# Sahrawi Football Federation

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The **Sahrawi Football Federation** (**FSF**) (Arabic: الاتحاد الصحراوي لكرة القدم, Spanish: *Federación Saharaui de Fútbol*) is the governing body of [association football](/source/Association_football) in [Western Sahara](/source/Western_Sahara), a territory that is disputed between [Morocco](/source/Morocco) and the [Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic](/source/Sahrawi_Arab_Democratic_Republic).[1] It was formed in 1989[2] and it is based in the [Sahrawi refugee camp](/source/Sahrawi_refugee_camp) of Bojador.[3] The board runs the [Sahrawi national football team](/source/Sahrawi_national_football_team).[1] The Sahrawi Football Federation hosts the [Sahrawi Republic Cup](/source/Sahrawi_Republic_Cup).

## International affiliation

The Sahrawi Football Federation is not affiliated to the [Confederation of African Football](/source/Confederation_of_African_Football) (CAF) nor to [FIFA](/source/FIFA).[3] In December 2003 the Sahrawi Football Federation became provisionally affiliated to the [N.F.-Board](/source/N.F.-Board).[2] The N.F.-Board (officially known as the New Football Federations-Board) was formed in December 2003 and acted as a federation of association football national federations, who were not recognised by FIFA.[4] The board also organised the [Viva World Cup](/source/Viva_World_Cup),[5] a competition Western Sahara entered once.[6] On 25 March 2012, the then [Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic](/source/Sahrawi_Arab_Democratic_Republic) Minister for Youth and Sports, Mohamed Moulud Mohamed Fade, announced the creation of the [Sahrawi national football team](/source/Sahrawi_national_football_team), by decision of the own team players, stating that, "The reason behind its absence of the African football competitions is due to its non-membership in the Confederation of African Football."[7]

The national team participated in the [2012 Viva World Cup](/source/2012_Viva_World_Cup).[8] Due to pressure from [Morocco](/source/Morocco), the hosts of the tournament, [Kurdistan](/source/Kurdistan) did not display the Sahrawi flag for the competition.[1] The N.F. Board disbanded In January 2013 and it was replaced by the [Confederation of Independent Football Associations](/source/Confederation_of_Independent_Football_Associations) (ConIFA).[9] Western Sahara joined ConIFA, but the national team has not participated in any of the [ConIFA World Football Cups](/source/ConIFA_World_Football_Cup) organised by the organisation.[10][8] In July 2020, Western Sahara were founding members of the [World Unity Football Alliance](/source/World_Unity_Football_Alliance).[11]

Sahrawi Football Federation membership was rejected by CAF in 2023.[12]

## References

1. ["Western Sahara - ConIFA"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190329152541/http://www.conifa.org/en/members/western-sahara/). [Confederation of Independent Football Associations](/source/Confederation_of_Independent_Football_Associations). Archived from [the original](http://www.conifa.org/en/members/western-sahara/) on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2016.

1. ["F.S.F. History"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170929151929/http://www.fsfrasd.com/). Sahrawi Football Federation. Archived from [the original](http://www.fsfrasd.com/) on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2016.

1. ["Asociaciones N - S (Níger - Somalilandia)"](https://www.el-area.com/africa/subpaginas/asoc_nac_afr_4.htm#saoc) (in Spanish). El AreA. Retrieved 18 October 2016.

1. ["N.F-Board / History"](https://nfbwebsite.wixsite.com/nfboard/history). [N.F.-Board](/source/N.F.-Board). Retrieved 18 October 2016.

1. ["Viva World Cup"](https://nfbwebsite.wixsite.com/nfboard/viva). N.F.-Board. Retrieved 18 October 2016.

1. ["With VIVA World Cup 2012 in Iraq unthinkable dreams come true."](https://media.wix.com/ugd/f867c1_860f09d878124bf39e6c097e6c47da75.pdf). N.F.-Board. Retrieved 18 October 2016.

1. ["Establishment of Saharawi national football team (Minister of Youth and Sport)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120626024655/http://www.spsrasd.info/en/content/establishment-saharawi-national-football-team-minister-youth-and-sport). *[Sahara Press Service](/source/Sahara_Press_Service)*. 25 March 2012. Archived from [the original](http://www.spsrasd.info/en/content/establishment-saharawi-national-football-team-minister-youth-and-sport) on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2016.

1. ["Non-FIFA World Cups"](https://www.rsssf.org/tablesn/nonfifacups.html). [Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation](/source/Rec.Sport.Soccer_Statistics_Foundation). Retrieved 18 October 2016.

1. ["Die andere voetbalbond: van de NF-Board naar de ConIFA"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170818014549/https://staantribune.nl/die-andere-voetbalbond-van-de-nf-board-naar-de-conifa/) (in Dutch). *Stann Tribune*. Archived from [the original](http://staantribune.nl/die-andere-voetbalbond-van-de-nf-board-naar-de-conifa/) on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2016.

1. ["Members"](http://www.conifa.org/en/members/). ConIFA. Retrieved 18 October 2016.

1. ["FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE"](https://worldunityfootballalliance.org/for-immediate-release/). WUFA. Retrieved 8 September 2023.[dead link]

1. ["ALGERIA/MOROCCO/WESTERN SAHARA : Confederation of African Football rejects Sahrawi membership move"](https://www.africaintelligence.com/north-africa/2023/06/12/confederation-of-african-football-rejects-sahrawi-membership-move,109992777-art). *Africa Intelligence*. 2023-06-12. Retrieved 2024-04-05.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sahrawi Football Federation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahrawi_Football_Federation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahrawi_Football_Federation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.