Kaya Ünal Kaya
 Serhan Önet Serhan Önet
 Kenan Oshan Kenan Oshan
 Tansel Osman Tansel Osman
 Ersid Pllumbaj Ersid Pllumbaj
 Gianluca Rolandone Gianluca Rolandone
 Andrea Rota Andrea Rota
 Rajpal Singh Virk Rajpal Singh Virk
 István Fülöp István Fülöp
 Lóránd Fülöp Lóránd Fülöp
 Arthur Györgyi Arthur Györgyi
 László Hodgyai László Hodgyai
 László Szőcs László Szőcs
 Zsolt Tankó Zsolt Tankó
 Janothan Perananthan Janothan Perananthan
 Sosene Vailine Sosene Vailine
 Etimoni Timuani Etimoni Timuani
 Shin Yong-ju Shin Yong-ju
 Ken Taniyama Ken Taniyama
 Fabrice Guzel Fabrice Guzel
 David Hovsepyan David Hovsepyan
 Norik Hovsepyan Norik Hovsepyan
 Zaven Varjabetyan Zaven Varjabetyan
 Artur Yedigaryan Artur Yedigaryan
- Own goals
.svg.png.webp) Ayuub Ali (for Ayuub Ali (for Northern Cyprus) Northern Cyprus)
 Tenzin Gelek (for Tenzin Gelek (for United Koreans in Japan) United Koreans in Japan)
Final positions
    
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kárpátalja | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 
| 2 |  Northern Cyprus | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 6 | +11 | 
| 3 |  Padania | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 5 | +16 | 
| 4 |  Székely Land | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 7 | +9 | 
| 5 |  Panjab | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 7 | +10 | 
| 6 |  Cascadia | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 11 | +6 | 
| 7 |  Western Armenia | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 
| 8 | .svg.png.webp) Barawa | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 22 | −15 | 
| 9 |  Abkhazia | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 
| 10 |  Kabylia | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 15 | −7 | 
| 11 |  United Koreans in Japan | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 
| 12 |  Tibet | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 20 | −16 | 
| 13 |  Matabeleland | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 
| 14 |  Tamil Eelam | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 22 | −18 | 
| 15 |  Tuvalu | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 24 | −20 | 
| 16 |  Ellan Vannin[lower-alpha 1] | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 
Notes:
- Ellan Vannin withdrew from the competition after the group stage.
Player awards
    
Three individual awards were handed out by ConIFA at the conclusion of the tournament:[13]
- Paddy Power Player of the Tournament:  Béla Fejér Béla Fejér
- ConIFA Golden Boot:  Kamaljit Singh Kamaljit Singh
- Global FCE Young Player of the Tournament:  Sami Boudia Sami Boudia
As winner of Young Player of the Tournament, Sami Boudia was offered a one-month residency at one of the Global Football Centre Of Excellence's academies.
Marketing
    
    Tournament programme
    
A programme for the entire tournament was produced, with the bulk of the content produced by football writer Mat Guy and blogger Pat McGuinness, and produced by Programme Master.[14] The tournament is also documented in detail in the book CONIFA: Football For The Forgotten by journalist James Hendicott, which centres around events in London and the history of the teams involved.[15]
Official anthem
    
The official anthem of the tournament is "Bring The House Down" by English duo Right Said Fred, which was released on 29 May 2018.[16]
Controversies
    
    Ellan Vannin withdrawal
    
Following the completion of the group stage, Ellan Vannin entered a protest regarding the fact that Barawa had been able to bring in a replacement player to their squad after the tournament had started, in apparent contravention of the tournament's rules. The addition of the player, Mohamed Bettamer, a former Libyan youth international, was permitted by ConIFA, who stated that this was a rule change, but who did not inform the other 15 teams in the competition, who had submitted their own squad lists according to the published pre-tournament rule book.[17] Ellan Vannin launched an appeal against the Barawa team's fielding of an apparently ineligible player, which at an initial meeting of the tournament committee was upheld, before subsequently being overturned.[18] As a result, Ellan Vannin withdrew from the remainder of the tournament, and Tibet, their opponents in the First Placement Round, were awarded a 3–0 victory.[19] Their place in the remaining fixtures were taken by Chagos Islands. [20] A meeting of ConIFA's Executive Committee made the decision to provisionally expel the Manx Independent Football Alliance from the organization on 7 June, subject to ratification at the Annual General Meeting in January 2019.[21] They were reinstated in January.
Replacement matches
    
| Chagos Islands  | 0–1 |  Matabeleland | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Sthamburi  60' | 
Goalscorers
    
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
 Ivanov Leonce Ivanov Leonce
 Musa Sthamburi Musa Sthamburi
 Ali Uyar Avci Ali Uyar Avci
 Sosene Vailine Sosene Vailine
- Own goals
 Nicolas Oride (against Nicolas Oride (against Tuvalu) Tuvalu)
Broadcasting rights
    
CONIFA provided live streaming through football streaming service Mycujoo and edited highlights provided by FC Video. Select games were also live streamed on the Paddy Power Facebook page.
In Northern Cyprus the games were broadcast by EURO GENÇ TV.
Notes
    
- Ellan Vannin withdrew from the tournament on 5 June. Tibet instead played a "London Turkish Select" team when this fixture was due to be played.
- Chagos Islands agreed to fulfil Ellan Vannin's remaining fixtures.
References
    
- "16 nations - one goal!". Facebook. ConIFA. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- "World Football Cup Qualification System". ConIFA. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
- "About". Barawa Football Association. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
- "CONIFA World Football Cup Qualification Guidelines" (PDF). conifa.org. ConIFA. October 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- "World Football Cup Qualification System". ConIFA. Confederation of Independent Football Associations. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
- "Football Federation of Western Armenia Plays First Game". Asbarez. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- "ConIFA Activity Report 2016" (PDF). ConIFA. 2017-01-18. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- "Official Seeding - World Cup London 2018 group stage". Twitter. ConIFA. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
- "Going to be very interesting. Draw in Northern Cyprus on January 6th, 2018". Twitter. Manx IFA. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
- "Tuvalu to replace Kiribati at the 2018 Paddy Power World Football Cup". ConIFA. 7 March 2018. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
- "Karpatalya to replace Felvidék at 2018 Paddy Power World Football Cup". ConIFA. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- Wilson, Jack (14 May 2018). "Premier League revelation: Mark Clattenburg reveals the player who 'annoys EVERYONE'". Daily Express. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
- "Fejer, Boudia and Singh Scoop #WFC2018 Awards". CONIFA. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- "ConIFA 2018 World Football Cup Official Programme". Programme Master. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- Hendicott, James. CONIFA: Football For The Forgotten: The Untold Story Of Football's Alternative World Cup.
- Wright, Chris (29 May 2018). "'Bring The House Down' – Right Said Fred Record Official Anthem For 2018 ConIFA World Cup". Who Ate All The Pies. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
- "Should Ellan Vannin appeal their elimination?". Prost Amerika. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
- "Manx FA react furiously to rejection of Bettamer appeal". Prost Amerika. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
- "CONIFA Statement Regarding Ellan Vannin". CONIFA.org. CONIFA. Archived from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
- "CONIFA is pleased to advise that Chagos Islands will fulfill Ellan Vannin's fixtures". Twitter Conifa. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
- "CONIFA Statement Regarding Ellan Vannin". ConIFA. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.



