‘Tibetans in exile to represent Tibet through football

DHARAMSHALA: Tibet is occupied by China but Tibetans living in exile are leaving no stone unturned to keep the spirit of Tibet alive as a sovereign country. International and information department of Tibetan government in exile here announced on Friday that their Tibet National Football team is all set to participate in the World Football Cup 2018 in London next summer.

The world football cup is organized by Confederation of Independent Football Associations (

CONIFA

), the international governing body for Non-FIFA affiliated Associations for football.

At least 16 teams from 4 continents will be participating in the 2018 edition making it the biggest tournament ever played outside of

FIFA

. Teams include one from Oceania, one from

North America

, two each from

Africa

and Asia, and five from Europe. The rest are automatically qualified as host teams and reigning champions, it said.

The Tibet National Football Team A is officially qualified for the World Football Cup 2018 through a wild card ticket granted by CONIFA. The CONIFA World Football Cup is the biggest and best-known football tournament of national football teams that do not enjoy FIFA membership. The tournament will officially begin on 31 May 2018 and the final match is scheduled for 9 June 2018.