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The ELF Cup (Equality, Liberty, Fraternity) was an international football tournament organised by the Cyprus Turkish Football Federation (KTFF), a member of the NF-Board. It was played only once in 2006. Among the participants were NF-Board teams, and FIFA member teams from the Asian Football Confederation.
 Official Logo | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | North Cyprus |
| Dates | 19 November – 25 November |
| Teams | 8 |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Northern Cyprus (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Crimean Tatars |
| Third place |  Kyrgyzstan |
| Fourth place |  Zanzibar |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 62 (3.88 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Ertaç Taşkıran (6 goals) |
ELF Cup 2006 edit
The 2006 ELF Cup took place in the North Cyprus between November 19 and 25. Initially announced for non-FIFA teams only, the 2006 tournament also found places for three teams from the Asian Football Confederation - Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan. However, under pressure from FIFA, Afghanistan withdrew from the tournament. [1]
Controversy edit
Initially, it was announced that the North Cyprus were to hold the inaugural VIVA World Cup tournament, organised by the NF-Board as a bi-annual competition for the best non-FIFA nations. However, a dispute between the NF-Board and a new regime at the KTFF led to the tournament being taken away and granted to Occitania. The NF-Board claimed that the new government of the North Cyprus insisted on restricting which nations could and could not take part. The KTFF, however, claimed that the NF-Board made unreasonable financial demands.[2]
In response, the KTFF announced that the ELF Cup would be held at the same time as the VIVA World Cup, and have promised to pay travelling expenses to the participants, which has attracted some NF-Board members. The KTFF hope that the tournament will bring North Cyprus further into the international arena.[3]
Competitors edit
Crimean Tatars – representing the Crimean Tatars.
Găgăuzia – Gagauzia, an autonomous region of Moldova.[4]
Greenland – an autonomous region of Denmark, and nominally under the control of the Danish Football Association and is a NF-Board member.
Kyrgyzstan – a member of the AFC and FIFA, represented here by their futsal team.
Tajikistan – a member of the AFC and FIFA, represented here by their futsal team.
Tibet – an autonomous region of China, fiercely independent in exile and is a NF-Board member.
Northern Cyprus – the hosts, an internationally unrecognised state and is a NF-Board member.
Zanzibar – autonomous region of Tanzania, but with membership of the CAF and of the NF-Board, represented here by their under-20 national team.
Results edit
The eight participants were drawn into two groups of four, with the top two from each group progressing to the knockout stage. For details of the squads, see 2006 ELF Cup Squads.
Group A edit
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyrgyzstan
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 6 |
| Zanzibar
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5 |
 Greenland
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
 Găgăuzia
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 | –7 | 1 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 0–1 | Zanzibar |
|---|---|---|
Suleiman  9' |
| Găgăuzia | 1–6 | Kyrgyzstan |
|---|---|---|
| Marcov 31' |
Mamatov 14', 37' Kadyrov 19'Sundeev 65', 90'Ryskulov 75' |
| Greenland | 1–1 | Zanzibar |
|---|---|---|
| Kreutzmann 78' |
Omar 62' |
| Greenland | 0–1 | Kyrgyzstan |
|---|---|---|
| Kondratkov 24' |
Group B edit
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Cyprus
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | +19 | 9 |
| Crimean Tatars
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | –3 | 6 |
 Tajikistan
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | –2 | 3 |
 Tibet
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | –14 | 0 |
| Tibet | 0–3 | Tajikistan |
|---|---|---|
| Aknazarov 59', 67' Faizullaev 65' |
| Crimean Tatars | 0–5 | Northern Cyprus |
|---|---|---|
| Çakır 16' Taşkıran 45'Ablitarov 65' (o.g.)Uçaner 78'Keleşzade 87' |
| Tibet | 0–1 | Crimean Tatars |
|---|---|---|
| Ablâmetov 41' (pen.) |
| Northern Cyprus | 5–1 | Tajikistan |
|---|---|---|
| Kolcu 34', 54' Uçaner 65', 90+1'Ulusoy 71' |
Aknazarov 12' |
| Tajikistan | 1–2 | Crimean Tatars |
|---|---|---|
| Almukhamedov 45' |
Ametov 36' Hayredinov 87' |
| Northern Cyprus | 10–0 | Tibet |
|---|---|---|
| Çakır 13', 30', 37' Çukurovalı 14', 24', 43'Selden 17', 29'Arıkbuka 54'Kansu 77' |
Semi-finals edit
| Kyrgyzstan | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | Crimean Tatars |
|---|---|---|
| Sundeev 90+2' Mustafayev 102' |
Emiratlı 18' Ablâmetov 94' (pen.)Akimov 97' |
| Northern Cyprus | 5–0 | Zanzibar |
|---|---|---|
| Taşkıran 24', 34', 47', 83' Ulusoy 59' |
3rd Place Playoff edit
Final edit
| Northern Cyprus | 3–1 | Crimean Tatars |
|---|---|---|
| Çakır 1' Sapsızoğlu 46'Taşkıran 55' |
Akimov 90+3' |
| 2006 ELF Cup Winners |
|---|
 North Cyprus First Title |
Golden Team edit
| Goalkeepers | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
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Scorers edit
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Trivia edit
- All the matches were played with Adidas Teamgeist balls.
See also edit
Notes edit
- ^ "Afghanistan has withdrawn from the tournament". Official ELF Cup website. Retrieved November 14, 2006.
- ^ Steve Menary (October 2006). "Worlds apart". World Soccer Magazine. p. 105.
- ^ "The alternative World Cup". BBC Online. November 7, 2006. Retrieved November 7, 2006.
- ^ "В поисках признания". football.ua.
External links edit
- (in English) Official site
- (in Turkish) ELF Cup kicks off
- (in English) News about the Tibetan team Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
- (in English) Pictures from the tournament