By Andrew Warshaw
March 30 – After months of often painstaking negotiations that several times almost collapsed, more than half a century of division is on the verge of being wiped out in Cypriot football.
Football reunification on the Mediterranean island is set to move a step closer with the unofficial Cyprus Turkish Football Association (CTFA) in the north formally applying for membership of the Cyprus Football Association.
CTFA chairman Hasan Sertoğlu was due to make the historic announcement at a news conference, ending a split that has lasted the best part of 60 years.
A provisional agreement was signed in Zurich in November, 2013 with CFA chairman Costakis Koutsokoumnis in the presence of FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA boss Michel Platini. Essentially, the CFA would recognise the CTFA as one of its associate members, giving it the right to organise an official championship with the ultimate hope of games taking place been Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot teams.
Despite strong political opposition on both sides of the island, the two footballing bodies have forged ahead to put a deal in place. Earlier this season Demetris Vassiliou became the first Greek Cypriot player in over half a century to play for a Turkish Cypriot club.
The latest developments represent a welcome diversion from the match-fixing scandals that have rocked Cypriot football. Although Greek and Turkish Cypriot teams playing in a unified league is some way off, bringing the CTFA under one administrative roof will ensure that the interests of Turkish Cypriot clubs and players are safeguarded according to Cyprus FA President Costas Koutsokoumnis.
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