At one stage, the Cascadia Association Football Federation (CAFF) were a relative heavyweight amongst CONIFA’s eclectic mix of spirited members. Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Cascadia were arguably the flagship association of the organisation’s North, Central America and Caribbean region. The ‘Dougs’ reached the peak of their powers during the hugely successful 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, boasting a sizeable fan base, a high-quality playing and coaching roster, and an extensive list of active sponsors. Recently, the Washington-based outfit has seen its profile and popularity significantly diminish, with numerous factors serving to undermine the association’s progress.
However, hope is on the horizon. Cascadia now have the opportunity to reinvigorate their fortunes, as they attempt to ride the crest of a revolutionary wave initiated by a somewhat unlikely figure.
Sowing the seeds of change
In years to come, CONIFA may reflect on the appointment of Shaun Harris as a landmark moment in the organisation’s short and rather turbulent history. The freshly installed president of the North, Central America, and Caribbean region has laid out a compelling vision for the future, hoping to transform an ailing confederation into CONIFA’s strongest continental competitor.
Although he’s seamlessly transitioned into his new role, the nature of Harris’ footballing background hardly resonates with the minnow associations, tiny venues, and voluntary contributors associated with CONIFA’s inspiring grassroots movement. Having held senior positions at several elite-level clubs and served as a technical analyst for UEFA, the Los Angeles native has cultivated his considerable experience in an entirely different footballing realm. However, he now intends to leverage his extensive network, leadership capabilities, and scouting expertise to revolutionise CONIFA’s Pan-American landscape.
Although its rich tapestry of various cultural identities, indigenous nations, and sweeping diasporas provides fertile ground for an organisation committed to offering a platform for under-represented groups, CONIFA has consistently struggled to make its mark in North America. In his bid to reverse this trend, Harris—who spent two years on the coaching staff of MLS stalwarts LA Galaxy—has concocted an ambitious three-point plan. Seeking to close the performance gap between his region and CONIFA’s European and Asian confederations, Harris will look to grow North America’s membership base and introduce a dynamic youth development programme.
However, his first priority is to improve the outputs of the region’s four incumbent associations: Kiskeya, Kuskatan, ANBM, and Cascadia. Whilst Kiskeya and Kuskatan—who hail from the Caribbean island of Hispaniola and the Central American state of El Salvador respectively—are never likely to become major players, ANBM and Cascadia have the potential to emerge as two of CONIFA’s most-influential associations. Mexican organisation ANBM have made impressive strides over the last half decade, establishing the first CONIFA-sanctioned domestic league before being selected to represent the North, Central America, and Caribbean region at the long-awaited 2024 Football World Cup (a tournament that was later cancelled after hosts Kurdistan were unable to allay security concerns cited by several participating associations).
Is it now Cascadia’s turn to step into the limelight?
“We have a plan that will enable more people to be involved in soccer across North and Central America,” remarked Harris during an interview with U.S media outlet RG. “As well as growing our membership base, we want to substantially develop our existing associations. Our ultimate goal is to compete with our European counterparts.”
To achieve this challenging objective, Harris will surely need the support of what should be his most prestigious association. Can this latent force be sparked into life?
Cascadia: A perfect platform for local pride
Straddling the Fraser and Columbia watersheds and encompassing a vast strip of land along North America’s western coastline, the bioregion of Cascadia assumes an elevated geopolitical status. Respected American scholar Professor David McCloskey was the first to describe this part of the world as ‘Cascadia’ in 1970, with the phraseology rapidly gaining traction over the course of the last half century. It’s a term now synonymous with economic affluence, environmental importance, and political muscle.
The financial powerhouses of Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland are the backbone of an immensely prosperous economy, generating a greater GDP than the likes of Australia and Brazil. Initiatives such as the Cascadia High-Speed Rail network and the Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER)—a para-diplomatic agency dedicated to supporting local businesses—has further boosted Cascadia’s fiscal strength.
With a population of over 17 million inhabitants, the bioregion also naturally holds significant political clout. Its territorial reach touches traditionally hardline Republican and Democrat states, and therefore perfectly encapsulates the polarised views of the wider American electorate. Despite the increasingly divisive nature of the national political theatre, the recent establishment and subsequent relative popularity of the Cascadia Bioregional Party (which advocates full-scale independence and therefore secession from the United States and Canada), suggests that there’s plenty that unites the Cascadian people.
Stretching from Alaska’s Copper River Basin in the north to the Californian settlement of Cape Mendocino in the south, and expanding as far east as the Yellowstone Caldera on the border of Wyoming and Montana, Cascadia would be the world’s 20th largest country if the secessionists got their way. Within this colossal surface area, an endless array of flora and fauna spread across desert, agricultural, and urban terrains, creating one of the planet’s most diverse ecosystems.
Against this backdrop of increasing economic, political, and social autonomy and emboldened by the beauty of their surroundings, Cascadians have developed a unique local identity that serves to distinguish them from their American and Canadian compatriots. This sense of separatism provided a mandate—and more importantly a desire—to establish a nascent Cascadian ‘national’ side.
The march to London
Despite fielding a team for the very first time at the aforementioned 2018 World Football Cup, the idea of a Cascadian representative team had been mooted a good while prior. Shortly after local ‘soccer’ enthusiasts began to discuss the possibility of creating a native outfit, manufacturing powerhouses Adidas capitalised on the growing hysteria across the region and developed a concept Cascadia playing kit. More familiar with designing apparel for the likes of Manchester United, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid, Adidas’ involvement perhaps illustrates the enormous scale of Cascadia’s potential. The blue, green, and white jersey proved to be an instant smash hit, as fans of the region’s three MLS members hoovered up a novel piece of footballing merchandise.
The momentum continued when the Cascadia Trifecta Soccer Group, a union of Vancouver Whitecaps, Seattle Sounders, and Portland Timbers fans, began to formalise plans for a semi-professional football association. After being granted CONIFA membership in the summer of 2014 and subsequently launching a global scouting mission to find talented players of local origin, Cascadia began to mobilise for their first taste of competitive action. It was worth the wait.
Heading to London with a squad composed mainly of footballers plying their trade in the lower echelons of the English, Scottish, and American footballing pyramids, Cascadia put on a respectable showing at the third edition of CONIFA’s most prestigious ‘international’ competition. After succumbing to Ellan Vannin in the tournament opener, Cascadia narrowly defeated hosts Barawa (who represent England’s Somali diaspora) to set up an intriguing final round of fixtures. A six-goal thumping of Sri Lankans’ Tamil Eelam was enough to edge Ellan Vannin to second place in Group A, as James Nichols’ men progressed to the quarter-final stage.
Despite a late goal from Kitsap Pumas centre-forward Hamza Haddadi, the Dougs were unable to prevent Kárpátalja from emerging victorious at Sutton United’s Gander Green Lane. Although Cascadia were understandably disappointed to be eliminated in the last eight, a sense of pride in their performances was only strengthened when Kárpátalja, a team established by the Hungarian minority in Ukraine’s Zakarpattia Oblast, were crowned tournament winners after overcoming Northern Cyprus in a nerve-shredding penalty shootout.
The World Football Cup’s placement round format resulted in the Cascadians negotiating a further two fixtures, as all participants other than the semi-final quartet battled for final rankings. After a convincing 4-0 win over Western Armenia, Cascadia were narrowly defeated on penalties by 2016 runners-up Panjab, with Elgin City striker Calum Ferguson grabbing a brace in both contests. Their reward for an impressive debut display was an immensely respectable sixth-placed finish, with CONIFA veterans Padania the only team to score more goals than the North Americans throughout the course of the tournament.
Obstacles and apathy
A little less than a year after their heroics in the English capital, Cascadia travelled back across the Atlantic to face the UK-based Chagos Islands in a friendly clash. The visitors would run-out 6-3 winners in Surrey, albeit against a side who had only defeated one of their last nine opponents. Victory over the Chagossians was followed-up by an 8-1 rout of Darfur, as hat-tricks from the aforementioned Haddadi and Tyler Bjork ensured Cascadia secured the spoils in their first-ever outing on home turf. However, this was as good as it got.
The onset of the coronavirus pandemic caused major disruption in professional sporting circles, but it was a hammer blow to CONIFA’s spirited band of volunteer associations. Being unable to supersede strict social distancing and international travel policies and losing out on charitable donations amidst an environment of global financial fragility had a debilitating impact on the operational capability of amateur teams. As the association were forced to navigate a lengthy two-year hiatus, Cascadia were one such casualty.
Once restrictions were lifted and the world slowly returned to a state of normalcy, the North Americans would make their eighth and, to press, most recent appearance on English soil, meeting Kernow (the Cornish phrase for the county of Cornwall) in north-west London. A sobering loss was to follow as Cascadia were beaten by the same scoreline they had inflicted on Darfur in their previous outing. Although Kernow are widely recognised as one of CONIFA’s strongest sides, the manner of the defeat was certainly an eye-opener and perhaps a sign of the association’s negative trajectory.
Since that capitulation at Northwood Park in May 2021, CAFF have failed to organise a single fixture. Although regional neighbours Kiskeya and Kuskatan have found fielding teams a challenge, Cascadia have an ideal opponent in Mexico-City-based ANBM. Despite their selection to host the inaugural (but subsequently cancelled) North America Football Cup and being a highly-active CONIFA member, ANBM have never met their biggest continental adversaries in either a friendly or competitive fixture. The absence of a meeting between the region’s two ‘superpowers’ (I use this phrase euphemistically) demonstrates the level of apathy that has infiltrated the Cascadia project, rather than any profligacy on ANBM’s part.
Nevertheless, change is afoot.
Returning optimism
Having spent over three years in the competitive wilderness, Harris’ timely introduction is likely to prevent Cascadia from drifting further towards footballing obscurity. Whilst he has plenty of issues to address, the former Everton Academy coach sees resuscitating one of the region’s fallen giants as a matter of urgent importance.
With the pending inception of a first-ever Canada-based CONIFA member and plans in place to enrol a sixth North American association in early 2025, the opening months of Harris’ tenure have certainly been productive. And yet the future performance of Cascadia may yet prove to be the most accurate barometer of success. If he can tap into the energy and passion that once pervaded the Cascadian soccer scene, Harris will have taken a major step towards achieving his overarching regional objectives. If it is to enhance its status within CONIFA’s continental framework, the North, Central America, and Caribbean Confederation needs a strong Cascadia.
Not everyone gets a second shot at glory—Cascadia must seize the moment, and not let this chance for redemption pass them by.
