The Ellan Vannin Football Team is a football team that represents the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. It is not affiliated with

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

, and therefore cannot compete for the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

or in the

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...

. Unlike the

Isle of Man official football team The Isle of Man Representative County football team is the IOMFA football team of the Isle of Man and is controlled by the Isle of Man Football Association. The team plays in a yellow and red home kit and an all navy blue away kit. History T ...

which selects players who play in for clubs in the Manx league regardless of nationality, the Ellan Vannin team selects those of Manx nationality no matter where they are based. They competed first at the ConIFA World Football Cup in 2014, where they won their group and became runners-up to the County of Nice.

History

Ellan Vannin - Felvidék - Debrecen, 2015

Formation and early games

Formed in 2013, the Ellan Vannin team was created by the newly formed Manx International Football Alliance (MIFA) in order to enter

ConIFA The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) is the international governing body for association football teams that are not affiliated with FIFA. Competitions Women's football All members of CONIFA are encouraged to inv ...

and compete at the ConIFA World Football Cup. As opposed to the official Isle of Man team (run by the Isle of Man FA), which is composed entirely of

Isle of Man Football League The Isle of Man Football League is the senior football league on the Isle of Man and is run by the Isle of Man Football Association. Although the league is affiliated with The Football Association, it does not form a part of the English football ...

players – regardless of nationality, Ellan Vannin will allow only those with Manx ties to play for them, in line with

FIFA eligibility rules As the governing body of association football, FIFA is responsible for maintaining and implementing the rules that determine whether an association football player is eligible to represent a particular country in officially recognised internation ...

. Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the MIFA and Isle of Man FA, intended to set out a working relationship between the two organisations, the MIFA announced that the first international to be played by Ellan Vannin would be a home game against

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

on 6 April 2014, to be played at The Bowl in

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

. Ellan Vannin won their first international 10–0.

Entry into ConIFA and 2014 ConIFA World Cup

Ellan Vannin were invited to participate in the first ConIFA World Football Cup in Sápmi, in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. Despite being a previously unknown quantity, they reached the final of the inaugural tournament, losing on penalties to County of Nice despite winning 4–2 over them in the Group Stage thanks to a Calum Morrissey hattrick.

2015 ConIFA European Cup and 2016 ConIFA World Cup

While the Isle of Man were originally set to host the

2015 ConIFA European Football Cup The 2015 ConIFA European Football Cup was the first edition of the ConIFA European Football Cup, an international football tournament for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA organised by CONIFA. The tournamen ...

in June 2015, logistical problems eventually led to the tournament being moved to Székely Land. Here, despite defeat to Padania in the Group Stage, they still achieved a semi-final place where they were again defeated by County of Nice. A penalty win over

Felvidék Upper Hungary is the usual English translation of ''Felvidék'' (literally: "Upland"), the Hungarian term for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been ...

in the play-off saw them finish third. The next year, Ellan Vannin were set to appear in the

2016 ConIFA World Football Cup The 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup was the second edition of the ConIFA World Football Cup, an international football tournament for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA organised by ConIFA. The tournament was ...

, but withdrew after being advised by the British Home Office not to travel to

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...

, where the tournament was to be held.

2017 European Football Cup, 2018 World Football Cup and Expulsion

The team returned to ConIFA activity in 2017 for the

2017 ConIFA European Football Cup The 2017 ConIFA European Football Cup was the second edition of the ConIFA European Football Cup, an international football tournament for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA organised by ConIFA. It was hoste ...

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, isl ...

, finishing 6th. However, the team qualified for the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup to be held in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(hosted by Barawa). In late 2017 it was announced that they would become the first opponents of the new

Yorkshire national football team Yorkshire international football team represents Yorkshire as a region in international association football. The team are affiliated with CONIFA (since 6 January 2018) and WUFA, it does not play in FIFA and UEFA matches. It plays at various v ...

on January 28, 2018. After Yorkshire's membership to

was confirmed at the beginning of January, it meant that it would become an officially sanctioned friendly that would provide qualification points for future competitions. In May that year they took part in the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup in

. However, after being knocked out by Barawa in the group stage, the MIFA protested at their opponents' alleged use of an ineligible player. After the other competing clubs voted to reject their appeal, Ellan Vannin withdrew from the tournament, and following a number of accusations made by the MIFA on social media against ConIFA, they were provisionally expelled from the organisation on 7 June 2018. Ellan Vannin were reinstated as full members at ConIFA's 2019 AGM in January 2019.

Fixtures and Results

2014

2015

2017

2018

Personalities of Ellan Vannin's football team

Squad

The following players were called up to the 22 man squad for the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup to commence on 31 May 2018.WFC 2018 Team Squads
CONIFA. Caps and goals correct as of 3 June 2018 after the game against .

Recent callups

Managers

Presidents of the Manx International Football Alliance

Competitive Record

ConIFA World Cup

ConIFA European Cup

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellan Vannin Football Team CONIFA member associations European national and official selection-teams not affiliated to FIFA Football in the Isle of Man Sports teams in the Isle of Man 2013 establishments in the Isle of Man Sports organizations established in 2013