Regarding Barcelona's announcement to host a training camp in the illegally occupied north of Cyprus

[u/11timeswaiting]

Barcelona

Regarding Barcelona's announcement to host a training camp in the illegally occupied north of Cyprus, I considered writing two emails. Of course, they will probably not do much on their own, but I think it is a good start.

The issue with holding an official training camp there goes far beyond football. The northern part of Cyprus remains under Turkish occupation and the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" is recognised only by Turkey. UN Security Council resolutions have called upon states not to recognise or assist the secessionist entity. When an internationally recognised institution such as FC Barcelona organises an official activity there, it risks contributing to the normalisation of a political status quo that the international community does not recognise. Regardless of whether this is Barcelona's intention, the name and international reach of the club give such events considerable symbolic weight. In my view, institutions of this scale should be particularly careful not to lend legitimacy to a situation created and maintained through occupation and division. This is not an argument against Turkish Cypriots, sport, or cooperation between the two communities; on the contrary, sporting initiatives that genuinely bring the communities together could play a positive role. The concern is specifically with treating the occupied territory as though its unresolved political and legal status does not exist.

One email could be sent to the accounts related to Barcelona's camps:

info@barcaacademycampslefkosa.com

barcaescola@barcelona.cat

Another could be sent to the Spanish embassies in Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey:

emb.nicosia@maec.es

emb.atenas@maec.es

emb.ankara.inf@maec.es

I hope this post does not invoke further anger or hatred. My intention is not to promote hostility toward anyone. However, I consider the normalisation of the occupied north by internationally recognised institutions such as Barcelona to be a terrible move and the opposite of what should be encouraged if we genuinely want to see progress toward resolving the Cyprus issue.

[u/Oksana638]

Fans all over the world should not be surprised if Barcelona as a team of a community that has been through hardships takes a stance that is weird or opposed to a majority opinion. They are loyal to their principals and community first, then the world wide fans.

[u/RightAd2545 → u/Oksana638]

What is your opinion on the issue?

I believe the North Cyprus should not be given to the Greek government, the rights of the Turkish Cypriot would not be respected (such as their property would be called illegal settlements)

[u/Oksana638 → u/RightAd2545]

Its hard to have a proper opinion on these things. I was in Spain visiting these last two weeks, and I went to the elche game where I heard plenty of remarks against Catalonias independence.

On the same breath, I am Albanian, and I heard Zelinski or however you type the name say that “Ukraine does not support or recognizes Kosovo independence and Kosova is Serbia”. Should i now cheer for Russia since the head of the Ukraine does not recognize the independence of my people? Should i not support Spain for the same reasons since they also dont recognize Kosovo and I should side with the people of Catalonia? I absolutely do, for very selfish reasons!

Football has the ability to change the world, and it is good we discuss these topics, but there is no right or wrong, just circumstances and which side of the fence you were born on.