U15 Teams of Four Major Clubs to Meet in Lefkoşa

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is preparing for an important event in its sporting history. The KKTC Friendship Cup U15 Football Organization, organized under the patronage of the Prime Ministry with the contributions of the Turkish Cypriot Football Federation, will take place on 7 and 8 November at Lefkoşa Atatürk Stadium. In the tournament, the academy teams of Türkiye's four major clubs, Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Trabzonspor, will share the same pitch with Turkish Cypriot youth.

The organization is being realized despite the obstacles Turkish Cypriot youth have faced in international sport. It stands out as a concrete step showing the importance that the government led by Prime Minister Ünal Üstel attaches to youth and sport.

Earlier, a football camp that the Spanish club Barcelona had planned to hold in the KKTC was cancelled as a result of initiatives by the Greek Cypriot Administration. The far-right ELAM in South Cyprus welcomed this development. The situation brought the political obstacles to Turkish Cypriot youth meeting the world through sport back onto the agenda.

Following this, Prime Minister Üstel held talks with Osman Aşkın Bak, Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Türkiye, and İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu, President of the Turkish Football Federation. As a result of these contacts, an important step was taken for the U15 teams of the four major clubs to come together at the KKTC Friendship Cup.

Planned with the support of the motherland Türkiye, the tournament will not only contribute to the sporting development of Turkish Cypriot youth but will also show the bonds of brotherhood between the two countries. Since the Cyprus Peace Cup held in 1975, the return of Türkiye's four major clubs to a football event in the KKTC gives it a special significance in Turkish Cypriot sporting history.