Nestled at the base of the lofty Caucasus mountain range, with the Black Sea only meters away, the Daur Akhvlediani Stadium is a picturesque location for a football match. The small venue in the resort town of Gagra offers an exotic setting for a highly unusual game: Somaliland v Sapmi.

This encounter will not be found on a Fifa fixture list, nor will it be broadcast by international media conglomerates. The Somaliland team represents an independent region of northern Somalia unrecognized by the international community, while Sapmi’s players are ethnic Laplanders from the Arctic north of Sweden, Norway and Finland. A world away from the Uefa Champions League final, which clashed with the tournament’s opening ceremony, Somaliland and Sapmi are contesting the 2016 World Football Cup.

Organised by the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (Conifa), the competition is being held in the breakaway state of Abkhazia, near south-west Russia. Conifa claims to represent “international football teams from nations, de-facto nations, regions, minority peoples and sports isolated territories”, and the diversity of its membership is evident in the motley mix of participant teams.

Abkhazia and Somaliland are joined by two other secessionist entities (Kurdistan and Northern Cyprus), while Sapmi is one of several minority ethnic/cultural communities (Raetia, United Koreans in Japan and Western Armenia). Three distinct regional groups (Padania, Panjab and Székely Land) are also present, alongside the stateless people of the Chagos Islands.

Traveling to Abkhazia from across the globe, these 12 teams have surmounted logistical obstacles, financial pressures and political controversy to face off at the World Football Cup. With issues of statehood, nationalism and geopolitics at play, this is no ordinary football tournament.

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Abkhazia’s clash with the Chagos Islands is another unlikely sporting fixture. The hosts have enjoyed de facto independence since a secessionist conflict with Georgia in the early 1990s, and are presently recognised by only Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Nauru. The Chagos Islands, meanwhile, were dispossessed of their Indian Ocean atolls in 1967 when the British government sold the islands for American military use. Despite a long-running legal campaign, the Chagossians remain stranded in England and Mauritius.

“It is very important for our team to be here and represent the Chagos Islands community,” explains coach Serge Jean-Louis. “Some of the teams say the tournament is political, others say it is only about football. For me, it’s both. This is a great opportunity to raise awareness about the Chagossian struggle through sport.”

Lacking broad recognition or support, neither Abkhazia nor the Chagos Islands are likely to feature in a Fifa-sanctioned tournament in the near future. Yet when a Kurdish referee commences game four of the World Football Cup with his whistle, the scene closely resembles a regular international football match.

Dinamo Stadium in Abkhazia’s capital Sukhum/i is small but well-appointed, and the contest is being streamed live around the world courtesy of a recently installed fibre optic cable. Abkhazian flags are waved enthusiastically by the home crowd, and both teams sing their ‘national’ anthems prior to kick-off. Forget the subtropical climate and it takes only a minor leap of imagination to envision the game occurring at the forthcoming Uefa European Championship in France.

Chagos start well against their fancied opponents, but soon lose a defender following a last-man foul in the penalty area. Abkhazia convert the ensuing spot-kick and it is not long before the flood gates open, with the game ultimately finishing 9-0. In a touching gesture highlighting the friendly spirit of the competition, home fans chant in support of the Chagossian visitors throughout the game.

Local organising committee chief Dimitri Pagava is buoyant after witnessing Abkhazia’s emphatic win in front of a capacity crowd. “A fantastic result,” exclaims the exhausted but smiling businessman. “It is great for our people to watch their team perform tonight.”

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While the tournament in Abkhazia may seem novel, the competition is actually Conifa’s third major event. Established in 2013 following internal discord at a similar body, the organisation hosted the first World Football Cup in Östersund, Sweden only a year later. French-based County of Nice lifted the trophy after defeating the Isle of Man, while Arameans Suryoye triumphed over breakaway South Ossetia in the third-place playoff.

A European Football Cup followed in 2015, with Hungary hosting a six-team regional competition. County of Nice missed an opportunity to become dual Conifa World and European champions, losing 4-1 to Padania in the final.

Conifa continues to grow, and in May welcomed the Pacific nation of Kiribati and semi-autonomous Greenland to its 36-strong membership list. While neither is likely to court controversy (Kiribati, as a United Nations member state, even has a strong claim to joining Fifa), the presence of Tibet, the Luhansk People’s Republic and Tamil Eelam risks embroiling Conifa in broader political debates. Although General Secretary Sascha Düerkop insists that his organisation “is 100% neutral”, the fraught politics of statehood and secession are never far from the surface.

United Koreans of Japan v Kurdistan. Photograph: Beslan Lagulaa-Conifa

Tempting as it might be to dismiss the tournament as a political contrivance engineered by an isolated Abkhazian government, the players’ pride in representing their ‘nation’ is palpable and the quality of football is impressive. In particular, Sapmi has a strong squad drawn from across the Scandinavian first and second divisions, coached by former Tromsø stalwart Morten Pedersen, while the Kurdish roster boasts several Iraq-capped players. Despite each side being among the pre-tournament favorites, neither progressed beyond the quarter-finals – suggesting that the talent at this unorthodox competition runs deep.

Pedersen emphatically denies that he or his players are interested in the World Football Cup’s political aspect: “It is all about the football. This tournament is about bringing people together.” Matteo Prandelli, a striker for Padania, echoes this sentiment. “We do not think about the political problems,” he says. “We just focus on the opponents we have to beat on the pitch.”

Politics aside, Pedersen’s team also faced a very human challenge in their ultimately failed attempt to lift the trophy: language. Different members of the squad speak Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian, and the manager is not fluent in Sami – the indigenous language. While Pedersen predominantly delivers his pre-match wisdom in English, defender Jarkko Lahdenmäki offers a familiar platitude: “Football is the most important language that we all speak.”

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The tournament in Abkhazia is being held at an apt moment, coming less than a month after Uefa and Fifa voted to accept a membership application from Kosovo. The Eastern European nation had been in a protracted tussle against former parent state Serbia on several sporting fronts, but with a forthcoming appearance at the Rio 2016 Olympics and likely participation in 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, Kosovo seems to have scored a decisive goal.

The Kosovo Precedent was widely cited by other breakaway states in support of their legal position following the 2008 Kosovar Declaration of Independence, albeit to little avail. Asked whether he was disheartened by Kosovo’s recent successful membership application while Abkhazia remains stuck with non-Fifa teams in Conifa, local football federation chairman Ruslan Ajinjal does not hesitate with his response.

“Quite the contrary,” says Ajinjal, who retired from Russian Premier League side FC Krasnodar in 2015. “It shows that there is the possibility for change. It is disappointing that Abkhazia has not yet been accepted, but we hope that in the future there will be a chance for us.”

While Abkhazia and its secessionist companions may see the World Football Cup as an instrument in the ongoing fight for recognition, on and off the pitch, other participants have less politically-charged motivations. The Sapmi team provides a focal point for a culture at risk of decline, while the United Koreans of Japan offers a sporting outlet for the substantial Zainichi Korean population in Japan.

The future of Conifa might well depend on how it balances these competing member priorities. The organization is by its own admission a broad church, much as Fifa’s membership ranges from world champions to minnows. Yet while the vast bulk of Fifa members have a seat at the United Nations, there is a qualitative difference between statehood-professing Abkhazia and cultural-identity sustaining Sapmi. Prior to the tournament’s commencement, organizing committee executive Astamur Adleyba even wondered aloud about the separatist credentials of other competitors: “I bet some of them don’t even have ambitions to be their own country.”

Says Conifa General Secretary Düerkop: “We have a diverse membership base, but they share a common thread: they all feel excluded by the international sporting community.” While Düerkop accepts that the “operational goals” of teams will differ, he argues that the collective aim is simply “to play football.”

The likelihood of a third World Football Cup – whether in Somaliland, South Ossetia, Székely Land or elsewhere – is also dependent on increased revenue generation by Conifa. The organization is a non-profit and its staff are all volunteers. In a striking contrast to oft-heard tales of Fifa executives and their lavish lifestyles, even the Conifa President and General Secretary are unpaid. Events of this kind are expensive, and while the Abkhazian government is underwriting the tournament, Conifa hopes that online streaming payments might provide some additional operating revenue.

The Daur Akhvlediani Stadium, Gagra. Photograph: Kieran Pender

“To expand further and host more events for our members we need to grow our revenue streams,” explains Conifa President Per-Anders Blind, a Swedish businessman. “Holding such a high-level and professionally organized event in Abkhazia, and streaming it around the world to fans in every continent, are big steps in the right direction.”

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The tournament has proven a hit with locals, visiting teams and the 100-strong foreign media contingent to descend on Sukhum/i. All three Abkhazia games were watched by capacity crowds, while even the most obscure games have been reasonably attended.

Away fans are few and far between. The logistical and financial challenges of getting to this scenic slice of the Caucasus are considerable, while most Western governments advise against all travel to the region. Despite such warnings, one intrepid fan who did make the journey was impressed.

“Our time here has been amazing,” exclaims Kevin O’Donovan, a driver from Cambridge, England who regularly travels around the world with a friend watching football. “Abkhazia is a fantastic place with really nice people, and the football’s not bad either – which is a bonus!”

On the pitch, the quarter-finals produced several surprise results. Padania upset heavyweights Kurdistan, while Panjab withstood a late Western Armenia come-back. The hosts outplayed Sapmi, and Northern Cyprus were lucky to scrape past the United Koreans of Japan in a penalty shoot-out. The semi-finals take place this Saturday, before a champion is crowned on Sunday.

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Returning to the Daur Akhvedeliani Stadium in Gagra, Somaliland’s first appearance on the international footballing stage proved anticlimactic. A 5-0 defeat at the hands of Sapmi, exacerbated by an injury to the team’s goalkeeper, saw a slightly dejected Somaliland centre back attend the post-match press conference.

“It is very disappointing to lose our first game,” says 25-year-old Guiled Aden. “But we are loving the country and the people, and having a great time. Listening to our national anthem [before the game] was really emotional, one of the best moments of our lives.”

Somaliland enjoyed five days of independence from Britain in 1960, before forming Somalia in a union with Italian Somaliland. It then broke away following a vicious civil war in the early 1990s, and has built a stable government with economic and democratic credentials despite a lack of international recognition.

“This is a very exciting moment for all of Somaliland,” the defender continues. “Playing at a football tournament is not something Somaliland has done before. To take such a step is one of our nation’s greatest achievements since we declared independence in 1991.”

While this unusual international competition offers a platform for competing teams to pursue varied sporting and political goals, for most the ultimate aspiration is far loftier.

Aden concludes: “Hopefully one day Somaliland, Abkhazia and everyone will be recognized, and we can all take part in the Fifa World Cup!”

Kieran Pender is embedded with Conifa’s media team at the World Football Cup.