One of the most commented-upon entries on Runner-Up is the one on the Viva World Cup, an event for countries currently without representation with FIFA.There have been some issues getting the tournament up and running, and one commenter has helpfully pointed out that there is another tournament established called the ELF Cup. It’s being held from November 18-25 (ie. it’s going on right now) in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and features eight teams, including the host country along with Tibet, Greenland, Crimea, Gagauzia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Zanzibar.

The Wikipedia entry has some good information on the controversy surrounding the tournament.

The original Viva World Cup 2006 is also taking place this week, in Occitania in the south of France, but with only four teams, 12 fewer than originally hoped. Financial and logistical problems plague many of the teams, and the infighting between the NF-Board (sponsor of the Viva World Cup) and the KTFF (sponsor of the ELF Cup) hasn’t made it any easier for these teams to play each other. Let’s hope that they can patch things up so that the next tournament will have a full complement of teams.