International Socca Federation

The International Socca Federation (ISF) is an organization which sets up the Socca World Cup. It is a governing body for amateur^[1] six-a-side football.

International Socca Federation

Abbreviation	ISF
Formation	2017; 7 years ago (2017) / 62 Nation Member in 2023
Founded at	Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
Headquarters	Birmingham, United Kingdom
Region	Worldwide
Official language	English
Honorary vice president	Tim Ollerenshaw
Honorary Vice President	Shahzeb Mehmood Trunkwala
CEO	Thanos Papadopoulos
Head of sponsorship	Christoph Köchy
Affiliations	Leisure Leagues (some members)
Website	soccafederation.com

Any national organisation which runs 5, 6, 7 or 8-a-side football leagues is eligible to join ISF. ^[2]

History

Formation

The ISF was formed in late 2017 by small-sided football teams across Europe and the rest of the world. It was launched at a ceremony in Birmingham in February 2018, with guests of honour including World Cup and EURO referee Mark Clattenburg.^[3][4] 51 countries invited to the launch.^[5]

Eligibility criteria are minimal. Anyone who wants to run a national 6-a-side team in their country can register with the ISF if no such team already exists, subject to an approval process.^[6]

Governance

The governance structure announced involves a number of top figures from the Socca world. Pakistani businessman Shahzeb Mehmood Trunkwala of World Group^[7] was elected as Honorary Vice President, along with English solicitor and charity founder Tim Ollerenshaw.^[8]

Greek businessman Thanos Papadopoulos^[9] took over as CEO, and German events mogul Christoph Köchy^[10] became Head Of Sponsorship.^[11] Stuart Winton, a socca referee, was appointed tournament director.^[12][13]

Ambassadors

Popular football figures were signed on to be ambassadors, led by Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldinho, who has played in socca exhibition games in Pakistan in summer 2017.^[14][15] Other players that signed up to be ambassadors included Robert Pires and Ryan Giggs.^[16]

Members

62 nations sorted by 2023 full men ranking: ^[17]

Asia (11)   China   Oman   Pakistan   India   Syria   Kuwait   Saudi Arabia   Iran   Qatar   Bahrain   Iraq

Africa (9)   Egypt   Morocco   Mauritius   Tunisia   Nigeria   Algeria   Libya   Cape Verde   Angola

Americas (11)   Brazil   Mexico   United States   Chile   Argentina   Canada   Costa Rica   Colombia   Uruguay   Peru   Paraguay

Euro (31)   Kazakhstan   Poland   Germany   Greece   Ukraine   Croatia   Slovenia   France   England   Moldova

Scotland   Russia   Bulgaria   Hungary   Belgium   Latvia   Portugal   Spain   Georgia   Cyprus   Lithuania

Romania   Italy   Ireland   Albania   Turkey   Slovakia   Luxembourg   Switzerland   Serbia   Wales

Socca World Cup

Main article: Socca World Cup

The inaugural 2018 Socca World Cup took place in Lisbon, Portugal, at the Trunkwala Stadium. It was refereed by Clattenburg.^[18][19][20] Successive World Cups were held in Rethymno, Crete^[21] (2019), Budapest, Hungary^[22] (2022), and Essen, Germany^[23] (2023).

Other leagues

Main article: Socca EuroCup

A Socca Champions League was held in October 2018 in Porec, Croatia. Dynamik Toruń from Poland emerged as champions.^[24] A second Champions League was held in Maribor, Slovenia in September 2019. Slovenian side ARKO Kljucarovci beat Dynamik Toruń 4–2 in overtime.^[25]

In 2023, The first Socca EuroCup took place in Chișinău, Moldova. Kazakhstan won 2-1 on penalties against Romania.^[26] 13 teams participated.

See also

• World Minifootball Federation
• Five-a-side football
• Seven-a-side football
• Minifootball
• Indoor soccer
• The Soccer Tournament
• Powerleague
• Freestyle football
• Street football
• Homeless World Cup
• World Cup of Masters

References

1. "International Socca Federation Rules & Regulations". Retrieved 5 June 2023.
2. https://soccafederation.com/membership-levels/
3. "Formation of 'International Socca Federation' announced - Daily Times". 6 February 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
4. "Socca Federation Meeting Hailed As A Great Success - News - Leisure Leagues". 9 February 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
5. "First International Socca Federation conference on Feb 8". Retrieved 15 May 2018.
6. "International Socca Federation - Tournaments Around The World". International Socca federation. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
7. "World Group". www.worldgroup.pk. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
8. Brown, Graeme (20 April 2017). "Mazars hosts charity tea at The Cube". Retrieved 15 May 2018.
9. "liberost". liberost. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
10. "Christoph Köchy". www.six-a-side.de. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
11. "Governance - International Socca federation". Retrieved 15 May 2018.
12. "Star Referees". www.ukminifootball.co.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
13. "Home - Star Sixes". Star Sixes. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
14. "Football: 'Ronaldinho and friends' to play exhibition matches in Pakistan - The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
15. "Team Ronaldinho beats Giggs-7 to take 1-0 series lead". Retrieved 15 May 2018.
16. "Your chance to win Ryan Giggs' shirt!". Retrieved 15 May 2018.
17. https://soccafederation.com/
18. "2018 World Cup- Portugal". soccafederation.com. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
19. "SOCCA SETS THE BAR HIGH ALL AROUND THE WORLD". soccafederation.com. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
20. "Instituto Neymar Jr on Instagram: "Olha só que legal!! O Instituto Neymar Jr. está estampando a camisa da Seleção Brasileira de Futebol de 6 no Primeiro Mundial de Mini…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
21. "Crete 2019 – old – International Socca federation".
22. "ISF WORLD CUP 2022 LOCATION ANNOUNCED – International Socca federation".
23. "It's Germany 2023! – International Socca federation".
24. "Socca Champions League 2018 Knockout Stages – International Socca federation".
25. "Socca Champions League 2019 Knockout Stages – International Socca federation".
26. "Казахстан сенсационно выиграл турнир по сокке. Что это такое?". Vesti.kz.