The Northern Cyprus national football team ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Millî Futbol Takımı) represents

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a '' de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. Rec ...

, a de facto country, in

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. 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 North Nicosia or Northern Nicosia ( tr, Kuzey Lefkoşa ; el, Βόρεια Λευκωσία) is the capital and largest city of the ''de facto'' state of Northern Cyprus. It is the northern part of the divided city of Nicosia, and is governed by ...

and their head coach is Fırat Canova. They are the current FIFI Wild Cup champions, having won the

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of ev ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

in June 2006. They are also the current ELF Cup champions, having won the

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. ...

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 The Cyprus Turkish Football Association ( tr, Kıbrıs Türk Futbol Federasyonu, KTFF) is the governing body of football in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Established on 29 October 1955, during British colonial rule in Cyprus, it was ...

( tr, 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 Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. 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 The Islamic Games ( ar, الألعاب الإسلامية, tr, Islam Ülkeleri Spor Oyunlari) was a multi-sport event for athletes from Muslim countries that was held from 26 September to 6 October 1980 in İzmir, Turkey. Although 42 nations wer ...

football tournament, which was held in Izmir,

. They suffered a 5–0 defeat against

, their worst to date. Other results were a 2–0 loss against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

, 2–1 victory against

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

, and a 1–1 tie with

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

. Reportedly, these matches were tolerated by FIFA as a result of an agreement with then-

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

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.

After the foundation of TRNC (1983–2004)

After the foundation of the

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. Reco ...

in 1983, the KTFF hosted Sport Games Football Federation in 1999, winning the event.

NF-Board (2004–2013)

KTFF joined the

NF-Board The N.F.-Board (french: Nouvelle Fédération-Board) was a federation of football associations established on 12 December 2003. It was made up of teams that represent nations, dependencies, unrecognized states, minorities, stateless peoples, r ...

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 Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

in June 2006 after defeating

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

4–1 on penalties after a goalless draw. KTFF was set to host the

VIVA World Cup The VIVA World Cup was an international association football tournament organized by the New Federation Board, an umbrella association for teams unaffiliated with FIFA, held five times between 2006 and 2012. It is succeeded by the newly organiz ...

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 Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

, winning 5–0, beating their previous 'largest win' record of 6–2 against

Sápmi (, smj, Sábme / Sámeednam, sma, Saepmie, sju, Sábmie, , , sjd, Са̄мь е̄ммьне, Saam' jiemm'n'e) is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi is in Northern and Eastern Europe and includes the ...

. Soon after the opener, they beat the new record with a 10–0 victory against

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

. Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus defeated

3–1 in the ELF Cup finals to lift their second

cup in the same year. On the 9th of January, Northern Cyprus was chosen to participate in the

2016 ConIFA World Football Cup The 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup was the second edition of the ConIFA World Football Cup, an international football tournament for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA organised by ConIFA. The tournament was ...

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 Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

and the

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

. This also featured teams from

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

, and a team representing "The Republic of St. Pauli", amateur players drawn from the

St Pauli St. Pauli (Sankt Pauli; ) is a quarter of the city of Hamburg belonging to the centrally located Hamburg-Mitte borough. Situated on the right bank of the Elbe river, the nearby Landungsbrücken is a northern part of the port of Hamburg. St. Paul ...

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

in Turkey, where they lost 2 matches on 4. the team will compete at the

FIFI Wild Cup record

*Draws include knockout matches decided on

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

ELF Cup record

Competitions record

Izmir Tournament

Northern Cyprus tournament

World Cup record

European Cup record

Players

Current squad

The following players have been called up for the

2021 ConIFA European Football Cup The 2021 Sportsbet.io CONIFA European Football Cup, later renamed CONIFA Euro 2022 is the planned fourth edition of the CONIFA European Football Cup, an international football tournament for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions una ...

in Nice, from 12 August to 23 August 2021.

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months. ;Notes *^PRE = Preliminary squad. *^RET = Retired from international football. *^WD = Withdrew from the squad. *^INJ = Withdrew due to an injury.