Unknown Speaker 0:00 Did you know that soccer is the most popular sport in the world? More than a billion people tuned in to watch the FIFA World Cup in 2018. But not everybody gets represented in FIFA. In this episode, producer John Longo teaches us all about CONIFA. A Soccer Association just for the stateless people and people from disputed territories. He'll introduce us to North America's three CONIFA teams, and show us how ultimately, playing sports is about finding community. This is Same Difference. Unknown Speaker 1:01 If I said the word FIFA, you probably know what I was talking about, not the FIFA video game, but the organization the shadowy shady organization that puts together the grandest of soccer events every four years. But what if I said the word CONIFA? I'm guessing not nearly as many of you would know. And that's understandable. It takes probably the most hardcore of soccer followers to be able to tell you what CONIFA is and does. CONIFA stands for the Confederation of independent football nations, and they're the governing body for all non FIFA affiliated international soccer teams. An example of why CONIFA exists comes from Canada. Here, it can feel like the center of sport is in Toronto. But often people in Vancouver or Montreal, feel aggrieved when the Canadian national soccer team plays all its home games in Toronto, or doesn't feel connected to a Toronto team like the Raptors or the Blue Jays. When either of those teams goes deep in the playoffs, they've been anointed Canada's team. But Canada is a massive country with distinct regions and cultures. So this is a reason why CONIFA xists to give people who don't feel connected to their country's national team, or feel more connected to their specific region a chance to feel represented. So it's easiest to explain CONIFA in its similarities and differences to FIFA. First, let's start with all the teams that would play under FIFA. This would be all the major countries of the world like Spain, all the way down to a microstate like San Marino. CONIFA, on the other hand, includes disputed territories, stateless people, or distinct regions all over the world. So under CONIFA instead of seeing an Indian National Team, you'd see a team representing the Punjab region in India, and this team includes people of Punjabi descent who reside anywhere in the world. There are teams representing the Rohingya people in Myanmar, the Chagos islands, a territory in the Indian Ocean, and Sicily, an island in the Mediterranean Sea and a part of Italy. Every team that plays under CONIFA exists for a different reason. No two stories or histories are the same for any two CONIFA affiliated teams, Cuscadan, a team representing the Indigenous Na or Pil people of Western El Salvador is one example of why people decide to found a CONIFA team, the Associan du football Cuscadan President Brian Rodriguez shares a part of these people's history in El Salvador. Unknown Speaker 3:27 The language and the culture almost nearly got eradicated, especially after the Spanish came. And mainly at the 1990s the massacre in the 1930s where there was an uprising with the paperial community. They tried to fight for their land because it was getting stolen from, of course, external influences and companies external El Salvador. So the government killed 1000s and 1000s of them and create a law stating if you practice or if you speak any, anything for feeling water, anything like that, you're going to be automatically killed. So for decades, people were scared to you know, speak language and practice the culture when not because of fear of, you know, punishment fromthe government. Unknown Speaker 4:13 After an executive committee vote only a few months ago in July Cuscaden became one of the newest members of CONIFA. Rodriguez says he helped found this team to represent his people and help preserve their language and culture. Unknown Speaker 4:28 All they want it from the community and you can ask any elders there is they want the language to live, they want the culture to live, and they want it to be they want it to spread as much as they can. And by doing so, with with our help bringing this to the international stage to football, not only will it help spread the language more and the culture, let people be aware of it but at the same time, we can help these kids in which we want to do you know create a soccer program so they interview They can be able to bring that culture and their heritage and a language, you know, on the pitch and on the field and share it with other CONIFA members who themselves want to spread me all their own stories international stage. Unknown Speaker 5:13 Rodriguez believes the international stage is the best way to spread their culture and language. Unknown Speaker 5:19 Spread the word increase the awareness of our heritage and culture and just you know, hopefully, if we do it on international scale, via Khalifa, whoever, you know, will be able to, everyone will be much aware, especially of Salvadorans they're living abroad, because we have so many Salvadorans living abroad, you know, they they don't, they probably don't know, not one or two, you know, instances of this culture. So we hope that by bringing it to international scale, and have people properly represented, you know, we can help bring programs and help all the current programs in the country to you know, expand efforts to bring the culture and language back to its roots. Unknown Speaker 5:56 Cuscadan is only the third North American team to join CONIFA the other two have Canadian connections. One of those is Cascadia and just like the first time you heard conifa. If you don't know what Cascadia is, don't worry either. Let me explain. Cascadia is probably more commonly referred to as the Pacific Northwest. This includes Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Cascadia is essentially defined as a bio region that is geographically, culturally, economically and environmentally distinct from the surrounding regions. And Cascadia means something to me, because it's where I'm from, specifically Victoria, British Columbia. For a long time. I never thought of Washington and Oregon as closely tied to my home, but they are. That's why this region even has a name and a shared cultural feeling. That's what the Cascadia team is built on. The team has been around since the beginning stages of CONIFA, both CONIFA and the Cascadia Association Football Federation were founded in 2013. But whereas CONIFA held the World Cup in 2014, and 2016 Cascadia didn't even play a match until the 2018World Cup. Aaron Johnson, the president of the Cascadia Association Football Federation, explains. Unknown Speaker 7:13 2018 I got a call from CONIFA saying they needed another team in the for the World Cup, and if it were the North American team, and we'd be interested. And that's where we kind of just kind of just said yes, and got players interested, got a coach interested, and started raising more funds from there. And so that that was kind of the catalyst I guess, was that 2018 World Cup. And I think I think our growth a little bit was was kind of parallel to CONIFA's because I think they started in 2013 2014, as well. Unknown Speaker 7:49 Cascadia story is unique in its regard to their position in CONIFA, they exist not because of any dispute over territory, or to represent a group of people within a country's borders. They exist to bring people together through shared interests, experiences and environments and create a community for them to belong to. Unknown Speaker 8:07 So you kind of build that you build that, that self identity, that community identity of togetherness, I guess, so that that kind of overtime has become what Cascadia is. So the idea of being able to represent that regional identity on an international level was intriguing. Unknown Speaker 8:27 The current state of Duscaden, Cascadia and CONIFA had to be put on hold this year, when the 2020 CONIFAWorld Cup had to be cancelled, like so many other events, because of COVID-19. Unknown Speaker 8:39 It really entirely came down to do we want to put ourselves do we want to put the public, the people of Macedonia in danger, because at that, at that time we made that decision? It was I think it was April or May, with the tournament being held in June. So at that point, it was the height of the paranoia, I think of what COVID could be. And so we we made the prudent decision to to cancel the tournament, which I think was the was a smart choice. Unknown Speaker 9:20 But Johnson says he does not see the growth of these organizations being hampered in the long term, and expects the rate of growth they've experienced to continue. Unknown Speaker 9:29 As far as it being a positive or negative thing. I think I mean, COVID has definitely been a negative thing for everybody. But I think that CONIFA was moving in a direction that was very, very positive and is very, very positive. And we are continuing that momentum. And we're going to come out of the stronger than ever. That's the no, no doubt in my mind that canape will come out of out of this pandemic stronger than ever. And, and then there's incredible people that are working really, really hard. And we're taking advantage of this downtime to, to bring people in, bring our hard workers in. And those people now have the time to make plans, build the tools that that our members need and honestly as as, as speaking as Cascadia, given us the opportunity for CONIFA to build the tools that that that I need to build the Federation. Unknown Speaker 10:32 One of Cascadia is main players at the 2018 World Cup was Patrick Wilson. Wilson is a coach and semi professional footballer based in England, who joined the team just before the 2018 World Cup. Unknown Speaker 10:44 Yeah, so the story was it was it was a while ago, to be honest, maybe like two, three years ago. So it might be a blur, but someone reached out to me on LinkedIn. And basically he was saying, oh, they're they're doing a World Cup in London, obviously, like the CONIFA World Cup. And we're bringing players that have like ties, obviously America and and Canada into play a tournament. So we're just like, okay, that's kind of cool. And then yeah, the rest was was history, really. So he reached out to me on LinkedIn, and then literally that the tournament was probably in May. And yeah, I just went up and played in London. And did I think we played maybe roughly around six games or so my brother as well, who was playing over in professionally in Denmark, I sort of prompted him as well. I said, Look, this is a tournament that's happening in in May. I've sent them your video, your highlight video, they're quite keen to get you over. And it worked out because his season was ending in Denmark. So he had like a few weeks off. So he was able to check. They paid for him to travel from Denmark to London. And he spent two weeks in London and he played in a tournament, which was really good. Unknown Speaker 11:50 Wilson is used to explaining his Cascadia heritage. Unknown Speaker 11:54 I think, to be honest, this is a question that everyone asks me, but I have no clue. But we do have family that lives in in British Columbia, Vancouver, that sort of area. But both my brother and I were born residents in Canada. So we have our Canadian passports, as well as we have our UK passports through through my dad. So yeah, that's sort of what what had happened. So the story was a lot of the players were based all over summer from Vancouver. Some were actually from England, but they had family that that was in that we're Canadian. So we're all over from from everywhere. Yeah. Unknown Speaker 12:28 Wilson says that playing at the CONIFA World Cup in 2018. And playing with his younger brother, there was a special experience. Unknown Speaker 12:35 It's a good memory, obviously, for me personally, because I like to play with my brother. It's a rare rare thing really, because obviously I live he lives in Denmark, I live in England, we don't get to really see each other but then to be on the same pitch as him was was good. And obviously it built a lot of friendships as well that we still connect over like on social media on Instagram or Twitter to see what people are doing, who's playing where that sort of thing. So it was a good tournament, like well run. Very, very good competition, like facilities obviously was all like seven professional facilities here in the UK. But it was well run. And it was it was an excellent tournament. To be honest, Unknown Speaker 13:12 Cascadia holds a significant place in Wilson's heart as he has his jersey from the 2018 World Cup framed in his house. And he believes Cascadia and CONIFA's goal to provide players and fans with a sense of belonging is being achieved. Unknown Speaker 13:27 Yes, obviously, like, just a bit more like freedom, freedom of speech, freedom to just sort of, like branch off and do their own thing. I feel like yeah, it's a it's quite a good thing that they're doing. Like, obviously, the tournament was 16 different teams, different countries and that sort of thing. So there's 16 other other nations that are doing what what are 15 sorry, other nations that are doing what Cascadia was doing? So it is it is quite good. And obviously, there were loads of people that travelled over from from America, that sort of thing. And they were quite like patriotic with the flags, and they're quite passionate with it, which was good. Obviously, like for myself, obviously not being there. At first, I was just like, okay, there's just like another another game sort of thing. But after a while, you sort of got that that feeling like okay, you're playing for Cascadia. It means a lot, that sort of thing. So it was it was it was good at the end you feel you felt a part of the team by the end of the tournament. Unknown Speaker 14:21 Even if you're not a soccer fan. I hope that you can now understand why can efe exists for reasons far outside the sport of soccer, and simply playing matches? In a wider context CONIFA exists to bring people together, create communities, and allow for a shared sense of belonging for people in areas all over the world. After learning more about CONIFA, and Cascadia specifically, I'm inspired to join in the cause and sharing this communal sense of belonging with a region I feel connected to Cascadia's story resonates with me, as someone who's passionate about soccer. It's amazing to feel this connection so close to home. Unknown Speaker 15:05 The soccer guru, Guru, funky word guru. Guru himself John Longo teaching me things I knew nothing about. And thanks to our executive producer Emily Morantz, associate producer Manuela Vega, artwork by Ben Shelley, theme music composed by John Powers. I've been your host Gracie Brison. And huge shout out to our goalpost Amanda Cupido, and remember, fitting in is overrated.