Artsakh national football team explained

Artsakh
Date:2012–2019
Badge:Artsakh Football Association logo.png
Badge Size:164px
Association:Artsakh Football Association
Confederation:ConIFA
Coach:Slavik Gabrielyan
Home Stadium:Stepanakert Republican Stadium, Stepanakert (formerly)
Fifa Trigramme:NKR (not official)
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Socks1:FFD000
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Rightarm2:FFFFFF
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First Game: 1–1
(Sukhumi, Abkhazia; 25 September 2012)
Last Game: 0–2
(Stepanakert, Artsakh; 8 June 2019)
Largest Win: 12–0
(Östersund, Sweden; 5 June 2014)
Largest Loss: 4–1
(Martuni, Artsakh; 3 June 2019)
Regional Name:CONIFA World Football Cup
Regional Cup Apps:1
Regional Cup First:2014
Regional Cup Best:9th
2Ndregional Name:CONIFA European Football Cup
2Ndregional Cup Apps:1
2Ndregional Cup First:2019
2Ndregional Cup Best:5th

The Artsakh national football team (Armenian: Արցախի ֆուտբոլի հավաքական), until 2017 known as Nagorno-Karabakh national football team, was the national representative of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), which was internationally unrecognized. Consequently, it was not a member of FIFA or UEFA and was therefore not eligible to enter the World Cup or the European Championship.

History

On 17 September 2012, they became a provisional member of the N.F.-Board and a week later played their first competitive match away against Abkhazia.[1] The following month they played the return match at home against Abkhazia.[2] Their first competitive competition was the ConIFA World Football Cup which took place in Östersund, Sweden. The Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan failed to stop their participating in the competition after contacting ConIFA. ConIFA refused to revoke their invitation and Artsakh finished 9th overall after losses to Ellan Vannin, Nice and wins against Darfur and Sapmi.[3]

In 2019, Artsakh came back to CONIFA competitions by organising the 2019 CONIFA European Football Cup, where they finished in the fifth position.

In 2023, Artsakh will compete in the 2024 CONIFA World Cup Qualification. They were drawn in Group D with Abkhazia. Their match was originally to be scheduled on 10 July 2023. But the match was delayed by CONIFA to a later date. It was eventually cancelled due to rising tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan due to the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh. On 19 September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive against Artsakh, the government surrendered and announced the dissolution of all government institutions by the end of 2023. It's currently unknown if the team will regroup again. However, Artsakh remains a listed member of CONIFA and was listed as an active member at the 2024 AGM.[4]

International record

At CONIFA World Football Cup

YearPositionwidth=30GPwidth=30Wwidth=30Dwidth=30Lwidth=30GFwidth=30GA
20149th4202195
2016did not participate
2018
2024
Total 4 2 0 2 19 5

At CONIFA European Football Cup

YearPositionwidth=30GPwidth=30Wwidth=30Dwidth=30Lwidth=30GFwidth=30GA
2015did not enter
2017
20195th531198
2021cancelled
2023did not enter
Total 5 3 1 1 9 8

Current squad

The following 23 players were called up to the squad for the 2019 CONIFA European Football Cup.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Footballminor. footballminor.blogspot.it. 17 May 2018.
  2. Web site: Artsakh Soccer Team Beats Abkhazia 3-0 - Asbarez.com. asbarez.com. 17 May 2018.
  3. Web site: Response to AFFA statement - Conifa World football. www.conifa.org. 17 May 2018.
  4. https://twitter.com/unrecognizedpod/status/1762577797011083571