Notícia
L'esport com a metàfora
BRETON TEAM 'WORLD CLASS' BUT FRANCE OBSTRUCTS FIFA/UEFA MOVES
This week (20th May 2008), the Breton national football team proved
their worth against Congo by beating them in a decisive 3-1 victory
at St Brieuc, Breizh/Brittany.
The Breton team is a professional football team, but are not affiliated
to the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) or
the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) like Cymru/Wales,
Alba/Scotland or Éire/Republic of Ireland. Neither is the team affiliated
to the NF-Board (New Federation-Board), an association made up of
teams that represent nations that are not recognized as sovereign
states.
As in the case of Galicia, Breton membership of international football
bodies - allowing them to play in an official capacity representing
their nation - is continually blocked by their host states. Football's
governing body in France, the French Football Federation (Fédération
Française de Football), a founding member of FIFA, has worked against
attempts by the Bretons to apply for FIFA and UEFA membership.
In December 2007 however, as reported in Celtic news, the Galician
government made an agreement with the Basque and Catalan governments
calling for closer cooperation in the increased recognition and participation
of their respective national teams at an international level. The
Spanish Football Association, like the FFF, attempts to exclude these
three nations from playing football at an international level, with
the most recent planned match between the USA and Catalonia being
banned in October 2007.
The first international match that the Breton football team played
was against Normandy, France in 1921 (2-1, Breizh win), but the next
game did not take place until 1998 when Breizh played Cameroon (1-1
draw). The victory against Congo, who won the African Nations Cup
in 1972, proves that the Breton side can easily compete at an international
level. Perhaps a series of 'friendly games between Breizh and other
National Celtic teams, could be arranged for some time in the future?