Cascadia goes to CONIFA!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 24th 2018

Cascadia unites for World Cup appearance in London.

Representing British Columbia, Oregon and Washington, the Cascadian International Team will compete at the CONIFA World Football Cup, a global soccer tournament played this summer in London.

The event, for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions not recognized by the U.N. or FIFA, lasts  from May 31 through June 10th 2018. In true world-wide fashion, it will feature teams from every inhabited continent.

“We are thrilled to be taking CONIFA to

England – the spiritual home of football,”

- CONIFA President Per-Anders Blind.

In its third contest, this year’s World Football Cup will give non-FIFA regions and nations a chance to compete on an international level. The 48 match event is being hosted by Barawa FC representing the Somalian diaspora in the British capital. With fifty million spectators anticipated in London and around the world, the event will put Cascadia on a truly global stage, with competitors representing the following flags: Abkhazia, Barawa, Cascadia, Ellan Vannin, Felvidek, Kabylia, Matabeleland, Northern Cyprus, Padania, Panjab, Székely Land, Tamil Eelam, Tibet, Tuvalu, United Koreans in Japan, Western Armenia.

The Cascadian side is being organized by the Cascadia Association Football Federation (CAFF) and will gather a team of 23 players from, or with connections to British Columbia, Oregon and Washington with Coaches and support staff to arrive in London on May 29th. In its opening matches - Cascadia is set to compete against Ellan Vannin, Tamil Eelam, and Barawa, before being set against bracket winners. Cascadia qualified for this year’s tournament off a regional qualification spot for North America and will be the only and first ever team from North America to compete in the CONIFA World Cup.  

CAFF is excited to welcome James Nichols as head coach, and Shaun Gardner as assistant coach. James comes from a university and community football background, and holds a UEFA B Coaching license. His coaching credits include Liverpool FC, Kendal Town, Penrith and Northwich Victoria. He is currently Assistant Coach at Kendal Town.  

“I am delighted to be appointed as head coach of

Cascadia and feel this is a fantastic opportunity for the

region to make an impact on the world stage.”

- James Nichols, Team Cascadia Head Coach

A preliminary roster of players will be released April 30th, with a finalized player sheet announced May 15. Potential players from the Pacific Northwest, United States, and Canada have until April 23rd to apply for play - with personal information, and passport information confirmed for flight reservations by April 30th. Sports have the power to unite people in the spirit of competition and regional pride. This year’s tournament has the potential to be a small stepping stone for the Cascadia movement by bringing soccer fans throughout our region together and upholding our regional identity.

In preparation for the championship, four official kits are being produced by Giordano/Stingz and feature three prominent chevron “peaks” raising up the jersey, evocative of the eponymous Cascade Mountains. CAFF is currently offering the designs in a pre-order fundraiser, with proceeds going to scholarships to cover the cost of team travel. Coverage of the opening game, both semi finals and the final will be provided by goal.com, and can be watched live or streamed later online. One quarter final will be fully produced and streamed on the YouTube channel, SpencerFC.

Planning for regional viewing parties is in the works with schedules to be announced on the CAFF website.

The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) is the soccer federation for all associations outside of FIFA. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Sweden, CONIFA is “a global acting non-profit organization that supports representatives of international football teams from nations, de-facto nations, regions, minority peoples and sports isolated territories.” The 2018 CONIFA World Cup will be the 3rd such event in the organization’s history.

Winter is Coming: Bundle Up and Save!

For a limited time CascadiaNow! is offering sale prices on bundles of awesome winter items! Prep for your holiday gift list, or buy yourself a prize for the season, either way it's a steal! Check out the bundles below to receive 20%-60% off on select groups of items from our merchandise page. Don't forgot to observe our Holiday Shipping Schedule to make sure you get your items before the holiday season ends!

Founding Membership a huge success!

370 contributors, 24 days, and more than $24,720! 

Together, that's more than $1000 a day, and we couldn't have dreamed for a more successful Founding Membership, or a more wonderful group of people to share it with. With matching donations from a few very generous anonymous donors, as well as our founding director Brandon Letsinger, in total this campaign raised more than $50,000.

You all are incredible!

We had no baseline, no idea what kind of support to expect, and so the absolute success of this campaign has had a huge impact. Already we have set aside $5000 directly for sponsored projects, $5000 for chapters and groups, and we're excited that with this success not only are we funded through 2016, but will be able to expand our programming support and create a brand new part time position for a much needed volunteer and outreach coordinator to help us grow this positive movement throughout the Pacific Northwest.  

For the swag, expect it in July. We have already begun creating it from our end and getting our bulk orders in, but some of this can be up to 6 weeks. Rest assured that we are working hard that all of this will be made in the US, and as much of it in the PNW as possible.  As soon as it is here, we'll start shipping, and we're trying our hardest to get it to you as fast as possible! If you ordered a t-shirt or hoodie, we will either reach out with you individually, or set up a  google form where people can list preferred sizes and colors.  

Thank you for an amazing and wonderful founding membership experience. Don't forget to shoot any and all amazing pictures, thoughts or comments right at us @cascadianow on instagram, twitter, facebook, pinterest, or email or setup a time to chat via phone! 

If any of you ever have ideas or projects somehow involving Cascadia, please just remember, our only purpose is to build an amazing, inclusive positive and kickass movement - and to support you! and all the other wonderful Cascadians out there doing amazing things. 

Thank you all so much and we look forward to working with each of you to build a positive and healthier future here in the Pacific Northwest. 

Viva Cascadia!

Press Release: CascadiaNow! Doubles Indiegogo Goal In Only 4 Days!

PRESS RELEASE

CascadiaNow! a 501(c)3, Breaks Fundraising Goal in 7 hours

Founding Membership Indiegogo generates over $11,000 with two weeks left

Cascadia, April 16, 2015:  CascadiaNow!, a positive social movement for the Pacific Northwest, launched it’s Founding Membership drive on April 8th, 2015, reaching the original goal of $5,000 in 7 hours, and $10,000 in the first four days. The  “CascadiaNow! Founding Membership” Indiegogo campaign ends on midnight, April 30th, and CN! is confident it will at least double the roughly already 172 inaugural members who have demonstrated such tremendous support for the non-profit.

Responding to the initial success of the campaign, founding director Brandon Letsinger stated:

“Cascadia is a bioregion, a social movement, and a vision for the Pacific Northwest. This campaign shows the amazing support that exists for an incredible place, organization and movement. Issues facing our region will not be solved by one voice in one room, but rather by thousands of conversations happening in rooms across the Northwest.”

On March 19th, 2015 CN! received the news that the organization was recognized by the federal government as a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, and on April 3rd, 2015, the Facebook page “CascadiaNow!” received it’s 10,000th Like. This recognition made all past and future donations to the non-profit tax deductible, as well as opened up eligibility for CN! to apply for the grant and foundation support it will use to further develop the Cascadia social movement., amplifying the reach of CN! and adding momentum to the Founding Membership drive that is now under way.

About CascadiaNow
CascadiaNow! is a positive and inclusive social movement, serving as a organizing hub to protect the things members find special about the region, and to build healthier communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. In 2014, CN! hosted its first ever Cascadia Rainingman festival, sponsored the Northwest Poetry Festival,  organized chapters in Seattle, Portland and Vancouver BC., and sent out more than 100,000 stickers in free sticker packs. The organization was featured in a wide range of publications, including Atlantic Monthly, Business Insider, Canadian Broadcasting Company, City Arts, Crosscut, Huffington Post, Humanosphere, KUOW/National Public Radio (Audio), National Journal, National Public Radio, Occupy Wall Street, Portland Mercury, Post Defiance, Seattle Globalist, Seattle Times, Slate, Swiss Public Broadcasting, USA Today, Vice,and the  Washington Post.

Primary website: http://cascadianow.org

About the Indiegogo Campaign
Support from the Founding Membership drive will directly benefit chapters, groups and projects throughout the bioregion of Cascadia that align with the CN! mission of cultivating a resilient and inclusive Pacific Northwest community. CN! provides fiscal sponsorship to Cascadian communities in order to increase the amount of resources available, connect their efforts to the funding needed to be successful, and grow the rapidly expanding Cascadia social movement.

All donations are matched by several generous individuals at least 100% (for every dollar given, it is matched by another dollar).

Founding Members will receive limited edition merchandise exclusive to the Indiegogo fundraiser, including stickers, patches, tee shirts and hoodies. These items are tied to a specific giving tier, which ranges from $10 to the $650 Sasquatch Extreme package. For those who give over $35, a personalized Founding Membership card will be included. All Founding Members will receive discounts on events hosted by CN!, as well as on merchandise sold through the CN! online store. These are a token of thanks for the generous gifts of Founding Members, as well as for their willingness to significantly shape the future of CascadiaNow!