Far from Russia, the rival world cup kicks off in London Far from the showpiece razzmatazz of this year's World Cup in Russia, 16 teams kick off at an alternative world championship for those sidelined by the official competition. The CONIFA World Football Cup 2018, being contested at non-league grounds around London, sees the likes of Tibet and Northern Cyprus mix with southwestern Zimbabwe's Matabeleland, the Punjabi diaspora and the Abkhazia breakaway region of Georgia.