Forgotten Nations: The Incredible Stories of Football in the Shadows - Softcover

Forgotten Nations tells the stories of the international football teams that are unable to break into FIFA's ranks, from the self-funded minnows of Barawa in south-western Sudan to Tibet's Dalai Lama-backed national side, and new media darlings Yorkshire. They play under the auspices of CONIFA - the Confederation of Independent Football Associations - created to help express the cultural identities of football's 'stateless peoples', fighting for recognition on the biggest stage of all. Here are incredible human and sporting stories from diverse regions: from Matabeleland in Zimbabwe, still recovering from massacres 30 years ago, to Tuvalu in the south Pacific, threatened with inundation. Aided by wonderful behind-the-scenes access at London's 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, and the irresistible willpower of sportsmen and women trying to make their stories heard, Forgotten Nations explains why 11,000 people crammed into a tiny stadium on the Black Sea coast in 2016 to watch two teams that most of the world has never heard of.

Chris Deeley is a journalist whose work has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Vice, The Week and 90 Minutes. His past work has looked at football worldwide, from Arsenal to Accrington via - on one occasion - cider-folk band The Wurzels. This is his first book. In his spare time he commentates on Guerilla Cricket. His cat does not approve.