The Kernow football team has represented Cornwall at international association football since 2018. It uses the native Cornish name of the region, Kernow, to represent its team, and is managed by the Kernow Football Alliance. As the side is not a member of UEFA or FIFA, it cannot qualify for the UEFA European Championship or FIFA World Cup, although it is a member of ConIFA and is eligible to participate in the ConIFA World Football Cup and ConIFA European Football Cup. The team is currently managed by Darren Gilbert, and coached by Darren Wright, Andrew Graham and Wayne Roberts. In 2023, Kernow faced the Sápmi football team in a deciding match to join the 2024 ConIFA World Football Cup. Kernow won 2–1, progressing to the 2024 CONIFA World Football Cup finals.
History Following the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup held in London, the Kernow Football Alliance was formed by Andrew Bragg and Jason Heaton, and officially joined CONIFA in November 2018.Cornwall join Conifa to play 'international football' BBC Sport. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2019. They played their first game on 25 February 2019 against Foxhole Stars in an unofficial game,Kernow FA announces first squad as CONIFA member Falmouth Packet. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2019. running out 3–2 winners. The next month, it was announced that they would take part in the 2019 Atlantic Heritage Cup, which was to act as a 2020 ConIFA World Football Cup qualification tournament.The Atlantic Heritage Cup is coming to Yorkshire this summer ConIFA. 14 April 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2019. However, they withdrew before the tournament, to be replaced by the Chagos Islands. They played their first official international on 25 May 2019 against Barawa, winning 5–0 in Bodmin.
Kernow entered the 2024 CONIFA World Cup Qualification, where they were placed in Group A with Sápmi. They beat Sápmi 2–1 and qualified for the 2024 CONIFA World Cup.
Tournament records
ConIFA World Football Cup record YearPositionGPWDLGSGA 2014Not a CONIFA Member 2016 2018 2020 Cancelled 2024 Qualified
Recent fixtures and results
Selected International Opponents OpponentsMatchesWinDrawLossGFGA1100501100811100103 Chagos BIOT110052110021
Players Current squad The following players were called up to a friendly against Chagos Islands on 25 August 2019.Squad Announcement. Kernow FA. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
Caps and goals correct as of 16 July 2024 after the game against FA Sapmi. CONIFA includes unofficial friendlies towards the caps total.
Recent call-ups The following players have been called up in the past twelve months or withdrew from the squad due to injury or suspension.
Cornish footballers who represented FIFA national teams Nigel Martyn Chris Morris
References
External links Kernow Football Alliance on Twitter