CONIFA & Somaliland FA Joint Press Statement

CONIFA and the Somaliland FA are sorry to announce that the CONIFA Sportsbet.io World Football Cup 2020 will no longer take place in Somaliland.

This is due to logistical and technical issues that could not be resolved by the parties involved; the agreement was therefore taken to look for a new venue for the 2020 tournament.

Sascha Duerkop, CONIFA’s general secretary said:

“We are all sorry that we will not be going to the beautiful country of Somaliland in 2020 and playing the World Football Cup there. The decision to change the venue was not one we took lightly.

“We would like to thank the Somaliland government and Somaliland FA for their support over the last months and we hope to work with them again, as we look to bring a CONIFA tournament to Somaliland in the future.”

Ilyas Mohamed, president of the Somaliland FA, said:

“We are truly sad to announce that the CONIFA World Football Cup will not be coming to Somaliland in 2020. But this is the beginning of a journey and certainly not the end. We will continue to work closely with all stakeholders to achieve the dream of hosting a World Football Cup in Somaliland in the very near future.

“We wish to thank the Somaliland government, particularly the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the beautiful people in Somaliland, CONIFA and everyone else who helped us along the way for all their support and hard work.”

A new host and venue will be announced for the CONIFA Sportsbet.io World Football Cup 2020 in due course.