FC Barcelona postpones academy camp planned in Cyprus’s occupied north

Nicosia, Cyprus. FC Barcelona has postponed a training camp planned by its academy in Cyprus’s occupied north following diplomatic interventions, according to diplomatic sources. The Cyprus Football Association said it had lodged a formal protest and consulted UEFA after learning of the planned camp.

CFA intervention

The CFA said it acted immediately after FC Barcelona Academy announced plans to hold the camp in the occupied north.

CFA president Charis Loizidis wrote to the president of the Spanish Football Federation, requesting intervention to prevent the camp from proceeding, on the grounds that it would breach the legal and regulatory framework in force.

The association asked FC Barcelona to reconsider the camp and either relocate it to a suitable, legally compliant venue in the government-controlled areas of the Republic of Cyprus or not hold it in Cyprus.

The letter was sent yesterday morning and copied to UEFA and FC Barcelona. The CFA said it was monitoring the matter closely and would take further action if necessary.

Erhurman’s response

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman addressed the issue in a social media post, saying the participation of young people, athletes or clubs from other countries in events held in the “self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (“TRNC”) did not amount to recognition.

Erhurman, who is a lawyer, said he did not consider participation in such events to imply recognition. He compared it with Greek Cypriot youths participating in events in Turkey, which, he said, did not mean Turkey recognised the Republic of Cyprus.

He said he did not want Turkish Cypriot or Greek Cypriot young people to be deprived of opportunities available to young people elsewhere because of the Cyprus problem. He added that disappointment among Greek Cypriot young people should not be a source of joy for Turkish Cypriots, nor the reverse.

Erhurman said such events should not be drawn into a political context. He noted that statements by the United Nations, European Union and Council of Europe after 2004 had called for the isolation of Turkish Cypriots to be lifted.

Building trust on the island required cultivating trust among young people, he said, adding that he had proposed from the first day of talks that young people and children be brought together through joint sporting events. Efforts to cancel a festival or prevent children from playing football represented a defeat for everyone and for humanity as a whole, he added.

Previous reaction

Before the postponement was announced, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay had posted on X celebrating FC Barcelona’s decision to hold the sports camp in the occupied north.