Army (Cyprus) Football Association
2006-2007
Introduction 2006/2007 Season
There are excellent opportunities to play Service football in Cyprus at various levels.
There are 22 minor unit teams split into leagues between the Eastern Sovereign Base Area (ESBA) Minor Units League for Dhekelia and Ayios Nikolaos and the Western SBA (WSBA) for Akrotiri, Episkopi and Troodos. There are also Minor Unit competitions and both ends of the island with the final being played the week before the Major Units cup final.
There is a highly competitive 7-team island-wide Major Units League runs throughout the season. This is the backbone of competitive football on island and selection from the single service representative sides comes from this league. There is also a Major Units Cup competition with the final at the end of March 2007.
There is also a Ladies Major Units League and Cup competition. This is growing in popularity and currently comprises of teams from Akrotiri, Episkopi and a joint team between Ayios Nikolaos and Dhekeila. Due to the shortage of teams, the ladies usually play friendly fixtures up to December then the league and cup start in January each year with the final of their cup being played before the final of the Major Units cup.
Other competitions include the Carter Cup a prestigious 8-a-side football tournament that usually takes place in the first week in September. This is an open competition with Major Unit, Minor Unit, local Cypriot and teams from the UK. The Carter Cup also includes children’s football and a ladies competition. The Cyprus Services Referees Association (CSRA) organise this competition for Charity and it is a fantastic curtain raiser to the season. (See report). On the theme of officials, the CSRA do a magnificent job and also run Referee courses on Cyprus to support all the leagues giving excellent opportunities for officials level 7 to 5.
In 2007, JSSU (Cyprus) is hosting the all island 5 a side competition with should end the season with another excellent tournament.
There are 2 representative sides from Army (Cyprus) and RAF (Cyprus). They play fixtures monthly throughout the season in preparation for the Inter-Services fixture, which occurs at the very end of the season and is the pinnacle of football on island. The other fixtures are usually matches against a mix of combined major Units sides, semi professional Cypriot third and fourth Division sides to playing Cypriot professional reserves and youth teams.
Players from both representative sides are selected to represent Combined Services (Cyprus) also against high profile domestic and touring teams. There are usually 4 CS fixtures in a season. This season the CS Manager is FL Lt Craig Gill RAF aided by C/Sgt Billy Miller 2 RRF which has brought a wealth of experience to both representative and CS teams as we strive to continually raise the standards and develop football on island.
Finally there are extensive opportunities for the children, from toddler to teenager, with football played at the Service schools, various academies and youth projects, and the children’s Kean Football Leagues in Dhekelia and Episkopi. In summer 2006, RAF and Army coaches ran a 6-week soccer school hosted by 2 RRF which culminated in the children taking the FA’s soccer star scheme.
In summary, football is abundant on Cyprus and there are great opportunities to get involved and varying standards. If there are any further enquiries then you can contact Chairman of Army Football Association (Cyprus) and Combined Services Football Association (Cyprus) Capt Ian ‘Geordie’ Haigs on Cyprus military 4101
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Outgoing Army FA (Cyprus) Chairman, Capt (now Maj) Terry Newman being presented with a memento by Army FA Secretary Maj Billy Thompson for his services to Army Football in Cyprus
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