The World Cup finals of the national teams of nations without a state will take place in Malta next year.

Among the participating national teams there will be the current world champions of Padania, the area of Northern Italy usually associated with Umberto Bossi’s Lega Nord.

A new national team will now take part, Italian media said last week. This is the national team of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which has just been formed and last week started to take part in tourneys with teams of a similar level.

The presence of the national team of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies will be an ironic return to Malta, as Malta itself formed part of this kingdom until Charles V gave the island to the Knights of St John.

The team representing Gozo will also take part in the World Cup.

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies team is composed of men from the south of Italy and from Sicily and aims to help create an awareness of the uniqueness and traditions of the area which once formed part of the Borbonic kingdom.

The players will play in Borbonic red gear with a fleur-de-lys emblem on their front.