KERNOW ARE THROUGH!

[Dave Deacon]

The Kernow FA are off to the CONIFA Sportsbet.io World Football Cup 2020 tournament in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia this summer.

The competition is due to take place between the 30th May through to the 7th June 2020.

Kernow are one of 16 teams who have qualified for the tournament which has been switched from the original hosting Somaliland. The breakdown is as follows:-

Africa

Matabeleland

Kabylia

Darfur

Western Sahara

 

Asia

Tamil Eelam

Panjab

United Koreans in Japan

 

Europe

South Ossetia

Western Armenia

Kernow

Parishes of Jersey

Karpatalya

 

North America

Cascadia

 

Oceania

Australian First Nations

 

South America

Mapuche

 

Global ticket

Chagos Islands

 

Should any of the 16 become unable to attend, there is reserve list of teams waiting.

CONIFA will also be releasing more information about the qualification system and how the 16 teams qualified in due course.

The draw for the tournament will be held at the CONIFA Annual General Meeting in Jersey on the weekend of 24-26 January 2020.

[claret&blue]

Not upset anyone posting this have you Dave, assume Kernow FA aren’t so fussy as Otners here 😂

[Ian Pethick]

Skopje next June, who's in?

[Dave Deacon]

14 minutes ago, claret&blue said:

Not upset anyone posting this have you Dave, assume Kernow FA aren’t so fussy as Otners here 😂

All for an easy life really!😀👍

[inflikted]

A slight amendment: Ellan Vannin have not qualified. Parishes of Jersey are the other European team, not them.

[Dave Deacon]

53 minutes ago, inflikted said:

A slight amendment: Ellan Vannin have not qualified. Parishes of Jersey are the other European team, not them.

Amended accordingly. Interesting that as obviously CONIFA got it wrong on their earlier info! 

[inflikted]

Yeah might be cos EV are regulars at the World Cup, but because they were suspended for a year after the 2018 fiasco, and haven't really been active since, they haven't really done enough to qualify. Meanwhile Parishes of Jersey and Yorkshire have been pretty active so it's possible Yorkshire are a reserve in case one side pulls out. In which case it'd be great to have 3 UK sides at the World Football Cup and plenty of rivalries developing in Skopje.

I am wondering though.. in the finals of these tournaments some sides do have a habit of calling up one or two actual pros (see Karpatalya, or Northern Cyprus who called up a Galatasaray youth player and Billy Mehmet in 2018). So I wonder if there are any EFL or National League players the KFA team are trying to contact in order to appear? Are there any in particular that you'd like to see?

[Dave Deacon]

1 hour ago, inflikted said:

So I wonder if there are any EFL or National League players the KFA team are trying to contact in order to appear? Are there any in particular that you'd like to see?

I guess there might be contractual issues!

I can't remember what the eligibility regulations are either - they changed from having to be born in Cornwall to is it living in Cornwall? Perhaps inflicted you can clarify on this please?. 

What professional players are there anyway? The obvious ones to me are Jack Stephens (Southampton), Cody Cooke (St Mirren), Isaac Vassell (Cardiff City?) and Christian Walton (on loan at Blackburn from Brighton). I'm sure there must be at least a couple more.

[Bobjfh]

Personal view - but if KFA want to build something they should be looking at young players in the County - not pros and not the ‘same old faces’ on a lads outing. Take an u21 squad (with a couple of older players) with players who will build the reputation of the County and the KFA - it would increase long term support and I’m sure greater interest - however I feel it will just be the managers favourites and social mates. 

[Dave Deacon]

Shouldn't it be the best available players? If Kernow were to win it, that would help create long term support surely? 

[Bobjfh]

Dave - it’s all opinions. I actually believe that the county has some fantastic young players many of whom are first team starters in the SWPL and higher. If you look at the squad that got to the national u18 final a couple of years ago - all local clubs (not just parents and extended families) got behind them and they grew as players as a consequence. How many would support a St Austell / Bodmin squad of players many of whom have had better days (no disrespect intended to those players) - let alone potentially brining in pros who have had no involvement with the county in years.

KFA are held with some scepticism by many and have attracted poor crowds to their fixtures - to get everyone behind them needs something different and for me that is youth. Those players and their clubs then would have a ‘buy in’ to the future of the KFA - win or lose the cup, unless it is just about the egos of those running the KFA

On a practical level, it’s also far easier attracting sponsorship and funding your young players. 

[inflikted]

6 hours ago, Dave Deacon said:

I guess there might be contractual issues!

I can't remember what the eligibility regulations are either - they changed from having to be born in Cornwall to is it living in Cornwall? Perhaps inflicted you can clarify on this please?. 

What professional players are there anyway? The obvious ones to me are Jack Stephens (Southampton), Cody Cooke (St Mirren), Isaac Vassell (Cardiff City?) and Christian Walton (on loan at Blackburn from Brighton). I'm sure there must be at least a couple more.

ConIFA generally tends to follow FIFA criteria: born in the region (as is case for most members), have parents/grandparents from there (extended to having heritage for teams representing groups of people, like Chagos Islands, Mapuche and Mariya), live there for x years (which saw Marius Stankevicius represent Padania). As I already mentioned, though, there is some leeway for teams representing ethnic groups or displaced peoples. No Chagossian has been born in the Chagos Islands since they were forcibly removed in the 60s, so the rule is that anyone with a verifiable claim to Chagossian heritage is eligible. Playing for a FIFA nation doesn't rule you out either, for example Stankevicius (capped for Lithuania and Padania), Gevorg Najaryan (capped for Kazakhstan U21 and Western Armenia) and Bruce Grobbelaar (capped for Zimbabwe and Matabeleland).

A quick look at the 2018 World Cup squads shows it should be possible to call up pros as well, as several teams had them, including Barawa, who had at-the-time Crawley Town player Aryan Tajbakhsh called up. Cascadia had Elgin City's Calum Ferguson (now playing in the New Zealand top flight via a spell in the Canadian Premier League). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_CONIFA_World_Football_Cup_squads

[Ian Pethick]

21 hours ago, Dave Deacon said:

I guess there might be contractual issues!

I can't remember what the eligibility regulations are either - they changed from having to be born in Cornwall to is it living in Cornwall? Perhaps inflicted you can clarify on this please?. 

What professional players are there anyway? The obvious ones to me are Jack Stephens (Southampton), Cody Cooke (St Mirren), Isaac Vassell (Cardiff City?) and Christian Walton (on loan at Blackburn from Brighton). I'm sure there must be at least a couple more.

Not professionals, but can think of a few Cornish born Western League players who would strengthen the squad;

 

Jordan Annear (Tavi) (possibly a good shop window for him to get into the pro game)

Liam Prynn (Tavi)

Jordan Copp (Parkway)

Jack Calver (Parkway)

Billy Palfrey (Parkway)

Jamie Lowry (Parkway)

Ryan Lane (Parkway)

Don't know if they've been previously approached, if the clubs are happy for them to play or even if they are in Darren Gilbert's thoughts.

Edited January 6, 2020 by Way Of The Park

[Persil]

Can just see it now.  The squad announced and it being a majority of Gilberts poor Bodmin side with a sprinkling of St Austells mature players!

[Bruegel the Elder]

Maybe the Kernow F.C. team should have appointed one of our better (and more cool headed) managers and offered a couple of knowledgable assistants/advisors (Glynn Hooper leaps to mind). Instead we have rather an amateurish looking set up which seems not to have earned the respect of most of the league or team managers, let alone the County F.A.

I am well aware that there are issues involving conflict of interests and personality clashes. However those who dreamt up this audacious scheme deserve congratulations for doing the hard miles of setting up and gaining affiliation, but surely now is the time for them to put forward a management team we can all get behind (Gilby is, I fear a little too divisive!).

I look forward to following their adventures over the summer, but do hope that they can take the best squad that Cornwall can offer rather than just a jolly for, as mentioned above, the Bodmin old boys.

[Ian Pethick]

18 hours ago, Bruegel the Elder said:

Maybe the Kernow F.C. team should have appointed one of our better (and more cool headed) managers and offered a couple of knowledgable assistants/advisors (Glynn Hooper leaps to mind). Instead we have rather an amateurish looking set up which seems not to have earned the respect of most of the league or team managers, let alone the County F.A.

I am well aware that there are issues involving conflict of interests and personality clashes. However those who dreamt up this audacious scheme deserve congratulations for doing the hard miles of setting up and gaining affiliation, but surely now is the time for them to put forward a management team we can all get behind (Gilby is, I fear a little too divisive!).

I look forward to following their adventures over the summer, but do hope that they can take the best squad that Cornwall can offer rather than just a jolly for, as mentioned above, the Bodmin old boys.

Possibly a figurehead ex-pro as manager with a couple of assistants under him who know the scene (Glyn Hooper and, dare I say it, Steve Massey?). Matthew Etherington and Nigel Martyn are two that come to mind, no expectation that they would be involved in the day to day stuff, just around for the immediate build up to matches and the few weeks duration of the tournament.

I still think the long term goal should be to have this tournament in Cornwall Matches in late May/Early June, matches at Falmouth (F-Troop cheering on the Kernow team), Saltash, St Austell and Newquay, final at Stadium For Cornwall.

[Persil]

Dont get me wrong, huge praise should be heaped on those who have got us this far to be involved.  However, their hardwork should not be undone by just giving the team affairs over to someone who will just pick his cronies.  No offence to Gilby, what he has done locally isn't to be recognised because he has been fantastic.  But like with International managers, they very very rarely manage a club side too!  The same should apply here.  Get a manager in who isn't involved with a club, who will be able to assemble his (or her) backroom staff as appropriate.  Their squad selection is then less likely to be bias and based on the best individuals we have to offer rather than the easy option of the boys in an already created WhatsApp group.

Some names that spring to mind are Neil Warnock, Glynn Hooper, Phil Lafferty, Derek Martyn, Lee Hodges and Kev Miller.

[Ian Pethick]

3 hours ago, Persil said:

Dont get me wrong, huge praise should be heaped on those who have got us this far to be involved.  However, their hardwork should not be undone by just giving the team affairs over to someone who will just pick his cronies.  No offence to Gilby, what he has done locally isn't to be recognised because he has been fantastic.  But like with International managers, they very very rarely manage a club side too!  The same should apply here.  Get a manager in who isn't involved with a club, who will be able to assemble his (or her) backroom staff as appropriate.  Their squad selection is then less likely to be bias and based on the best individuals we have to offer rather than the easy option of the boys in an already created WhatsApp group.

Some names that spring to mind are Neil Warnock, Glynn Hooper, Phil Lafferty, Derek Martyn, Lee Hodges and Kev Miller.

Neil Warnock would certainly be a wild card.

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

22 minutes ago, Way Of The Park said:

Neil Warnock would certainly be a wild card.

And expensive! 

[leedsunited]

21 hours ago, Persil said:

Dont get me wrong, huge praise should be heaped on those who have got us this far to be involved.  However, their hardwork should not be undone by just giving the team affairs over to someone who will just pick his cronies.  No offence to Gilby, what he has done locally isn't to be recognised because he has been fantastic.  But like with International managers, they very very rarely manage a club side too!  The same should apply here.  Get a manager in who isn't involved with a club, who will be able to assemble his (or her) backroom staff as appropriate.  Their squad selection is then less likely to be bias and based on the best individuals we have to offer rather than the easy option of the boys in an already created WhatsApp group.

Some names that spring to mind are Neil Warnock, Glynn Hooper, Phil Lafferty, Derek Martyn, Lee Hodges and Kev Miller.

Guys like Warnock & Kev Miller wouldn't raise an eyebrow to this . You mention Hoops, Laffs, & Derek ..  but in reality they haven't won as such in management combined to get near Gilbys list of Honours

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

1 hour ago, leedsunited said:

Guys like Warnock & Kev Miller wouldn't raise an eyebrow to this . You mention Hoops, Laffs, & Derek ..  but in reality they haven't won as such in management combined to get near Gilbys list of Honours

Bit of a loose cannon when it comes to representing your county to the world though!

[Persil]

2 hours ago, leedsunited said:

Guys like Warnock & Kev Miller wouldn't raise an eyebrow to this . You mention Hoops, Laffs, & Derek ..  but in reality they haven't won as such in management combined to get near Gilbys list of Honours

You are right, they may not have won as much as Gilby, but recent experience would suggest that the teams that have been selected for KFA by Gilby are clearly his current Bodmin Cronies with a few old friends of his!  So an impartial manager would be the right solution.  Yes, all managers will have their favourites, but one not currently attached to a club would have les of a bias to their own players.

[leedsunited]

1 hour ago, Persil said:

You are right, they may not have won as much as Gilby, but recent experience would suggest that the teams that have been selected for KFA by Gilby are clearly his current Bodmin Cronies with a few old friends of his!  So an impartial manager would be the right solution.  Yes, all managers will have their favourites, but one not currently attached to a club would have les of a bias to their own players.

I understand your thinking. 

[cornishteddyboy]

How is it paid for?

Do CONIFA pay for transport to and fro, plus hotel/facilities cost or is it down to the individual countries to pay their way.

A 2-4 week competition will be expensive.

Perhaps Kernow FA can produce a range of merchandise to pay their way, etc. 

[Bruegel the Elder]

13 minutes ago, cornishteddyboy said:

How is it paid for?

Do CONIFA pay for transport to and fro, plus hotel/facilities cost or is it down to the individual countries to pay their way.

A 2-4 week competition will be expensive.

Perhaps Kernow FA can produce a range of merchandise to pay their way, etc. 

I was thinking much the same. I believe that they have some sponsorship but it will hardly cover the above costs for a squad of 20+. In addition the players are going to need some kind of remuneration, not many employers will want to give four weeks payed holiday to one individual during May/June and not many players will want to take almost their whole entitlement in one go (a recipe for divorce methinks). 
Are messers Bragg and/or Heaton members of the forum? Could they, or indeed anyone else representing Kernow F.C. be prevailed upon to answer some of the questions posed above? I do recall a video interview a year or so back, and there are a few bits and pieces on the internet, but they don’t appear to have their own website. I look forward to some kind of response.

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

All played in 8 days I think?

[cornishteddyboy]

What!

3 group games, a semi-final and final in 8 days.

5 games in 8 days.

Sounds like playing Combo football in mid-May! 😮

[inflikted]

For what it's worth...

Jordan Annear has played for Kernow before, scoring twice in the game against St Dennis.

Phil Lafferty is officially joint-head coach of the team.

Cardiff City youth keeper Jordan Duffey has been included in two squads, playing once (was only in the prelim squad against Chagos Islands)

I believe some financial help comes from ConIFA via their tournament sponsor (Sportsbet.io this year, in 2018 it was Paddy Power). However a part of it is still funded by the competing teams. Matabeleland held a crowdfunder to get from Zimbabwe in 2018, while Kiribati had to withdraw due to lack of funds, being replaced by Tuvalu.

[Bruegel the Elder]

Thank-you inflicted for at least a glimmer of response to the queries above. Are you involved in the organisation of the team or just better at digging out information than I am?

[Ashton11]

On 05/01/2020 at 12:15, Bobjfh said:

Personal view - but if KFA want to build something they should be looking at young players in the County - not pros and not the ‘same old faces’ on a lads outing. Take an u21 squad (with a couple of older players) with players who will build the reputation of the County and the KFA - it would increase long term support and I’m sure greater interest - however I feel it will just be the managers favourites and social mates. 

Don’t suppose you have a son u21 and play ‘s football in cornwall by any chance !

[Bobjfh]

Ashton - i have two sons who are at uni, a lot of time playing out of the county, a bit like yourself I believe and if right I think they played together for a fair bit at college and for the County and are good mates - I know you have previously commented on Jack W a fair bit. That however is not my rational (or probably the views of my sons, who incidentally I don’t mention by name in my posts) - I do believe that Cornish football is stagnating now and youth talent is the way forward, contrary to many on here. There are young players who have played representative football at a national level, played in international tournaments abroad, played at professional academies, are first team picks at SWPL and higher levels. Who would you prefer to represent the County - the ‘same old names’ or something a bit different and something with a future?

[Ian Pethick]

On ‎10‎/‎01‎/‎2020 at 13:02, inflikted said:

For what it's worth...

Jordan Annear has played for Kernow before, scoring twice in the game against St Dennis.

Phil Lafferty is officially joint-head coach of the team.

Cardiff City youth keeper Jordan Duffey has been included in two squads, playing once (was only in the prelim squad against Chagos Islands)

I believe some financial help comes from ConIFA via their tournament sponsor (Sportsbet.io this year, in 2018 it was Paddy Power). However a part of it is still funded by the competing teams. Matabeleland held a crowdfunder to get from Zimbabwe in 2018, while Kiribati had to withdraw due to lack of funds, being replaced by Tuvalu.

Jordan Duffey released by Cardiff City at end of last season, now plays for Bodmin Town.

Would imagine that Jordan Annear took time away from the Kernow team while he was trialling with various clubs and trying to break into the pro game, he is now playing for Tavistock and bang in form. Should be one of the first names on the team sheet in my opinion (if he's available).

[Persil]

Out of curiosity, sorry if it has been raised and answered elsewhere, I have 2 questions?

What is the criteria to be eligible for selection for the Kernow FA?

Who are the favourites or the top side at the tournament?

[Bobjfh]

1 hour ago, Persil said:

Out of curiosity, sorry if it has been raised and answered elsewhere, I have 2 questions?

What is the criteria to be eligible for selection for the Kernow FA?

Who are the favourites or the top side at the tournament?

Person - I think eligibility changed from born in Cornwall to something more like ‘has played in Cornwall and has ties to the County’ (not the exact wording but covers players born out of the county but now live / play / played in the County. 
unfortunately I have no idea who the top sides are - there has not been a lot of Media coverage since the launch??

[inflikted]

Karpatalja are the reigning champions, having entered in 2018 as a wild card replacement for Felvidek with only days to go before the tournament started. However, South Ossetia came into the Euros last year with a very young squad and stormed to victory so you can't rule them out either.

Cascadia are a side you can't really count out either, having a few pros in their side including Calum Ferguson (now playing in New Zealand, ex-Inverness striker) and several USL players. While Panjab have mostly fielded semi-pro players from the local leagues of England, they also have a full Pakistan international in goal and finished as World Cup runners up in 2016. Western Armenia have also had a few players from the Armenian top flight, while Parishes of Jersey are a semi-pro but close knit team. Kernow should have already played them had they not withdrawn from the Atlantic Heritage Cup. Zainichi Korea aren't known for their goalscoring prowess but have a rigid defence, becoming draw specialists in 2018.

There are also a few teams taat Kernow should fancy their chances against. The Chagos Islands and Darfur are often easy targets for goals, and Kabylia and Matabeleland struggled in 2018 but that experience may have helped them improve for this year, especially if Kabylia calls up 2018 Young Player of the Tournament Sami Boudia. Tamil Eelam have also been fairly rocky recently.

There are also several unknown quantities to be wary of, teams where we don't necessarily know if they'll be good or bad as we haven't really seen them in action. Those teams are the Mapuche, Mariya (Australian First Nations) and Western Sahara.

On 10/01/2020 at 13:13, Bruegel the Elder said:

Thank-you inflicted for at least a glimmer of response to the queries above. Are you involved in the organisation of the team or just better at digging out information than I am?

I just have a lot of practice digging deep for non-FIFA football information. The ConIFA AGM is actually currently in progress in Jersey, with the Kernow FA present.

[inflikted]

For some reason I'm not able to edit my posts but also worth mentioning Panjab played a friendly against Liverpool's U23s in 2018 too, with a lot of the players in that Liverpool side now playing around the first team or professionally for other teams. https://www.thisisanfield.com/2018/05/spanish-trialist-scores-as-liverpool-u23s-thrash-panjab-fa-at-kirkby/

[inflikted]

Group A:
Parishes of Jersey
Panjab
Kurdistan (presumably replacing Western Sahara)
Chagos Islands

Group B:
Karpatalja
Western Armenia
Tamil Eelam
Kabylia

Group C
Mapuche
Matabeleland
Kernow
Mariya (Australian First Nations)

Group D
South Ossetia
Cascadia
United Koreans in Japan
Darfur