Yorkshire international football team represents

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

as a region in international

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. The team are affiliated with

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 ...

(since 6 January 2018) and WUFA, it does not play in

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 ...

and

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 ...

matches. It plays at various venues throughout the region. Founded in 2017, it is controlled by the Yorkshire International Football Association (YIFA). The first CONIFA match, a 1–1 draw with Ellan Vannin, took place on 28 January 2018 at the Yorkshire NuBuilds Stadium in Fitzwilliam.

History

Early attempts at a Yorkshire team

Despite Yorkshire having a representative schoolboy team for many years, there was no formal senior equivalent until 1924 when the West Riding County Football Association put together a men’s side as part of the jubilee of the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. Players were chosen from

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

, Halifax Town, Huddersfield Town and Leeds United. Although the team won 2–0, it did not represent the whole county. In 1935, a Yorkshire team made up of players from leading clubs across the entire region, including Bradford City, Huddersfield Town, Leeds United and Sheffield United, took on a team formed of

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

players at the latter’s Roker Park ground as part of the Queen's jubilee celebrations. Once again, however, the team, which beat the North East side 3–2, was reported as representing only West Yorkshire.

First official Yorkshire international team

Officially established on 16 July 2017, YIFA held a foundation meeting in October of the same year at the

Square Chapel The Square Chapel in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, was designed by Thomas Bradley and James Kershaw at the instigation of Titus Knight, a local preacher. Construction started in 1772 and the chapel was visited by John Wesley in July of tha ...

, Halifax, to sign off its constitution and formalise its existence as a footballing body. While organising a senior Yorkshire international football team was its primary focus, YIFA also gave notice of its intention to seek membership of CONIFA. Plans for a senior women’s team and disability teams were also announced. On 13 November 2017, YIFA announced that Ryan Farrell, assisted by Micky Long, had been appointed as Yorkshire's first ever head coach. On 6 January 2018, ahead of the friendly against Ellan Vannin, Yorkshire was accepted as a member of CONIFA. The following week, Matt Bradley of Dinnington Town was the first player revealed to have been called up to the national side, while

Paddy McGuire Paddy McGuire (né McQuire, 1884 - November 16, 1923) was an Irish actor and comedian. Biography Paddy McQuire was born in Ireland in 1884 or 1885. A burlesque comedian with a rubber face, McQuire was a regular supporting player in the films ...

, who plays for

Thackley Thackley is a small suburb near Bradford, West Yorkshire in England. The village is loosely bordered by the village of Idle to the south, to the west by the West Royd area of Shipley and elsewhere by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Thackley is ...

, was named the first captain.

Team colours

Yorkshire’s traditional kit colour is dark blue. The current kit is provided by Yorkshire-based sportswear company, Godzown Sports.

Logo

Inspired by the

Yorkshire flag Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, the motif of the Yorkshire international football team features a stylised White Rose of York on a blue shield.

Fixtures and results

2018

2019

2021

Selected international opponents

Players

The following players were called up to the squad for the friendly against on 10 October 2019. ''Caps and goals correct as of 1 June 2019 after the game against

Parishes of Jersey The parishes of Jersey ( Jerriais: ) are the civil and religious administrative districts of Jersey in the Channel Islands. Jersey has a unitary system of governance and all the powers and administration of the parishes are governed by laws en ...

.''

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up in the past twelve months or withdrew from the squad due to injury or suspension.

Head coach

References

External links

Yorkshire International Football Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yorkshire football team CONIFA member associations European national and official selection-teams not affiliated to FIFA Football in Yorkshire Football teams in England