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Kind of like the N.I.T for international soccer

by Josh

The Viva World Cup, an event organized by the New Federation Board, begins on November 19 and includes non-nations and others to whom FIFA has not granted “official” status.

The Viva World Cup will apparently feature four self-funded teams, two fewer than announced only a couple months ago:

Viva World Cup vice-president, Georges Wuethrich, explains:

[FIFA] already includes 207 nations, which has led to complaints from some of the larger countries, so recently the criteria for inclusion has become much stricter. That’s why the Faroe Islands is a FIFA member but Greenland, which is right next door and has a similar population, is not.

Kiribati is an independent republic in the Pacific Ocean. It is recognized by the United Nations, the Olympic Committee and several other international bodies – but not by FIFA.

trophy.jpgAh, yes. We’ve forgotten about Kiribati.

The New Federation Board is obviously dead serious about this tournament, which explains why the trophy is made from only the finest materials: an old Courvoisier box and a gold-plated trailer hitch.

13 comments

1 Mark { 11.07.06 at 9:00 am }

Wow…and I thought beach soccer was kind of out there. Perhaps this would explain why the logo for the tournament looks like someone is flying toward the Earth from Mars.

2 Josh { 11.07.06 at 9:12 am }

Let’s not forget this.

I think ThroughBall.com should sponsor Kiribati during the next go-round.

3 bq { 11.07.06 at 9:19 am }

Let’s start a collection. I love the trophy. Hey, it’s a lot better than that stupid crystal thing that Houston was running around the stadium with on Sunday. What a joke. They were running around so the fans could touch it and no one really wanted to. There was no appeal there and I think everyone was afraid of breaking it. Lame, lame, lame. Give me a real trophy. A big metal cup of some sort. The Stanley Cup is the epitome of quality trophies. But for a minor tournament trophy it’s very cool. Thanks for also including a photo of that Josh.

4 Jeremy { 11.07.06 at 10:41 am }

I think ThroughBall.com should sponsor Kiribati during the next go-round.

I think you should go with Greenland. We need to knock those snarky Faroe Islanders down a few notches.

5 Mark { 11.07.06 at 10:57 am }

So, the other two teams who dropped out couldn’t fit the tournament into their busy international schedules?

6 Josh { 11.07.06 at 11:55 am }

So, the other two teams who dropped out couldn’t fit the tournament into their busy international schedules?

Oh, they could fit it in. They just couldn’t afford the airfare.

7 Jeremy { 11.07.06 at 1:01 pm }

Oh, they could fit it in. They just couldn’t afford the airfare.

Yeah, it looks like they spent all their money on their world-class website. Scrolling text isn’t cheap, you know!

8 Mark { 11.07.06 at 1:52 pm }

“They just couldn’t afford the airfare.”

Hard to barter llama spit and poker chips for airline tickets I suppose.

9 Josh { 11.07.06 at 2:00 pm }

Hard to barter llama spit and poker chips for airline tickets I suppose.

Now, now, that’s insensitive.

It was emu spit.

10 William K. Wolfrum { 11.08.06 at 2:29 pm }

Hey, this sounds like a great idea. Give these nations (?) a chance to shine at a game they love. Not everyone can be Brazil and Italy, after all. I say, way to go!

I didn’t look at the schedule. Who will the U.S. play first?
;)

–WKW

11 Josh { 11.08.06 at 3:07 pm }

I didn’t look at the schedule. Who will the U.S. play first?

Zing! *rimshot*

12 enea { 11.16.09 at 9:59 am }

dua nit for spit 2

13 enea { 11.16.09 at 9:59 am }

dua nit for spit2

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