(CNN) -- Ahead of the biggest game of his life, Mahamat "Iggy" Ignegui has mastered the diplomatic language, if not his nerves. "I am completely focused on the first match. We have to do it, we cannot lose," the Sudanese midfielder tells CNN before boarding a plane from Chad's Ndjamena airport that will continue his remarkable journey to the World Cup. This showpiece event will not feature Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, or any of the other household football names that will light up Brazil this summer. Instead, teams such as South Ossetia, Iraqi Kurdistan and Tamil Sri Lanka will do battle for the Nelson Mandela trophy in Sweden. This is a tournament for the stateless, the marginalized and unrecognized by FIFA -- the ConIFA World Cup.
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ConIFA World Cup is a soccer tournament for stateless teams not recognized by FIFA
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This year's event will be played in Sweden, from May 31-June 8 with a record 12 teams
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Darfur United squad is made up of players from refugee camps from Sudan conflict
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Trip to Ostersund was funded with the help of a U.S. humanitarian group
That @placeholder's players will be lining up in Sweden is a reflection of the international goodwill and support behind them.