As you know, the agreement signed last night in Zurich between the Cyprus Turkish Football Association (KTFF) and the Greek Cypriot Football Federation (KOP) was unanimously approved at the KTFF General Assembly, with the votes of 42 club presidents and the KTFF President. I don't know what happened to Mr. Sertoğlu, who said on November 5 that the agreement could not be approved in its current form, to convince him to approve it…
In the end, the agreement was approved, and this approval will actually lead to the start of another process… There are many issues that need to be resolved. I have drawn attention to these issues in this column before. For example, how will the “Steering Committee”—which will include four representatives each of KOP and KTFF and is set to regulate many vital matters under Article 4—operate? How will disagreements be resolved? Following membership in KOP under Article 1, and our clubs joining KOP as full members, how will the leagues be organized? How many of our teams will take part in the KOP league? Or will they take part at all? Will a joint league be established? What would happen if a Turkish team were to win a joint league one day? How would away matches be played? Are both communities ready for such a joint league? If Çetinkaya were to return to its former glory, what would KOP say about that? Could the KOP presidency rotate? Or could our representation in KOP eventually enable a Turkish Cypriot to become KOP president? And so on…
It seems that these questions and many more will be resolved in the negotiations that are about to begin. But this process should not be about football alone!
The process must also bring social initiatives in its wake… Because it is clear that neither community is ready for such a union. When I discussed this with Niko Stelya, the Northern Cyprus–Turkey Desk Editor at Kathimerini, he said, “Greek Cypriot society is not ready for a Turkish team to represent Cyprus on an international level.” So how will this be achieved? There is no doubt that Greek Cypriot politicians and sports authorities in particular have a serious responsibility in this regard…
There are far too many questions and problems… And what is more, these questions and problems are not just about football! How will lived experiences, memories, fears and, most importantly, prejudices be overcome? These are issues that concern both communities, and I am very curious about how both will be prepared for this…
I suppose time will be our greatest ally in this regard…
At this point, I believe the most appropriate wish is to say: may it bring good fortune…