Székely Land football team
 | ||
| Nickname(s) | Székelyek | |
|---|---|---|
| Association | Székelyföld Labdarugó Egyesület (SZFE) | |
| Confederation | ConIFA | |
| Head coach | József Gazda | |
| ||
| 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 | ||
| Appearances | CONIFA World Football Cup | |
| Best result | 4th 2018 | |
| Appearances | CONIFA European Football Cup | |
| Best result | 3rd 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
[edit]The Székelyföld Labdarugó Egyesület is the football association of Székely Land.[3]
History
[edit]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. After the N.F.-Board became defunct later the same year, the Székelyföld Labdarugó Egyesület became 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
[edit]ConIFA World Football Cup record
[edit]| Year | Position | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 2014 |
did not enter | ||||||
 2016 |
9th place | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 7 |
 2018 |
4th place | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 7 |
 2024 |
Qualified | ||||||
| Total | 0 titles | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 33 | 14 |
ConIFA European Football Cup record
[edit]| Year | Position | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 2015 |
6th place | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
 2017 |
3rd place | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 7 |
 2019 |
8th place | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 16 |
 2021 |
TBC | ||||||
| Total | 0 titles | 13 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 19 | 33 |
Current squad
[edit]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 | GK | Levente Mihok | 27 May 1982 (aged 37) | 0 | 0 |  ACS Olimpic Cetate Râșnov
|
| 2 | DF | Hunor Ghinea | 24 February 1999 (aged 20) | 0 | 0 | KSE Târgu Secuiesc
|
| 3 | DF | Robert Oprea | 10 June 1988 (aged 30) | 4 | 0 | SK Nyárádszereda
|
| 4 | DF | Norbert Lazar | 27 April 1989 (aged 30) | 0 | 0 | Baróti VSC
|
| 5 | MF | István Hadnagy | 19 September 1996 (aged 22) | 4 | 1 | Malomfalvi Fiatalság
|
| 6 | MF | Norbert-Cristian Albu | 1 November 1996 (aged 22) | 0 | 0 | KSE Târgu Secuiesc
|
| 7 | MF | Barna Vékás | 12 August 1994 (aged 24) | 6 | 5 | AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
|
| 8 | MF | Csaba Dézsi | 13 December 1989 (aged 29) | 4 | 0 | AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
|
| 9 | FW | Ákos Kovács | 22 March 1983 (aged 36) | 8 | 1 | AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
|
| 10 | MF | Mozes Peter | 30 December 1984 (aged 34) | 8 | 2 | AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
|
| 11 | FW | Szilárd Magyari | 20 May 1998 (aged 21) | 9 | 6 | FK Miercurea Ciuc
|
| 12 | GK | Attila Farkas | 22 March 1999 (aged 20) | 0 | 0 | KSE Târgu Secuiesc
|
| 13 | FW | Attila Lazar | 10 July 1989 (aged 29) | 0 | 0 | Baróti VSC
|
| 14 | DF | Árpád Rózsa | 18 June 1989 (aged 29) | 15 | 0 | Free agent |
| 15 | DF | Norbert Benkő-Bíró | 8 October 1992 (aged 26) | 14 | 1 | Salgótarjáni BTC
|
| 16 | MF | Tankó Előd | 13 July 1995 (aged 23) | 0 | 0 | AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
|
| 17 | FW | Barna Bajkó | 16 May 1984 (aged 35) | 13 | 10 | FK Miercurea Ciuc
|
| 18 | MF | József Gazda | 26 October 1982 (aged 36) | 14 | 0 | KSE Târgu Secuiesc
|
| 19 | MF | Botond Kovács | 10 September 1996 (aged 22) | 0 | 0 | Szolnoki MÁV FC
|
| 20 | MF | Attila Gall | 2 June 1996 (aged 22) | 0 | 0 | KSE Târgu Secuiesc
|
| 21 | MF | Gothard Gajdo | 17 July 1991 (aged 27) | 0 | 0 | KSE Târgu Secuiesc
|
| 22 | FW | Rajmond Bálint | 8 December 1993 (aged 25) | 1 | 0 | AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc
|
| 23 | FW | Norbert János | 30 May 1998 (aged 21) | 0 | 0 | FC Universitatea Cluj
|
Notable former players
[edit]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
[edit]The following managers have been the head coach of Székely Land at least at one ConIFA World Football Cup or ConIFA European Football Cup.
- Róbert Ilyés[6][7]
- József Gazda[5]
- Zoltán Jakab[4]
Honours
[edit]Non-FIFA competitions
[edit]- CONIFA European Football Cup
- Third place (1): 2017
References
[edit]- ^ Hendicott, James (2019). CONIFA: Football for the Forgotten. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-0-244-17363-0 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Székely Land". CONIFA. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
- ^ "Short history of the Székelyland FA". riotingfootball.info.
- ^ a b Zátyi, Tibor (25 April 2014). "Világbajnokságra készül a székelyföldi fociválogatott". www.kronika.ro. Krónikaonline.
- ^ a b European Football Cup 2019 Squad Lists ConIFA. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e f g h World Football Cup 2018 Squad Lists ConIFA. Retrieved 6 December 2020.