Two youth camps by the training academy of the Spanish football club Barcelona in the Turkish-occupied northern part of the island of Cyprus were postponed following official complaints by the Cyprus Football Association.
The postponement was confirmed by Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis.
The issue had been raised by the Cyprus nationalist party ELAM, which had also objected two international music festivals scheduled to take place in the Turkish-occupied northern territories of the Republic of Cyprus in August and September.
Within days, the chairman of the Cyprus Football Association (CFA), Haris Loizides, wrote a letter to his Spanish counterpart Rafael Louzan, urging him to discourage FC Barcelona from organising the camps in northern Cyprus.
Objection to northern Cyprus camps is against occupation, not community
The action to write to the Spanish football giant was taken in consultation with UEFA, European football’s governing body, CFA’s announcement said.
It added that Loizides had requested the intervention of Louzan “so that the camp would not take place in the occupied territories, as such a thing is contrary to the current legal and regulatory framework” and suggested that FC Barcelona “either move the camp to a suitable and legally compatible location in the free areas of the Republic of Cyprus or not hold it in Cyprus.”
Cyprus football club Nea Salamina, founded in Famagusta, one of the Turkish-occupied regions in Northern Cyprus, also reached out to FC Barcelona directly – stressing that their objection was not against any community, but against the occupation itself.
EU and Turkish-Cypriot leader’s response to FC Barcelona youth camp postponement
While the European Commission declined to comment “specifically” on the matter of the cancellation of the northern Cyprus training camp, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said that “cancelling a festival, attempting to prevent children from playing football, is, from my perspective, not a diplomatic victory, but is clearly a defeat for all people and humanity as a whole.”
“The participation of young people, artists, and clubs from other countries in any organisation held in our country does not mean that these countries recognise the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, just as the participation of Greek Cypriot young people in any organisation held in Turkey does not mean that Turkey recognises the Greek Cypriot administration in southern Cyprus,” he added – a nod to recent complaints by the Turkish opposition to the participation of Greek Cypriot students in a geography competition in Istanbul, according to the Cyprus Mail.
Asked about the matter during a Press briefing, EU commission spokesman Maciej Berestecki reiterated the bloc’s line on Cyprus to achieve a comprehensive, fair and lasting settlement for all Cypriots, “firmly committed to the reunification of Cyprus on the basis of a bizonal and bicommunal federation in accordance with the relevant UN security council resolutions and in line with the principles, values and legislation of the EU”.
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