September 24 – Corsica wants to become the latest country to join FIFA citing the case of Gibraltar as evidence that it has a right to become an independent footballing nation.
Last Friday the Assembly of Corsica adopted a motion requesting the membership of the island though the request must first receive the approval of the French Football Federation.
Similar requests from other French-speaking regions like Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique or St. Martin have been refused in the past.
Corsica cited FIFA statutes which state that “with the authorisation of the member association of the country on which it depends, an association of a region that has not yet obtained independence can also apply for admission to FIFA”.
The motion cited the fact that a Corsican team has existed “for almost 50 years now” but its chances of success already seem doomed.
Noel Le Graët, president of the French federation, commented: “There is nothing to discuss from our end. Our position is clear. Corsica is a French department. I would not advise the president of the Brittany region to go to see FIFA. Nor to the president of the Normandy region. There is no difference for me between the French departments. So it’s a question that does not get an answer.”
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