Northern Cyprus national football team

Northern Cyprus
Association	Cyprus Turkish Football Association (CTFA)
Confederation	CONIFA; NF-Board
Head coach	Caner Oshan
Most caps	Serkan Önet (25)
Top scorer	Halil Turan (18)
Home stadium	Nicosia Atatürk Stadium
FIFA code	NCY (*Non-FIFA member)
First colours	Second colours
First international
	Turkish Cypriots 0–5 Turkey ; (1962)
Biggest win
	Northern Cyprus 15–0 Darfur ; (Arbil, Iraq; 4 June 2012)
Biggest defeat
	Turkish Cypriots 0–5 Turkey ; (1962); Turkey 5–0 Turkish Cypriots ; (İzmir, Turkey; 28 September 1980)
CONIFA World Football Cup
Appearances	2 (first in 2016)
Best result	Runners-up (2018)
CONIFA European Football Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2017)
Best result	Runners-up (2017)
Website	ktff.org

The Northern Cyprus national football team (Turkish: Kuzey Kıbrıs Millî Futbol Takımı) represents Northern Cyprus, a de facto country, in association football. They were a member of the New Federations Board for non-FIFA-affiliated nations, until its dissolution in 2013. Northern Cyprus' home stadium is Nicosia Atatürk Stadium in North Nicosia and their head coach is Fırat Canova. They are the current FIFI Wild Cup champions, having won the event in Germany in June 2006. They are also the current ELF Cup champions, having won the event at home in November 2006.

Due to an ongoing sports embargo against Northern Cyprus, the team cannot play international matches with FIFA members.

History

Origins (1955–1962)

The Cyprus Turkish Football Federation (Turkish: Kıbrıs Türk Futbol Federasyonu, KTFF) was formed as early as 1955 – a consequence of Turkish Cypriot clubs withdrawing from playing in Cypriot sport competitions. Turkish Cypriots first played with a representative national side in 1962, against Turkey. This was before the 1974 war which caused the de facto partition of Cyprus and – as such – participating players were Turkish speakers from all over Cyprus.

Islamic Games (1980)

Despite not being considered an independent country, Northern Cyprus played in the 1980 Islamic Games football tournament, which was held in İzmir, Turkey. They suffered a 5–0 defeat against Turkey, their worst to date. Other results were a 2–0 loss against Saudi Arabia, 2–1 victory against Malaysia, and a 1–1 tie with Libya.

Reportedly, these matches were tolerated by FIFA as a result of an agreement with then-FIFA General Secretary Helmut Käser. After Northern Cyprus declared itself independent in 1983, this deal came to an end, leaving the Northern Cypriot team unable to play against FIFA-affiliated countries.^[3]^[4]

After the foundation of TRNC (1983–2004)

After the foundation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983, the KTFF hosted Sport Games Football Federation in 1999, winning the event.

NF-Board (2004–2013)

KTFF joined the NF-Board in 2004, expanding the horizons of the national team. KTFF hosted the KTFF 50th Anniversary Cup in 2005, winning the event. Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus won the first NF-Board tournament, the FIFI Wild Cup, in Hamburg, Germany in June 2006 after defeating Zanzibar 4–1 on penalties after a goalless draw. KTFF was set to host the VIVA World Cup during November 2006, however due to issues between the sides the KTFF chose to host its own tournament, the ELF Cup at that time. Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus opened the tournament against Crimea, winning 5–0, beating their previous 'largest win' record of 6–2 against Sápmi. Soon after the opener, they beat the new record with a 10–0 victory against Tibet.

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus defeated Crimea 3–1 in the ELF Cup finals to lift their second NF-Board cup in the same year. On the 9th of January, Northern Cyprus was chosen to participate in the 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup

CONIFA (2013–present)

Tournament history

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus have taken part in five international tournaments and won four. KTFF 50th Anniversary Cup, organised to celebrate 50 years of the KTFF, involved national teams from Kosovo and the Sápmi region of northern Scandinavia, and was won by the hosts with maximum points. NF-Board invited Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to take part in the first FIFI Wild Cup, held in Hamburg, Germany. This also featured teams from Greenland, Tibet, Gibraltar, Zanzibar, and a team representing "The Republic of St. Pauli", amateur players drawn from the St Pauli district of Hamburg. TRNC defeated Zanzibar on penalties in the final after a goalless draw to lift the trophy. KTFF hosted and won the ELF Cup beating in the final Crimea, in 2006. In 1999 hosted and won the Sport Games Football Association. The only one tournament lost is the 1980 Islamic Games in Turkey, where they lost 2 matches on 4. the team will compete at the 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup

FIFI Wild Cup record

Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Scorers
2006	Champions	1st	4	3	1	0	6	1	Oraloğlu (2 goals), Kolcu (1 goal), Çerkez (1 goal), Dylan (o.g.), Morris (o.g.)
Total	1/1	1st	4	3	1	0	6	1	Top scorer: Oraloğlu (2 goals)

Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

ELF Cup record

Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Scorers
2006	Champions	1st	5	5	0	0	28	2	Taşkıran (6 goals), Çakır (5 goals), Uçaner (3 goals), Çukurovalı (3 goals), Kolcu (2 goals), Selden (2 goals), Ulusoy (2 goals), Arıkbuka (1 goal), Kansu (1 goal), Keleşzade (1 goal), Sapsızoğlu (1 goal), Rizvan Abıltarov (o.g.)
Total	1/1	1st	5	5	0	0	28	2	Top scorer: Ertaç Taşkıran (6 goals)

Competitions record

Islamic Games

Year	Position	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
Tournament İzmir
1980	4th	4	1	0	3	3	9
Total	Best: 4th	4	1	0	3	3	9

Northern Cyprus tournament

Year	Position	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
KTFF 50th Anniversary Cup
2005	1st	2	2	0	0	7	2
ELF Cup
2006	1st	5	5	0	0	28	2
Total	Best: 1st	7	7	0	0	35	4

World Cup record

Year	Position	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
FIFI Wild Cup
FC St. Pauli 2006	1st	4	3	1	0	6	1
VIVA World Cup
2006	did not enter
2008
2009
2010
2012	2nd	4	2	0	2	19	4
ConIFA World Football Cup
2014	did not enter
2016	3rd	5	3	1	1	12	4
2018	2nd	6	3	3	0	17	6
2020	did not enter
Total	Best: 1st	19	14	5	3	54	15

European Cup record

Year	Position	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
ConIFA European Football Cup
2015	did not enter
2017	2nd	5	3	1	1	14	5
2019	did not enter
2021	cancelled
2023	cancelled
Total	Best: 2nd	5	3	1	1	14	5

Players

Current squad

The following players have been called up for the 2021 ConIFA European Football Cup in Nice, from 12 August to 23 August 2021.^[5]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Hasan Piro	(1983-10-02)2 October 1983 (aged 37)	20	0	Alsancak Yeşilova
18	1GK	Erdoğan Nay	(1997-07-16)16 July 1997 (aged 24)	2	0	Baf Ülkü Yurdu
23	1GK	Ozan Mercan	(1994-04-22)22 April 1994 (aged 27)	2	0	Doğan Türk Birliği

2	2DF	Serhan Önet	(1981-08-26)26 August 1981 (aged 39)	25	1	Çetinkaya
5	2DF	Çağrı Kıral	(1989-02-11) 11 February 1989 (age 35)	20	0	Lefke
12	2DF	Salih Say	(1981-03-10) 10 March 1981 (age 43)	12	0	Cihangir
13	2DF	Hüseyin Sadıklar	(1986-08-13) 13 August 1986 (age 38)	10	1	Yenicami
14	2DF	Ahmet Sönmez	(1987-06-30) 30 June 1987 (age 37)	10	0	Doğan Türk Birliği
17	2DF	Aykut Esmeraslan	(1992-03-28) 28 March 1992 (age 32)	5	0	Lefke
21	2DF	Adil Uçar	(1989-08-20) 20 August 1989 (age 35)	5	0	Mağusa Türk Gücü
3	2DF	Necati Gench	(1999-11-21) 21 November 1999 (age 25)	0	0	London Yeni Boğaziçi
4	2DF	Arif Uysal	(1996-04-27) 27 April 1996 (age 28)	0	0	Mağusa Türk Gücü

6	3MF	Fırat Ersalan	(1986-05-11) 11 May 1986 (age 38)	10	0	Cihangir
10	3MF	Halil Turan	(1986-11-28) 28 November 1986 (age 38)	15	10	Mağusa Türk Gücü
19	3MF	Kenan Oshan	(1995-12-27) 27 December 1995 (age 28)	12	3	Doğan Türk Birliği
8	3MF	Thomas Richardson	(2004-08-15) 15 August 2004 (age 20)	6	4	Colonel Getafe Reserves
16	3MF	Ünal Kaya	(1991-06-08) 8 June 1991 (age 33)	8	1	Yenicami
11	3MF	Mehmet Altun	(1997-09-05) 5 September 1997 (age 27)	2	0	Yenicami
7	3MF	Yasin Kurt	(1988-03-14) 14 March 1988 (age 36)	0	0	Mağusa Türk Gücü

20	4FW	Uğur Gök	(1990-10-22) 22 October 1990 (age 34)	15	5	Küçük Kaymaklı
9	4FW	Tansel Ekingen	(1986-09-29) 29 September 1986 (age 38)	10	2	Yenicami
15	4FW	Ahmet Sivri	(1999-07-06) 6 July 1999 (age 25)	2	1	Galatasaray
22	4FW	Billy Mehmet	(1984-01-03) 3 January 1984 (age 40)	5	4	Alsancak Yeşilova

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Ercan Samancıoğlu	(1994-07-30) 30 July 1994 (age 30)	Yenicami	2018 ConIFA World Football Cup squad^PRE
GK	Türkkan Delideniz	(1984-12-28) 28 December 1984 (age 39)	Mağusa Türk Gücü	2017 ConIFA European Football Cup squad

DF	Salih Güvensoy	(1988-08-27) 27 August 1988 (age 36)	Yenicami	2018 ConIFA World Football Cup squad^PRE
DF	Mehmet Kaygısız	(1989-08-09) 9 August 1989 (age 35)	Küçük Kaymaklı	2017 ConIFA European Football Cup squad

MF	Aydın Aygın	(1988-07-17) 17 July 1988 (age 36)	Doğan Türk Birliği	2018 ConIFA World Football Cup squad^PRE
MF	Ahmet Coşkun	(1986-07-22) 22 July 1986 (age 38)	Doğan Türk Birliği	2018 ConIFA World Football Cup squad^PRE
MF	İbrahim Çıdamlı	(1988-10-20) 20 October 1988 (age 36)	Çetinkaya	2018 ConIFA World Football Cup squad^PRE
MF	Mehmet Kaygısız	(1989-08-09) 9 August 1989 (age 35)	Küçük Kaymaklı	2018 ConIFA World Football Cup squad^PRE
MF	Ali Özbahar	(1989-08-28) 28 August 1989 (age 35)	Yalova	2017 ConIFA European Football Cup squad
MF	Hüseyin Adal	(1987-06-29) 29 June 1987 (age 37)	Küçük Kaymaklı	2017 ConIFA European Football Cup squad
MF	Mustafa Yaşınses	(1988-08-16) 16 August 1988 (age 36)	Hekimoğlu Doğanspor	2017 ConIFA European Football Cup squad
MF	Kenan Özer^INJ	(1987-08-16) 16 August 1987 (age 37)	Ankaragücü	2017 ConIFA European Football Cup squad^PRE

FW	Kasım Tağman	(1992-04-30) 30 April 1992 (age 32)	Lefke	2018 ConIFA World Football Cup squad^PRE
FW	Ertaç Taşkıran	(1982-08-06) 6 August 1982 (age 42)	Ozanköy	2017 ConIFA European Football Cup squad
FW	Esin Sonay	(1990-08-31) 31 August 1990 (age 34)	Çetinkaya	2017 ConIFA European Football Cup squad

Notes

^PRE = Preliminary squad.
^RET = Retired from international football.
^WD = Withdrew from the squad.
^INJ = Withdrew due to an injury.

Honours

Non-FIFA competitions

FIFI Wild Cup
- Champions (1): 2006
Viva World Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2012
CONIFA World Football Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2018
- Third place (1): 2016
CONIFA European Football Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2017
ELF Cup
- Champions (1): 2006

References

^ "Oshan teknik ekibini belirledi Kaynak: Oshan teknik ekibini belirledi". Sporyeni. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
^ http://www.playthegame.org/upload/billeder%202007%20konference/speakers/speakerdocuments/menarystevepaper.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ "Northern Cyprus – Conifa World football". www.conifa.org. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
^ "2021 CONIFA European Football Cup – Wikipedia" (in Turkish). Cyprus Turkish Football Association. 3 May 2018.

External links

(in Turkish) HomePage
(in English) All-time results from RSSSF
(in English) "Footballers Reveal ‘Strip’ Poster to Highlight their 50 Year Ban from International Football"
(in English) Details of FIFI Wild Cup final
(in English) Article about the FIFI Wild Cup final
(in English) 2006 FIFI Wild Cup Pictures of TRNC Team
(in English, Greek, and Turkish) Cyprus Soccer E-Group

[1] "Oshan teknik ekibini belirledi Kaynak: Oshan teknik ekibini belirledi". Sporyeni. Retrieved 7 November 2022.

[World_Football_Elo_Ratings-2] Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.

[3] ttp://www.playthegame.org/upload/billeder%202007%20konference/speakers/speakerdocuments/menarystevepaper.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[4] "Northern Cyprus – Conifa World football". www.conifa.org. Retrieved 19 November 2018.

[5] "2021 CONIFA European Football Cup – Wikipedia" (in Turkish). Cyprus Turkish Football Association. 3 May 2018.

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