2016/17 ACLF International Championships

The **2016/17 ACLF International Championships** is an international football competition held between February 2016 and January 2017. 286 nations will be competing. All members of FIFA were entered, nations part of their continental confederations, other states unrecognized states including Abkhazia and Greenland, and eight micronations, including Sealand and Molossia.

## Hosting Bids

5 bid were submitted, from USA, Korea Republic/Japan, Argentina, Malaysia/Indonesia/Brunei, and Egypt. After each round, the bid with the lowest votes was eliminated and those who voted for that bid moved their vote to another bid who had not been eliminated. The United States won by three votes in Round 4. South Korea also lost to Italy in the 2015/16 bid.

## Round 1- Micronational Cup

Sealand defeated Melchizedek 3-2 in the final held at WishField in Chicago, USA. Molossia finished third and therefore qualified for round 2. Rory Bateson scored a late winner in the cup final in Extratime, after being pulled to to the sideline due to a minor knock, before sprinting goalward and powering it in.

### ​Semi Finals

#### Sealand 2-1 Molossia

* Box 12'
* 39' Baugh
* Bateson 87'

#### Melchizedek aet3-2 Christiania

* Akawama 9'
* 36' Paulsen
* Chichiwe 98'
* 101' Christæsen
* Kvig 119'

### Final

#### Sealand 2-1aet Melchizedek

* Bateson 87'
* 89' Akawama
* Bateson 121'

## Round 2- Independent Cup

Sint Maarten and Saint Martin finished first and second respectivly in this Swiss-style stage. Sapmi, Yap, and Transnistria powered through as well. The Falkland Islands, Abkhazia, Ynys Mons, Mayotte, and ChrisMD led Jersey also advanced. To the surprise of many, the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus failed to advance, finishing 17th, despite qualifying for the group stage last year, where they were eliminated in the true "Group of Death" with Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus. But the biggest upset of all was not a team who advanced or won, but the famous micro-nation of Sealand drawing away against ConIFA World Cup winners, Abkhazia. The Sealand team had to travel to Sochi, Russia to reach Abkhazia as Georgia has banned travel to both Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

## Round 3- Inter-confederations Cup

In Round 3 Martinique and Guadeloupe took the easy route as expected, finishing first and third. Kosovo finished second. Abkhazia, who finished seventh in round 2 came fourth and advanced to the next stage. The ConIFA World Cup winners' 2-1 win over Mayotte proved crucial as to putting them in the top 22. Micronesia, Kiribati, Palau, and Tuvalu advanced, all four being fully sovereign states but not members of FIFA. Among the teams advancing were Yap, an island in Micronesia with a recently successful team who are not recognized by anyone at all. Gibraltar, Zanzibar, and the Northern Marianas Islands all breezed through. They are all members of their regional confederations but not FIFA (although Gibraltar recently were inducted into FIFA along with Kosovo). The nations above finished 5th, 6th, and 7th in their respective order. In 7th and eighth were two French islands, Saint Martin and Mayotte. The unrecognized Communist state of Transnistria finished 10th. They have never competed ever in the ConIFA World Cup, and apart from friendlies against Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Kurdistan have only ever played this tournament.

## Round 4

The fourth round will consist of eight groups of five. FIFA teams 191 and below and teams advancing from Round 3 will compete. Gibraltar and Kosovo were not members of FIFA when the tournament began in February but were FIFA members by the time Round 4 came around. Both teams, however, breezed into this stage, where they will compete with other FIFA members. The points system awards 3 for an individual match win, and one for a draw. For winning on aggregate an additional 1.5 points will be added and for an aggregate draw one extra point will be awarded. Away goals **do** count.

### Group Tables (2xRound Robin)

#### Group A

Solomon Islands, Anguilla, Tahiti, Kiribati, and the Federated States of Micronesia took part in this group.

#### Group B

Saint Martin, Kosovo, Mayotte, Palau, and Greenland took part in this group.

#### Group C

Turks and Caicos, Vanuatu, Andorra, Somalia, and Sapmi took part in this group.

#### Group D

Martinique, Bahamas, Jersey, Reunion, and Transnistria took part in this group.

#### Group E

Bhutan, San Marino, Eritrea, Zanzibar, and the Northern Marianas Islands took part in this group.

#### Group F

Gibraltar, Mongolia, Djibouti, Guadeloupe, and Sint Maarten took part in this group.

#### Group G

Cayman Islands, Nepal, British Virgin Islands, French Guiana, and Yap took part in this group.

#### Group H

Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu, Abkhazia, and Bonaire took part in this group.