Conifa would 'welcome' application from Jersey football

Conifa - the Confederation of Independent Football Associations - says it would welcome a membership application from Jersey.

The organisation, which was founded in 2013, staged the recent World Football Cup in London, featuring sixteen sides from across the planet.

More than 2,500 spectators watched at Enfield on Saturday as Karpatalya - from a region of Ukraine - beat Northern Cyprus on penalties to win the alternative global tournament.

One of Jersey's Island Games rivals, the Isle of Man - playing under the Manx name Ellan Vannin - took part in the event, but withdrew over a row over player eligibility.

Despite that, Jersey's Muratti-winning captain Jack Boyle and former island defender James Scott are among those to have suggested that the Jersey Football Association should explore the Conifa route.

The JFA had its membership bid to Uefa turned down in a vote earlier this year.

Its president, Phil Austin, has vowed to fight on, but any progress on that front is likely to take many years.

Conifa's general secretary Sascha Düerkop told ITV News the island could become a provisional member within months, if it meets Conifa's constitution.

Members must be football associations representing a 'people, nation, ethnicity, minority and geographically or sportingly isolated territory population'.