Yorkshire already has the world’s oldest independent football club – Sheffield FC – and now the historic county has its own international team.
The Yorkshire International Football Association (YIFA) is staging trials for players on Sunday for those who fancy playing for the White Rose county.
Yorkshire-born players are now being sought by the team. Over the years there’s been no shortage of those, among them Doncaster-born Kevin Keegan, Rotherham lad David Seaman, Sheffield-born Gordon Banks and not forgetting Huddersfield’s own Andy Booth, Trevor Cherry and Cameron Jerome.
The plan is for Yorkshire to compete against teams which haven’t been given membership of Fifa, so possible future fixtures could include Tibet, Greenland, Darfur, Kiribati, Zanzibar, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Open trials are taking place at Hemsworth Miners Welfare FC on Wakefield Road at Fitzwilliam, Pontefract, between noon and 6pm on Sunday December 10.
A game has already been pencilled in for January against the Isle of Man’s team, Ellan Vannin.
A spokesman for YIFA said one of the main objectives was to raise the profile of Yorkshire.
“Yorkshire is already known to many people throughout the world.
“We want to build on that awareness and help Yorkshire become an internationally renowned region to visit, invest in and to watch attractive, passionate football.”
The spokesman added: “We are determined to bring together quality players, coaches and backroom staff to make YIFA a serious contender on the world stage.”
The aim is to be recognised by the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (Conifa) to enable Yorkshire to compete in the Conifa Euros and World Football Cup.
In the meantime YIFA has launched an appeal on the Crowdfunder website for £20,000 to pay for marketing, kit, scouting expenses, travel and facility hire. More than £3,300 has been donated to date from 33 backers.
Last month YIFA appointed Ryan Farrell, who works at Bradford City’s academy, as head coach. Former Ossett Albion player Micky Long also joined as team coach.
* To make a donation visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/the-yorkshire-international-football-team/
