FIFA to mediate in Cyprus row

World soccer's governing body FIFA will hold high-level talks today aimed at ending more than 50 years of deadlock in Cypriot football.

Convened by FIFA president Sepp Blatter, the meeting will involve delegates from the divided island's official football association as well as officials from the unofficial Cyprus Turkish football association.

Turkish Cypriot teams were involved in the founding of the Cypriot FA in 1934 but withdrew from the island's unified league in 1955 as disputes between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities worsened.

Following the establishment of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot enclave, a statelet recognised only by Ankara, teams and players based in the area have found themselves unable to participate in official international matches.

"We want to leave no stone unturned in our efforts to resolve this problem," FIFA's director of international relations Jerome Champagne told Reuters yesterday.

"We are not so preposterous as to believe that football can solve everything, make peace or destroy racism but there are several examples where football has played a part, such as with the acceptance of Arab and Pale-stinian players in the Israeli team.

"Our overall aim is to promote football everywhere in the world and right now the Turkish Cypriot players are suffering from not being able to play outside their home, although they do have a strong domestic league."

The Cypriot FA insisted ahead of today's meeting that any agreement would have to be based on Turkish Cypriots joining their organisation.

"If they join the Cyprus FA we can discuss the unification of football," vice-president Elias Pitsillides told Reuters yesterday.

"They must be registered as clubs as the other clubs and submit an application with their regulations which the board of directors will examine for approval and apply to the club regulator."