FC Barcelona has canceled a youth football camp that was scheduled to take place in the northern part of Cyprus after objections from the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus.
The Barcelona academy had planned to hold the camp from September 7 to 11 and again from September 16 to 20 at Near East University in Nicosia. The event had been advertised on Barcelona’s official website under the location “Lefkosa, North Cyprus.”
The listing was removed from the club’s website on Thursday, August 27, along with references to the camp on Barcelona’s events and location map.
The decision followed several days of objections from Cypriot authorities. The Cyprus Football Association (CFA) contacted the Spanish Football Federation after learning about the planned camp and also raised the issue with UEFA.
CFA President Haris Loizidis reportedly wrote to Spanish Football Federation President Rafael Louzan, asking him to intervene and prevent the camp from being held in the north.
The CFA argued that holding the event in the northern part of the island would violate the laws and regulations of the Republic of Cyprus. It called on Barcelona either to relocate the camp to an area controlled by the Republic of Cyprus or cancel it.
Diplomatic efforts were also reportedly made to persuade Barcelona to abandon the event. According to diplomatic sources cited by the Cyprus Mail, the interventions contributed to the club’s decision to cancel the camp.
Reactions from both sides
The cancellation drew sharply different reactions from the two communities on the divided island.
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman criticized the decision, arguing that young people should not lose international opportunities because of the Cyprus dispute.
“You can call efforts to cancel a festival or prevent children from playing football a ‘diplomatic victory,’ but from a humanitarian perspective, it is clear enough to me that it is a defeat,” Erhürman said.
Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ünal Üstel also condemned the cancellation, accusing the Greek Cypriot side of refusing to accept the presence of Turkish Cypriots on the island.
He connected the issue to a campaign by Cyprus’s far right National Popular Front (ELAM), which has also challenged the inclusion of universities in northern Cyprus in the QS World University Rankings.
“You cannot tolerate our children playing football. You cannot tolerate our young people connecting with the world. You cannot tolerate our universities’ international achievements,” Üstel said.
Turkish Cypriot Parliament Speaker Ziya Öztürkler similarly criticized the decision and said the international community should take note of what he described as the “Greek Cypriot mindset.”
ELAM welcomes cancellation
ELAM welcomed Barcelona’s decision, saying it had achieved its objective.
The party had called for the football camp to be canceled on August 23 and urged the Cypriot government and European institutions to take action against the event.
ELAM has also focused on the presence of three universities from northern Cyprus in the QS World University Rankings. It has called on Cyprus’s foreign and education ministries to seek the removal of Eastern Mediterranean University, Near East University and European University of Lefke from the rankings because they are listed under “North Cyprus.”
Cyprus remains divided
Cyprus has remained divided since 1974, when Turkey intervened following a coup backed by Greece. Turkey has controlled the northern part of the island since then.
The Turkish Cypriot administration declared independence in 1983 as the self proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), but it is recognized internationally only by Turkey.
The island is separated by a United Nations controlled buffer zone, with UN peacekeepers maintaining the ceasefire line. The UN has maintained a peacekeeping presence in Cyprus since 1964.
Barcelona’s cancellation highlights how the island’s unresolved political division continues to affect sporting, educational and international activities involving the two sides of Cyprus.
