Tuesday 5 November 2013

Cyprus and Northern Cyprus unite after landmark FIFA meeting

The Cyprus Football Association (CFA) and Cyprus Turkish Football Association (CTFA) today reached a historical deal following meetings with FIFA and UEFA in Zurich.

Unified...the two associations.
The landmark agreement saw the CTFA become a member of the CFA with the view to unify and develop football in both parts of the island.

Witnessed by Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini the document was signed by Cyprus Football Association (CFA) President Costakis Koutsokoumnis and Cyprus Turkish Football Association (CTFA) President Hasan Sertoğlu.

FIFA president Blatter took the Twitter to state that the "milestone" deal shows how football can “build bridges”. 

It is expected that Northern Cypriot clubs will now be able to compete in the Greek Cypriot leagues which have improved in recent years highlighted by APOEL Nicosia’s run to the Champions League quarter-finals in 2012.

It was initially reported part of the deal stated the Northern Cyprus national team, who have not played since the 2012 VIVA World Cup final, could now be able to play international friendlies against FIFA members. 

However later information from non-FIFA journalist Steve Menary suggested that this isn't the case, and that Northern Cyprus will be able to compete in the UEFA Regions Cup much like Jersey, Guernsey andn the Isle of Man have done before.

No comments:

Post a Comment