Jersey to appeal to CAS after Uefa rejects membership application

Jersey beat Guernsey in their last match, the Muratti Vase final, in May

Jersey are to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after their bid to join Uefa was turned down.

Uefa's executive will not allow their congress to discuss Jersey's bid as the island is not recognised by the United Nations as an independent nation.

Representatives from Uefa visited the island, which is a crown dependency of Great Britain, in September to meet with Jersey football officials.

"This was the response we expected," said Jersey FA president Phil Austin.

"From a footballing perspective we more than meet the criteria.

"In rejecting our application, the executive of Uefa have said that they're not putting our application forward to the congress. We don't think the executive have the authority to do that, we think it should go to congress," Austin told BBC Sport.

Jersey submitted a bid to leave the English FA and join Uefa in December 2015, following the acceptance of Gibraltar and Kosovo, who are not independent nations.

But Gibraltar's initial application in 2007 came before the rules were changed, while Kosovo, who joined Uefa in May and played in their first World Cup qualifier in September declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

"I have no idea how long it's going to take, we are waiting for a court date hopefully within the next six months, but I don't know," added Austin.

"We are watching the costs very carefully and we will take it each step at a time and managed our budget accordingly.

"One or two people have stepped forward who believe in what we're doing and will help us with our funding."

Other 'non-nations' playing international football

• Gibraltar - a British Overseas Territory

• Faroe Islands - a self-governing country within Denmark

• Bermuda - a British Overseas Territory

• Puerto Rico - a self-governing Commonwealth in association with the US

• Anguilla - a British Overseas Territory

• Aruba - an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands

• Montserrat - a British Overseas Territory

• New Caledonia - a French overseas territory