A football tournament organized by ConIFA was held in Nagorno Kharabagh (NG), a frozen conflict of the Soviet Union still festering between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The tournament targets countries which are not well known by the public.
Eight teams are taking part including those of Abkhazia and South Ossetia (Georgian breakaway territories). At the opening ceremony of the tournament the de facto president of South Ossetia Anatoli Bibilov and the de facto Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Daur Kove arrived in NG.
The delegations of both countries also met the president of NG Bako Sahakyan. According to local media they have discussed bilateral relations as well as regional and tourism related development programs.
Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the participation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in this tournament and noted that it cannot influence the legitimacy of occupation.
“The participation of Abkhazian and Ossetian football teams in the tournament cannot become a base for legitimacy of any occupational regime”, MFA representative Vladimer Konstantinid said. He also said that FIFA and UEFA do not accept and judge organizations such as ConIFA, which promotes unknown countries and regions.
ConIFA was founded in 2013. It consists of those teams that are not allowed to take part in big football tournaments. Currently 45 associations are included in the organization.
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