Jim Nichols will today continue his “surreal story” with Cascadia when they face the Chagos Islands.

With the match taking place at Whyteleafe Football Club’s stadium in Surrey (3pm kick-off), it will allow Carlisle City boss Nichols the first opportunity to meet up with his Cascadia players since last year’s CONIFA World Football Cup.

The Cascadia side will be captained by New Milton Town defender Patrick Wilson, who works for AFC Bournemouth’s Academy, while Canadian international Gavin McCallum and Winchester City goalkeeper Brendan Norris are also in the squad.

“I get asked about Cascadia all the time. It’s a surreal story at home, having had no connection to the region to begin with,” Nichols said.

“People will ask me about the quality of players, will watch videos of games and they take a general interest in where the project is going.”

Cascadia are well ahead of the Chago Islands in the CONIFA World Rankings ahead of their encounter, with the Chago Islands 36th and Cascadia in 10th place in the rankings.

On what he expected from their opponents, former Penrith AFC manager Nichols said: “I know a little about the Chagos Islands.

“I’ve had them watched recently against Surrey and also saw one of their games at the World Football Cup in London last year.

"They are a good side who keep the ball well and it will be a tough outing for us with so many new players.”

Despite taking the role with no players last year, Nichols helped to guide Cascadia to reach the quarter-final of the 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup - held in London - where they were beaten 3-1 by eventual winners Karpatalya who were representing the Hungarian minority living in Carpathian Ruthenia - a south-west area of modern-day Ukraine.

And Cascadia head coach Nichols said: “Friendships were definitely made. We were a group of 30 individuals on the Wednesday and, two weeks later, we were a team.

“People keep in touch on social media due to the distances between players and the group WhatsApp is still active. The players have enjoyed seeing each others successes’ from the tournament.”

Cascadia, a bioregion and proposed country located in North America, are then due to make history as they play Darfur at the Frenchfield Stadium in Washington on July 27 in their first-ever home fixture.

“It’s massive for the federation as it allows the Cascadian public to view their team first hand,” Nichols said.

“We are hopeful it will be a fantastic occasion and a reason to celebrate.”