The 2019 Atlantic Heritage Cup is the first edition of the Atlantic Heritage Cup, and acts as a qualification tournament for the 2020 CONIFA World Football Cup in Skopje, North Macedonia. Yorkshire were announced as hosts in March 2019,[1] with Parishes of Jersey, Ellan Vannin and Kernow also originally set to participate. All 4 teams are either part of the United Kingdom, or are Crown dependencies. However, Ellan Vannin and Kernow both pulled out for undisclosed reasons, being replaced by Chagos Islands and reducing the tournament to a 3 team format.[2]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  Yorkshire |
| Dates | 1 June – TBC 2019 |
| Teams | 3 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 2 |
| Goals scored | 12 (6 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Tom Harris Kieran Lester(3 goals) |
Format edit
The tournament is a round-robin, with each team playing each other once. This means a total of 3 games to be played over 3 days, at two stadiums (Ingfield Stadium, the home of Ossett United, and the CNG Stadium, home of Harrogate Town. The winner was due to be offered a place at the 2020 CONIFA World Football Cup, which in the event was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Standings edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parishes of Jersey
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 3 |
| 2 | Yorkshire (H)
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| 3 |  Chagos Islands
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored;
(H) Hosts
All times are local.
Results edit
| Yorkshire | 1–0 | Parishes of Jersey |
|---|---|---|
Litchfield  90+3' |
| Parishes of Jersey | 9–2 | Chagos Islands |
|---|---|---|
| Lester 5', 26', 41' Hinds 7', 71'Harris 52', 61', 67'Watson 89' |
Leelah 19', 21' |
| Chagos Islands | v | Yorkshire |
|---|---|---|
Top scorers edit
- 3 goals
Tom Harris- Kieran Lester
- 2 goals
Steven Leelah- Karl Hinds
- 1 goal
- Luke Watson
Brodie Litchfield
Controversy edit
The decision by CONIFA to host the 2020 World Football Cup in Somaliland was met with criticism by some, with James Scott, the president of Parishes of Jersey FC, telling the Jersey Evening Post that he would not accept the place at the final tournament if his side won the Atlantic Heritage Cup.[3] The comments were met with a backlash from CONIFA, who criticised inaccurate reporting and defended the decision to host the World Football Cup in Somaliland.[4] The hosting of the 2020 World Football Cup was later transferred to Skopje, North Macedonia, with Parishes of Jersey and Chagos Islands due to participate, [5] before the event was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. [6]
References edit
- ^ The Atlantic Heritage Cup is coming to Yorkshire this summer Archived 10 May 2019 at archive.today ConIFA. 14 April 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
- ^ Revised AHC schedule Yorks IFA. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
- ^ Somaliland setback for PoJ FC Jersey Evening Post. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
- ^ CONIFA Statement Regarding Jersey Evening Post Article Archived 11 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine CONIFA. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
- ^ The 16 teams going to the 2020 CONIFA sportsbet.io World Football Cup 2020 - revealed! CONIFA. 4 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- ^ [1] BBC Sport. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2021.