The Abkhazia national football team is the team representing the partially recognised state of Abkhazia. They are not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA, and therefore cannot compete for the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championship.
They competed at the first ConIFA World Football Cup in 2014, finishing 8th overall,conifa.org and they hosted and won the second edition in 2016.
History On the eastern coast of Black Sea where the Caucasus mountains meet is Abkhazia. It is sandwiched between Russia and Georgia. It is currently an independent state which declared sovereignty in 1990 and is only recognized by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and some other unrecognized nations. They were first registered in 2008 by Russia. However, Georgia still declares that Abkhazia is part of Georgia.
Football Football is a major sport in Abkhazia and FC Dinamo Sukhumi, a former Soviet second division league team is in the forefront. All Abkhaz football teams closed shop after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The first Abkhazian Premier League was founded in 1994 with 15 teams and Dynamo Sukhumi won the inaugural title. Another club, Nart Sukhumi, started in 1997, is dominating in the recent times in the domestic circuit with 12 league titles and 9 domestic cups. Former Russian lower league player Juma Kvaratskhelia was heading the Football Federation of Abkhazia in 2012. Later, Ruslan Adzhindzhal, who was the president, resigned in January 2017 and Kvaratskhelia was re elected in 2017. He also served as chief coach from 2012 to 2017.
After a revival in 2012, Abkhazia competed internationally under the umbrella of the CONIFA. The team made their debut in the CONIFA World Cup in 2014 and won the edition that they hosted in 2016. In 2018, they won a match against Tibet 3-0 in the World CONIFA Championship at London. But later, the defending champions went out at the first stage. They drew 2-2 with Northern Cyprus in their final group game and made an exit after the group stage itself.
In 2019, Abkhazia made their first appearance ever in the CONIFA European Cup, where they finished third.
In 2023, Abkhazia was drawn in the 2024 CONIFA World Cup Qualification Group D with Artsakh. The match was originally to be played on the 10 July. However, the match was cancelled.
International record At CONIFA World Football Cup YearPositionGPWDLGFGA 20148th513166 20161st5410151 20189th6411154 2024cancelledTotal 16 9 5 2 36 11
At CONIFA European Football Cup YearPositionGPWDLGFGA 2015did not enter 20174th513156 20193rd523063 2021Cancelled 2023CancelledTotal 10 3 6 1 11 9
Results and fixtures
2020
2021
2022
Current squad The following 23 players were called up to the squad for the 2019 CONIFA European Football Cup.
Top goalscorers Only matches at CONIFA tournaments are counted. #PlayerGoals 1 Ruslan Shoniya 8 2 Dmitri Kortava 6 3 Shabat Logua 5 4 Ruslan Akhveldiani 45 Vladimir Argun 3Dmitri Maskayev 3Astamur Tarba 3Amal Vardania 3
Managers ManagerPeriodPlayedWonDrawnLostWin % Jemal Gubaz2007–2008 Juma Kvaratskhelia2012–2017 Beslan Ajinjal2017–2019 Beslan Gubliya2020–Totals 46 20 20 6 43.47
Honours Non-FIFA competitions CONIFA World Football Cup Champions (1): 2016 CONIFA European Football Cup Third place (1): 2019
See also Abkhazia national football team results (2012–2019) Abkhazia national football team results (2020–present) Abkhazia national football team results (unofficial matches)
References