North Antarctica national football team
- Not to be confused with the North Antarctic Domain national football team.
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| Nickname(s) | The Napians |
|---|---|
| Association | NAFA |
| FMF member | 2011–20 |
| Confederation |
AEFA (2011–14) CTFA (2014–20) |
| Home stadium | Napian National Stadium |
| FMF code | NAP |
| First FMF intermicronational | |
North Antarctica  2–4  Mercury | |
| Biggest win | |
North Antarctica 7–0  Lucerne | |
| Biggest defeat | |
Passas  6–1  North Antarctica | |
| FMF World Cup | |
| Appearances | 4 (first in 2013) |
| Best result | Quarter-finals |
| CiboTap Championships | |
| Appearances | 2 (first in 2018) |
| Best result | Third place |
| Copa Apollonia | |
| Appearances | 3 (first in 2012) |
| Best result | Runners-up |
The North Antarctica national football team was the football team which most recently represented the Mercurian autonomous territory of North Antarctica, and previously represented the Haifan autonomous territory and independent nation of the same name. It was a member of the CTFA, after originally being affiliated to the AEFA, and was run by the NAFA. The team is the official predecessor of Castilona.
History
The team was founded in late 2011 after North Antarctica's Micrasian claim was successful. Prior to the following year's World Cup qualifying, the team placed second at the first ever Four Nations Internationals, losing to Mercury in the final over two legs. In the qualifiers, the team finished second in their four-team group with eleven points, behind Novatainia and above Babkha on goal difference, to reach the inaugural Copa Apollonia, which North Antarctica won the rights to host. Soon afterwards, the team competed in the inaugural Zeeburg Tournaments, where they finished fifth on goal difference with ten points, using an experimental side. Later in the year, the team competed in the Copa Apollonia, advancing from their group before losing to Mahoz HaSephardim in the semi-final and being beaten by Hurmu in extra time in the third-place play-off.
In 2013's qualifiers, the team improved and topped their group unbeaten with 18 points to reach both their first World Cup and second Copa Apollonia. In the Copa Apollonia, the team finished third in their four-team group with four points, missing-out on a semi-final place on goals scored to hosts Senya. In the World Cup, the team advanced from their group in second place with six points, before being beaten on penalties by Craitland in the quarter-finals.
North Antarctica was annexed by Haifa in early 2014, prior to the year's qualifiers, and maintained its separate FMF membership. In qualifying, the team topped their group with 25 points to reach their second World Cup finals. The team also qualified for the 2014 Copa Apollonia, where they topped their group unbeaten and beat Safiria in the semi-finals, before losing 1–0 to hosts Gerenia in the final. In the World Cup, the team finished third in their group with two draws to their name, above hosts Indokistan by a point. Soon afterwards, North Antarctica switched its allegiance to the CTFA confederation before being annexed by Mercury in early 2015.
In 2015's qualifiers, the team struggled but finished top of their five-team group unbeaten with twelve points, ahead of Calbion on goal difference, and reached the 2015 FMF World Cup. In the finals, the team finished third in their group with five points and advanced to the play-off round, where they were narrowly beaten 1–0 by Gerenia.
The qualifying rounds for CiboTap 2016 saw the team finish second in their five-team group with eleven points to advance to the play-offs, where they were beaten on away goals after a 2–2 aggregate draw with Greater Sangun.
North Antarctica's misfortune continued into the 2017 World Cup qualifiers, where they could only finish third in their four-team group with seven points.
After winning the hosting rights to CiboTap 2018, North Antarctica qualified automatically and instead participated in the 2018 FMF Confederations Cup, where they finished bottom of their group with four points. At CiboTap 2018, the team advanced from their four-team group with six points before losing to Birgeshir 1–0 in the semi-finals, but beat Natopia 3–1 to secure third place.
The team's form continued into the 2019 World Cup qualifiers, where they topped their five-team group with 17 points and advanced to a fourth World Cup finals. The team were less successful in the finals, finishing bottom of their group with no points after losing all four of their matches.
In the following year's CiboTap qualifiers, the team topped their four-team group unbeaten with 16 points and qualified for the finals. At CiboTap, the team finished second in their group with six points to advance to the semi-finals, where they lost 4–3 to Natopia before being beaten 2–0 by Zandarijn to place fourth. North Antarctica was succeeded by Castilona shortly afterwards.
Chronological competitive participation
- 2012 Four Nations Internationals
- 2012 FMF World Cup qualification
- 2012 Zeeburg Tournaments
- 2012 Copa Apollonia (hosts)
- 2013 FMF World Cup qualification
- 2013 Copa Apollonia
- 2013 FMF World Cup
- 2014 FMF World Cup qualification
- 2014 Copa Apollonia
- 2014 FMF World Cup
- 2015 FMF World Cup qualification
- 2015 FMF World Cup
- 2016 CiboTap Championships qualification
- 2017 FMF World Cup qualification
- 2018 FMF Confederations Cup
- 2018 CiboTap Championships (hosts)
- 2019 FMF World Cup qualification
- 2019 FMF World Cup
- 2020 CiboTap Championships qualification
- 2020 CiboTap Championships
Honours
- Four Nations Internationals: 0
- 2012 – Runners-up
Flag
North Antarctica used the following flags during its FMF affiliation:
| 2011–15 | 2015–20 |
|---|---|
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See also
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