Suzan NUR İ

WITH the FIFA World Cup competition in Germany just months away now, football fans everywhere are looking forward to this festival of the greatest sport in the world. As usual, Turkish Cypriots will not have a team to cheer on as they are banned from playing any FIFA registered team in the world. Which means, nearly everyone.

Nearly everyone, of course, means not everyone. So in November, the TRNC will host the Viva World Cup, for nations and people who do not ‘officially’ exist.

Of course, FIFA is furious about this. But what did they expect? Politics, like it or not, has meant competitive sport has been denied many communities throughout the world with no hope of ever playing opposition on an international stage.

This autumn, the TRNC football team will line up against the likes of Monaco, Somaliland, Kosovo, Chechnya, the Roma people and Tibet, to name a few.

An alternative World Cup which will be played in the spirit of friendship and not, as one Times correspondent put it, "with greedy, mercenary managers, players only motivated by cash bonuses and stadiums packed with corporate guests".

A kind of ‘getting back to grass roots’ football, before it all went horribly commercial.

I congratulate the organizers of this alternative world cup. At a time when countries seem to be more polarized from each other than ever before, when politics rears its ugly head in every aspect of our lives and at a time when the genuine football fan is often dismissed for huge corporate clients, Viva World Cup is something to look forward to. It may not be glamorous but football should be played by all who want it, not just the recognized people of the world.

suzan@londragazete.com

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