Székely Land football team

Székely Land
Shirt badge/Association crest
NicknameSzékelyek
AssociationSzékelyföld Labdarugó Egyesület (SZFE)
ConfederationConIFA
Head coachJózsef Gazda
First colours
First international
 Kárpátalja 0–5 Székely Land 
(Berehovo; 16 August 2014)
Biggest win
 Somaliland 3–10 Székely Land 
(Gagra; 3 June 2016)
 Székely Land 7-0 Two Sicilies 
(Csíkszereda; 2 July 2023)
Biggest defeat
 Székely Land 0–5 Western Armenia 
(Askeran; 3 June 2019)
World Cup
AppearancesCONIFA World Football Cup
Best result4th 2018
AppearancesCONIFA European Football Cup
Best result3rd 2017

The Székely Land football team (Hungarian: Székely labdarúgó-válogatott) is a team representing Székely Land, a historic and ethnographic region in eastern Transylvania, in central Romania, inhabited mainly by the Székelys, a subgroup of the Hungarian people. It is a member of ConIFA, an umbrella association for states, minorities, and regions unaffiliated with FIFA.[1][2]

Székelyföld Labdarugó Egyesület

The Székelyföld Labdarugó Egyesület is the football association of Székely Land.[3]

History

The association named Székelyföld Labdarugó Egyesület (English: Székely Land Football Association) was founded in 2013 at Budapest, Hungary on the initiative of Kristóf Wenczel, a sports lawyer by profession. In January 2014, the Székelyföld Labdarugó Egyesület was admitted to the N.F.-Board, an organisation consisting of teams that represent nations, dependencies, unrecognized states, minorities, stateless peoples, regions and micronations not affiliated to FIFA; and afterwards, they became a member of the newly founded ConIFA.[4]

In 2023, they participated in the 2024 CONIFA World Cup Qualifiers. They were placed in Group C with Chameria and Two Sicilies. Sekler Land won both matches, 3-2 and 7-0 respectively, and qualified for the tournament.

Tournament records

ConIFA World Football Cup record

Year Position GP W D L GS GA
Sápmi 2014 did not enter
Abkhazia 2016 9th place 4 2 0 2 17 7
Ogaden 2018 4th place 6 3 1 2 16 7
Kurdistan Region 2024 Cancelled
Total 0 titles 10 5 1 4 33 14

ConIFA European Football Cup record

Year Position GP W D L GS GA
Hungary 2015 6th place 3 0 0 3 5 10
Northern Cyprus 2017 3rd place 5 2 1 2 9 7
Republic of Artsakh 2019 8th place 5 0 1 4 5 16
County of Nice 2021 Cancelled
Northern Cyprus 2023 Cancelled
Italy 2026 Did not enter
Total 0 titles 13 2 2 9 19 33

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2019 CONIFA European Football Cup.[5]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Levente Mihok (1982-05-27)27 May 1982 (aged 37) 0 0 Romanian Football Federation ACS Olimpic Cetate Râșnov
2 2DF Hunor Ghinea (1999-02-24)24 February 1999 (aged 20) 0 0 Romanian Football Federation KSE Târgu Secuiesc
3 2DF Robert Oprea (1988-06-10)10 June 1988 (aged 30) 4 0 Romanian Football Federation SK Nyárádszereda
4 2DF Norbert Lazar (1989-04-27)27 April 1989 (aged 30) 0 0 Romanian Football Federation Baróti VSC
5 3MF István Hadnagy (1996-09-19)19 September 1996 (aged 22) 4 1 Romanian Football Federation Malomfalvi Fiatalság
6 3MF Norbert-Cristian Albu (1996-11-01)1 November 1996 (aged 22) 0 0 Romanian Football Federation KSE Târgu Secuiesc
7 3MF Barna Vékás (1994-08-12)12 August 1994 (aged 24) 6 5 Romanian Football Federation AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
8 3MF Csaba Dézsi (1989-12-13)13 December 1989 (aged 29) 4 0 Romanian Football Federation AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
9 4FW Ákos Kovács (1983-03-22)22 March 1983 (aged 36) 8 1 Romanian Football Federation AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
10 3MF Mozes Peter (1984-12-30)30 December 1984 (aged 34) 8 2 Romanian Football Federation AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
11 4FW Szilárd Magyari (1998-05-20)20 May 1998 (aged 21) 9 6 Romanian Football Federation FK Miercurea Ciuc
12 1GK Attila Farkas (1999-03-22)22 March 1999 (aged 20) 0 0 Romanian Football Federation KSE Târgu Secuiesc
13 4FW Attila Lazar (1989-07-10)10 July 1989 (aged 29) 0 0 Romanian Football Federation Baróti VSC
14 2DF Árpád Rózsa (1989-06-18)18 June 1989 (aged 29) 15 0 Free agent
15 2DF Norbert Benkő-Bíró (1992-10-08)8 October 1992 (aged 26) 14 1 Hungarian Football Federation Salgótarjáni BTC
16 3MF Tankó Előd (1995-07-13)13 July 1995 (aged 23) 0 0 Romanian Football Federation AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
17 4FW Barna Bajkó (1984-05-16)16 May 1984 (aged 35) 13 10 Romanian Football Federation FK Miercurea Ciuc
18 3MF József Gazda (1982-10-26)26 October 1982 (aged 36) 14 0 Romanian Football Federation KSE Târgu Secuiesc
19 3MF Botond Kovács (1996-09-10)10 September 1996 (aged 22) 0 0 Hungarian Football Federation Szolnoki MÁV FC
20 3MF Attila Gall (1996-06-02)2 June 1996 (aged 22) 0 0 Romanian Football Federation KSE Târgu Secuiesc
21 3MF Gothard Gajdo (1991-07-17)17 July 1991 (aged 27) 0 0 Romanian Football Federation KSE Târgu Secuiesc
22 4FW Rajmond Bálint (1993-12-08)8 December 1993 (aged 25) 1 0 Romanian Football Federation AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
23 4FW Norbert János (1998-05-30)30 May 1998 (aged 21) 0 0 Romanian Football Federation FC Universitatea Cluj

Notable former players

The footballers enlisted below have played for Székely Land at least at one ConIFA World Football Cup or ConIFA European Football Cup and have had played at the top level.

Managers

The following managers have been the head coach of Székely Land at least at one ConIFA World Football Cup or ConIFA European Football Cup.

Honours

Non-FIFA competitions

References

  1. ^ Hendicott, James (2019). CONIFA: Football for the Forgotten. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-0-244-17363-0 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "Székely Land". CONIFA. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  3. ^ Aronszabo84 (14 May 2020). "Short history of the Székelyland FA". RiotingFootball. riotingfootball.info.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b Zátyi, Tibor (25 April 2014). "Világbajnokságra készül a székelyföldi fociválogatott". www.kronika.ro. Krónikaonline.
  5. ^ a b European Football Cup 2019 Squad Lists ConIFA. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d Zátyi, Tibor (31 May 2017). "Ilyés Róbert edző-játékossal készül az Eb-re a székely válogatott" [The Székely Land team prepares for the EC with player-manager Ilyés Róbert]. SzekelySport (in Hungarian). Romania. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h World Football Cup 2018 Squad Lists ConIFA. Retrieved 6 December 2020.