inception melilla football federation
Ceuta ( assimilated pronunciation , also Arabic :  , " Sabtah ") is an Spanish autonomous city located on the north coast of Africa , sharing a western border with Morocco . Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar , Ceuta lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean . Ceuta , along with the Spanish exclave Melilla , is one of nine populated Spanish territories in Africa and one of two populated territories on mainland Africa . It was part of Cádiz province until ___MASK68___ when the city ' s Statute of Autonomy was passed . The Maghreb ( or ; literally " sunset "; ', " the Arab West " previously known as Barbary Coast , derived from Berber ), or the Greater Maghreb (" al - Maghrib al - Kabr "), is usually defined as much or most of the region of western North Africa or Northwest Africa , west of Egypt . The traditional definition as the region including the Atlas Mountains and the coastal plains of Morocco , Algeria , Tunisia , and Libya , was later superseded , especially following the ___MASK45___ formation of the Arab Maghreb Union (    ), by the inclusion of Mauritania and of the disputed territory of Western Sahara ( mostly controlled by Morocco ). During the Al - Andalus era in Spain ( 711  1492 ), the Maghreb ' s inhabitants , Maghrebis , were known as " Moors "; the Muslim areas of Spain in those times were usually included in contemporary definitions of the Maghreb  hence the use of " Moorish " or " Moors " to describe the Muslim inhabitants of Spain in Western sources . Arabic (' or ' ) is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the " lingua franca " of the Arab world . Arabic also is a liturgical language of ___MASK10___ . ___MASK46___ billion Muslims . It is one of six official languages of the United Nations . It is named after the Arabs , a term initially used to describe peoples living from Mesopotamia in the east to the Anti - Lebanon mountains in the west , and from northwestern Arabia to the Sinai in the south . Sudan (" as - Sdn ", ), also known as North Sudan and officially the Republic of the Sudan (" Jumhriyyat as - Sdn "), is a country in Northern Africa . It is bordered by Egypt to the north , the Red Sea , Eritrea , and Ethiopia to the east , South Sudan to the south , the Central African Republic to the southwest , Chad to the west and Libya to the northwest . It is the third largest country in Africa . The River Nile divides the country into eastern and western halves . Before the Sudanese Civil War , South Sudan was part of Sudan but broke away in ___MASK30___ . Its predominant religion is Islam . Western Sahara ("") is a disputed territory in the Maghreb region of North Africa , bordered by Morocco to the north , Algeria to the northeast , Mauritania to the east and south , and the Atlantic Ocean to the west . Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world , mainly consisting of desert flatlands . The population is estimated at just over ___MASK81___ , 000 , of which nearly 40 % live in Laayoune , the largest city in Western Sahara . The Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA , ; ) is the administrative body for association football in Europe , although several member states are primarily or entirely located in Asia . It is one of six continental confederations of world football ' s governing body FIFA . UEFA consists of ___MASK20___ national association members . Melilla ( " Maliliyyah ") is a Spanish autonomous city located on the north coast of Africa , sharing a border with Morocco with an area of . Melilla , along with Ceuta , is one of two permanently inhabited Spanish cities in mainland Africa . It was part of Málaga province until ___MASK68___ when the city ' s Statute of Autonomy was passed . The ( FIFA ; " International Federation of Association Football ") is the international governing body of association football , futsal , and beach soccer . FIFA is responsible for the organisation of football ' s major international tournaments , notably the World Cup which commenced in ___MASK75___ and the Women ' s World Cup which commenced in ___MASK67___ . The United Nations ( UN ) is an intergovernmental organization to promote international co - operation . A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations , the organization was established on ___MASK64___ October ___MASK55___ after World War II in order to prevent another such conflict . At its founding , the UN had 51 member states ; there are now 193 . The headquarters of the United Nations is in Manhattan , New York City , and experiences extraterritoriality . Further main offices are situated in Geneva , Nairobi , and Vienna . The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states . Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security , promoting human rights , fostering social and economic development , protecting the environment , and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine , natural disaster , and armed conflict . The Melilla Football Federation , known as the Federación Melillense de Fútbol in Spanish , is responsible for administering football in the Autonomous City of Melilla . They are not directly affiliated with FIFA or CAF or UEFA . Till now there has been no attempt to select a team to represent the whole Spanish exclave in North Africa . Only under ___MASK89___ and under 18 years teams have played so far , against other autonomous entities of Spain . North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of Africa . The United Nations definition of " North Africa " includes seven countries and territories ; Algeria , Egypt , Libya , Mauritania , Morocco , Sudan , Tunisia , and Western Sahara . The countries of Algeria , Morocco , Tunisia , and Libya are often collectively referred to as the Maghreb , which is the Arabic word for " sunset ". Egypt lies to the northeast and encompasses part of West Asia , while Sudan is situated on the edge of the Sahel , to the south of Egypt . Tunisia ('; ), officially the Republic of Tunisia (') is the northernmost country in Africa , covering . Its northernmost point , Cape Angela , is the northernmost point on the African continent . It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest , Libya to the southeast , and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east . Tunisia ' s population was estimated to be just under ___MASK82___ million in 2014 . Tunisia ' s name is derived from its capital city , Tunis , which is located on Tunisia ' s northeast coast . Málaga is a municipality , capital of the Province of Málaga , in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia , Spain . With a population of 569 , 130 in ___MASK48___ , it is the second - most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth - largest in Spain . The southernmost large city in Europe , it lies on the Costa del Sol (" Coast of the Sun ") of the Mediterranean , about east of the Strait of Gibraltar and about north of Africa . Africa is the world ' s second - largest and second - most - populous continent . At about ___MASK18___ . 3 million km² ( ___MASK82___ . 7 million square miles ) including adjacent islands , it covers 6 % of Earth ' s total surface area and ___MASK44___ . 4 % of its total land area . With 1 . 1 billion people as of 2013 , it accounts for about 15 % of the world ' s human population . The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north , both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast , the Indian Ocean to the southeast , and the Atlantic Ocean to the west . The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos . It contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states ( countries ), nine territories and two " de facto " independent states with limited or no recognition . Association football , more commonly known as football or soccer , is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball . It is played by ___MASK77___ million players in over 200 countries and dependencies , making it the world ' s most popular sport . The game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end . The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal . Algeria (' " Dzayer "), officially the People ' s Democratic Republic of Algeria , is a sovereign state in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast . Its capital and most populous city is Algiers , located in the country ' s far north . With an area of , Algeria is the tenth - largest country in the world , and the largest in Africa . Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia , to the east by Libya , to the west by Morocco , to the southwest by the Western Saharan territory , Mauritania , and Mali , to the southeast by Niger , and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea . The country is a semi - presidential republic consisting of 48 provinces and ___MASK10___ , 541 communes ( counties ). Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been President since ___MASK33___ .