Book of the Week: Outcasts! The Lands That Fifa Forgot, by Steve Menary

Here is the result of the football World Cup final: Sapmi 21, Monaco 0. The 2007 Viva World Cup, that is, a tournament devised for nations not recognised by the sport's world governing body. For although Fifa have 207 members, their rules exclude scores of territories and ethnic groups such as Sapmi, also known as Lapland. Sadly, after political wrangles and financial problems, the 2007 event ended with only three participants: the third, Occitania, comprises a swathe of southern France and parts of the Italian Alps and Catalonia. Steve Menary travelled the globe to meet the dispossessed, and his lively, informative book con- cludes that while organisations such as the Non Fifa Board are doing their best, there is a long way to go before any meaningful Non Fifa competition is staged. Perhaps divine inspiration is needed, in which case look no further than the Vatican, whose Clericus Cup features clergymen from over 50 countries, including a goalkeeper named Jesus.

Published by Know The Score Books in hardback, 16.99