FC Barcelona cancels youth football camp in occupied northern Cyprus

FC Barcelona has cancelled a planned youth football camp that was scheduled to take place next month at the Near East University facilities near occupied Nicosia. The decision follows intense diplomatic pressure and formal protests from the Cyprus Football Association (CFA), the Cyprus government, and various domestic football clubs, including Nea Salamina. These entities argued that the event, which was promoted on the club's website as taking place in "Northern Cyprus," breached international legal frameworks and normalized the illegal status of the region.

Key stakeholders, including CFA President Charis Loizidis and representatives from the club AEK, engaged directly with Spanish officials and Barcelona management to halt the project. Following these interventions, the promotional material was removed from the official FC Barcelona Academy website. Government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis confirmed the cancellation, highlighting the state's institutional actions. While Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman expressed disagreement, citing concerns over the exclusion of youth from international activities, the move is being viewed in the Republic of Cyprus as a significant diplomatic success in addressing unauthorized international presence in the north.