Somebody got an amazing chance to watch their first football 'World Cup Final' recently, in Hong Kong! A World Cup Final with a difference of course as this is the Unofficial Football World Championship which is totally separate from the 4 yearly World Cup. The Unofficial Football World Championship operates on a simple system - a bit like Boxing - if you beat the reigning champion you take the title of them and become the winner! Believe it or not, this dates back to the England versus Scotland match in 1872 and each match since then that has involved the 'world champion' has been labelled as a World Title Match!! England were the first winners of the 'trophy'. There is a full table and league system for the UFWC (Scotland are currently far ahead). Have a go at working out the system, but basically a team gets 1 point for a win when they play a World Champions Match and zero for a draw. Only international matches involving the current champion count.
As a football obsessive, you will love the idea of this competition as a wacky alternative to the more Official FIFA World Cup. However until recently someone didn't get the chance to see a live UFWC match. But following Australia's draw with North Korea, this meant that the recent Hong Kong v North Korea match would be an unofficial World Cup Final.
So now I could go to an actual Unofficial World Cup Final - living currently in Hong Kong made it possible!
I was like a kid - all excited - check out the photo of my match ticket and you'll see what a ticket to the Unofficial World Cup Final looks like! A collector's item (at least for me!).
I headed over to Hong Kong Stadium on HK Island for the match - I went with 3 others and it was a fun day out. The price to get in was 80 HKD (basically 6.40 UK and $10.30 USD). The views inside and around the stadium are immense. Skyscrapers and hills almost hide the sky on you!
Hong Kong does views immensely well. Hills and skyscrapers are everywhere and the city 'looks good'. At Hong Kong Stadium you have great views all around and from inside.
But it was the football that we came for and despite Hong Kong holding out for the first half hour or so, they soon conceded 3 to give North Korea full control. Hong Kong did have some running and ideas in them but ultimately lacked skill and strength. In the second half North Korea added one more goal, to make the final score 4-0 and maintain the title of unofficial World Champions for North Korea.
North Korea looked a good side and worthy of their title as Unofficial World Champions but they still lost out to Australia in their place in the East Asian Cup Finals as the Aussies later hammered Taiwan (called Chinese Taipei for political reasons) 8-0!
I met up with a few North Korea fans, an unusual occurance and I spoke at length to one of them to understand why and how they support North Korea. Interesting and perhaps a story for another day on Don't Stop Living!
You might wonder where the photo of the trophy is and why there isn't one of North Korea lifting it. It's a virtual trophy let's just say - remember these are the unofficial football World Championships!
And while I'm at it - if you know me, you'll know I come from Northern Ireland - I hope we can win the UFWC again - Northern Ireland are 5 times winners and 29th in the all time rankings. I'm looking forward to attending another UFWC title match someday!
As a football obsessive, you will love the idea of this competition as a wacky alternative to the more Official FIFA World Cup. However until recently someone didn't get the chance to see a live UFWC match. But following Australia's draw with North Korea, this meant that the recent Hong Kong v North Korea match would be an unofficial World Cup Final.
So now I could go to an actual Unofficial World Cup Final - living currently in Hong Kong made it possible!
I was like a kid - all excited - check out the photo of my match ticket and you'll see what a ticket to the Unofficial World Cup Final looks like! A collector's item (at least for me!).
I headed over to Hong Kong Stadium on HK Island for the match - I went with 3 others and it was a fun day out. The price to get in was 80 HKD (basically 6.40 UK and $10.30 USD). The views inside and around the stadium are immense. Skyscrapers and hills almost hide the sky on you!
Hong Kong does views immensely well. Hills and skyscrapers are everywhere and the city 'looks good'. At Hong Kong Stadium you have great views all around and from inside.
But it was the football that we came for and despite Hong Kong holding out for the first half hour or so, they soon conceded 3 to give North Korea full control. Hong Kong did have some running and ideas in them but ultimately lacked skill and strength. In the second half North Korea added one more goal, to make the final score 4-0 and maintain the title of unofficial World Champions for North Korea.
North Korea looked a good side and worthy of their title as Unofficial World Champions but they still lost out to Australia in their place in the East Asian Cup Finals as the Aussies later hammered Taiwan (called Chinese Taipei for political reasons) 8-0!
I met up with a few North Korea fans, an unusual occurance and I spoke at length to one of them to understand why and how they support North Korea. Interesting and perhaps a story for another day on Don't Stop Living!
You might wonder where the photo of the trophy is and why there isn't one of North Korea lifting it. It's a virtual trophy let's just say - remember these are the unofficial football World Championships!
And while I'm at it - if you know me, you'll know I come from Northern Ireland - I hope we can win the UFWC again - Northern Ireland are 5 times winners and 29th in the all time rankings. I'm looking forward to attending another UFWC title match someday!
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