members of FIFA or any of its affiliated continental confederations. The teams representing these states are listed below. Abkhazia1 1,2 1,3 4 1 1 5 Western Sahara1,3 National governing body is currently a member of ConIFA. Previously known as Nagorno-Karabakh national football team. As of August 2021, the ConIFA world rankings designate the team as Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). National governing body was previously a member of the N.F.-Board. National governing body was previously an associate member of the OFC (membership revoked in March 2021). National governing body was previously a member of ConIFA. Others Membership criteria of FIFA and affiliated confederations Historically, the majority of FIFA and confederation members have been sovereign states with wide diplomatic recognition. Exceptions to this rule have included the British Home Nations (due to their seminal role in the development of football), Palestine (accepted into FIFA after the creation of the Palestinian National Authority), the Republic of China (which does not enjoy wide recognition but is still accepted as representative of the Taiwan area), and certain dependent territories, autonomous areas, and protectorates which, on the grounds of their political autonomy, separate status, and/or distance from their parent state, have been allowed to hold membership in FIFA and/or one of its affiliated confederations. At present, FIFA members include 23 subnational and dependent territories, as well as three states with limited international recognition. A further nine overseas, dependent, and autonomous territories with close ties to a sovereign state do not have membership in FIFA, but are members of one of its affiliated confederations (either in a full or associate capacity). In 2016, FIFA made changes to its statutes to define 'country' as "an independent state recognized by the international community". In 2011, UEFA had already changed its statutes so that only countries recognised as independent states by the United Nations could join the organization., while CAF rescinded Zanzibar's full membership (which had been approved only months before) in 2017 on the grounds that Zanzibar is not a country as defined by the African Union and the United Nations. With some exceptions (such as the acceptances of Gibraltar and Kosovo into FIFA and UEFA in 2016), these regulations have made it harder for aspiring national associations to join FIFA or its affiliated confederations. Examples include Jersey (UEFA application rejected in 2018), Bonaire (FIFA application rejected in 2019), and Greenland (applied to CONCACAF in 2022 due to lack of prospects