Representative matches also occur involving states with limited international recognition who are unable to qualify for FIFA membership.
[3] Broadly speaking, non-FIFA national teams can be categorised as one of the following: Teams representing eight small sovereign states – the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Monaco, Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, and the Vatican City – have played international football but are not affiliated to FIFA.
The United Kingdom is represented in FIFA through its four constituent countries (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland).
During the 1940s and 1950s, a United Kingdom national football team was assembled on a few occasions to play friendly matches: these are not considered full internationals by FIFA.
The Sami people of Lapland live in a distinct area of northern Fennoscandia, yet fall under the control of four states.
Similarly, the Romani people—having been strewn across Europe for centuries—have a fledgeling footballing organisation to represent them in international competition.
Other people who were stateless, such as the Palestinians have been welcomed into FIFA and despite their state, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) only more recently[when?]
These events typically involve age restricted teams, to avoid direct competition with the World Cup and continental championships.
The UNPO Cup was organised by the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization and NF-Board, and took place in The Hague in June 2005.
The 12 representative teams: Ellan Vannin, County of Nice, Abkhazia, Nagorno Karabakh, South Ossetia, Occitania, Romani People, Franconia, Sapmi, Northern Cyprus, Szekely Land and Padania.
[10] Subsequently, 3 teams (Franconia, Monaco, Nagorno-Karabakh) cancelled their participation for the 2015 ConIFA European Football Cup in Hungary, which forced the originally planned schedule to be revised.
In May 2015, Occitania also announced their withdrawal from the competition, which led to another revision of the match schedule into two groups of four, which ConIFA based upon their ranking points system.
[12] The N.F.-Board's South American governing body CONMEBOLNFIFA have announced a preliminary date for the second Indigenous Peoples' Championship.
Set for Santiago in Chile from August 5–10, 2013, the sides hoped to compete are Easter Island, Mapuche, Aymara, LikanAntay, Diaguita, Kolla, Quechua and a combined Yaghan-Kawesqar team.
It took place while the FIFA World Cup was being played in Germany, and aimed to raise awareness of stateless nations.
Moreover, many teams, before obtaining FIFA membership, played friendlies and international tournaments – for example, the Faroe Islands.
A big number of friendlies are being played between youth selections with different restrictions (U-21, U-18, or U-16 for example) but still there are not any international or continental tournaments being held.