| Catalonia - Should UEFA allow them to have a National Team
Macedonian, yet again you Greeks inspired me. I looked up the Catalan National team and here is some of what I found on Wikipedia:
Catalonia national football team is the official football team of Catalonia, Spain. It is organised by the Catalonia Football Federation. The team has been referred to by various names including Selecció Catalana, Selecció de Barcelona and the Catalan XI. Catalonia is not affiliated to either FIFA or UEFA and the team does not participate in either the FIFA World Cup or the European Championship. Catalonia has tried to join UEFA, citing Scotland and Wales as similar regional sides with UEFA membership, but has always been rejected. However since 1904 the team has played nearly 200 games against various national, regional and club teams [1]. Since 1997 a Catalan XI has regularly got together, usually at Christmas, to play an international game. Among the teams they have played are Nigeria, Brazil and Argentina. Their most recent game was a 2-2 with the Basque country national team (Euskadi XI) at the Camp Nou in October 2006. Their next match was intended to be against the United States on October 14, 2007 at Camp Nou.[1], and they signed a contract, but on September 3, 2007, the Spanish Football Federation denied permission for the match to take place, stating that the match should not be played on a date when internationals under FIFAs jurisdiction take place, and that it must be played at Christmas, when the Catalan team usually plays their matches.  |