Transdniestria - Moldova's de facto champions

Hi All,

I remember both England and Scotland playing the might of Moldova over the years.

Anyway, the interesting interaction between politics and football rears its head in Moldova, where their champions come from an area of the country that wants to become independent. So i was thinking are there any comparable cases? ie. where a team has been so dominant in a league that they do not feel technically part of, ie through identity, passport etc? Here is much of the info i base this question on:

futbolgrad.com/sheriff-tiraspol-moldovas-de-facto-conquerors/

Or even perhaps, sides who are heavily politicised representations of countries or beliefs outside their borders. Too many questions?

Anyway, hope a few are interested!

Cheers
Vata

Barcelona comes to mind. Catalonia have been trying to get their independence for ages and Barca have dominated Spanish football after Madrid.

I understand that there are countries where a part of the country might want independence, but I don't see how football would have anything to do with it.

Btw, Moldova is tiny, is it really a good idea to divide it even further lol?

Transdniestria it's de facto independent actually. You have to cross a border to get into it from Moldavia. They are just not recognised internationally.

yeah, de facto as opposed to de jure. The article above explains the whole situation pretty well...

I guess the only comparable situation is that of Barça. However, the club itself doesn't lead the independence process. Don't know if Sheriff does lead it.

However, Catalonia and Transdniestria are very different. We are a proper country, while they are a mob owned "country" (russian satellite). As everywhere, I support people's self determination, so if they feel they should become independent or part of Russia, I'm ok with that, though.

The a-league has a New Zealand team in it

Well Kiev was Champion when Ukraine declared independence in late 80's. Also, the break-up of Yugoslavia started with a match brawl involving Zagreb & Red Star.