NICOSIA: The prospect of players from Turkish-controlled Northern Cyprus playing international football has been confirmed as the latest step in the rapprochement between the two islands federations.

Both Costakis Koutsokoumnis for the Cyprus Football Association and Hasan Sertoglu from the Turkish counterpart attended a reception held by the French ambassador in Nicosia.

A tribute was paid to their “courage, vision and resolve” and Koutsokoumnis responded by confirming a common determination to proceed towards the implementation of a “provisional arrangement” signed at world federation FIFA offices in Zurich last November.

Sertoglu announced the end of restrictions on Turkish-Cypriot players playing for any Cyprus national team – as they did before 1955.

Greek Cypriot players are also free to play for any Turkish-Cypriot club playing in the CTFA competition in the north of the island.

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