Cascadian Football, anyone? A group with a goal of bringing Cascadia into the next VIVA World Cup has issued a press release today. See below.

SEATTLE, Wash.— (Press Release) The Cascadia Association Football Federation (CAFF) is an organization with the goal of forming a non-FIFA Cascadia representative team to take part ultimately in the VIVA World Cup.

We are pleased to announce that Golazo Energy Drinks has donated their HQ at 714 E. Pike St Seattle, WA 98122 as the meeting space for our first general meeting.

We will kick off the CAFF meeting at 11:00am on January 26th, 2013.

On the agenda will be passing Bylaws, ratifying our Mission Statement, approving official crest, jersey and player eligibility requirements as well as discussing other basic issues. Additionally, we will be electing the first official Board members.

We also are looking for fundraising ideas to collect the fairly small administrative fee for our application for admittance as a member of the N.F.-Board, the world governing body of non-FIFA international football and organizers of the VIVA World Cup held every two years.

The first CAFF board will be responsible for bringing CAFF from its birth phase to putting together and fielding an actual team in friendlies and competitions.

An Idea Whose Time Has Come

We are convening this meeting at this time because there is great interest in our effort officially from the N.F.-Board and there is a slight chance we may be discussed at their annual General Meeting to take place in February in Munich, Germany. We will have an unofficial observer present at that meeting as we are not yet formally a member.

During our initial efforts to put this organization together we’ve talked with many people throughout Cascadia who have a wide range applicable experiences which give us confidence that will be successful in our efforts.

We’ve encountered individuals familiar with the 501c non-profit application process to people who have run large soccer organizations, designed scarves or kits including the current Cascadia jersey and scarves already seen in circulation at club matches for all three Cascadia MLS teams. We welcome their involvement.

This large undertaking is possible because of the incredible response we have received not only from them but from others within Cascadia and notably also from those around the globe who have reached out to help us.

The Non-FIFA football community is very interested in what we are doing and have pledged to help in whatever they can to assist us with throughout this process. The NF-Board as well as their South American confederation CSANF officially have contacted us with great interest.

We have also been encouraged by many in the non-FIFA community who believe that our application will likely be viewed favorably. Several NF-Board member Football Associations (FAs) including Quebec have even contacted us about potential friendlies already but there is still much work to be done before those can happen.

Beginning with this first general meeting we will take the first steps along the road towards turning something which people in the region have imagined into a viable reality.

We see this team as yet another expression of the passion we all have for the sport and our region as a whole. It will be another sphere of football/soccer to support between those of our local clubs and whichever FIFA national team (US, Canada or others) we support.

We welcome everyone who would like to be involved in this grassroots movement to bring CAFF to life and begin building a team to represent this region called Cascadia. Our ultimate goal is seeing that Cascadia represented at the NF-Board’s VIVA World Cup, the highest level of competition for non-FIFA Football.

WHO: Cascadia Association Football Federation (CAFF) and Interested Parties

WHAT: First General Meeting

WHEN: Saturday, January 26, 11:00 a.m.

WHERE: Golazo Energy Drinks Headquarters – 714 E. Pike St Seattle, WA 98122

About Cascadia Association Football Federation

The Cascadia Association Football Federation (CAFF) is an organization looking to field a men’s (and eventually women’s) representative regional team for purposes of competition in non-FIFA football under the auspices of the N.F.-Board. We are in the beginning stages of the process towards becoming an N.F.-Board member FA.

About Non-FIFA football/soccer

The phrase “non-FIFA” is a general term usually used by the media in order to name the football played outside of FIFA. It is not employed with a negative meaning like “against-FIFA” or “anti-FIFA”, but on the contrary it is complementary with FIFA in the universal football scene. The N.F.-Board for instance, does not see itself opposed to FIFA but complementary to it in expanding the reach of the beautiful game. Some non-FIFA representative teams even belong to FIFA governed confederations.

About The N.F.-Board:

The New Federation Board (N.F.-Board) is an organization similar to FIFA, the organization which governs football/soccer worldwide. As such the N.F.-Board governs new, non-FIFA federations. Its member FA’s compete every two years in the VIVA World Cup. The N.F.-Board was founded in a Brussels pub by Luc Misson in December of 2003. Misson was a lawyer who represented Belgian footballer Jean-Marc Bosman in a case that led to the Bosman Ruling which allowed free movement of players within the European Union. Mrs. Viviane Bonnier was appointed as General Secretary of the N.F.-Board in 2012.

About the VIVA World Cup

The VIVA World Cup is an international football tournament organized by the N.F.-Board, an umbrella association for regions, peoples and nations unaffiliated with FIFA. The VIVA World Cup is held every two years. The most recent one just took place in 2012.