Cyprus Turks’ Fight Shown in the Documentary “Gol Atan Cepheye” Prepared with TİKA’s Support

The documentary “Gol Atan Cepheye”, which can literally be translated as “goal scorers to the battlefront”, focuses on the importance of the role played by football in Cyprus Turks’ long-lasting fights. The documentary was shown in Ankara.

The documentary “Gol Atan Cepheye” prepared with the support of Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) was shown in CerModern Art Gallery in Ankara.

Directed by Erdal Hoş, the documentary focuses on the role played by football in Cyprus Turks’ fights against the attacks that targeted them in 1950s. The documentary gives voice to the people who witnessed the era.

The preparations for the documentary started in November 2020, and people from diverse professional groups, who were actively engaged in the fight between 1950 and 1974, were interviewed.

"This is a story that confirms the fact that ‘football is not just football’”

Serkan Kayalar, TİKA’s President, made a statement and said they wish to participate in film festivals and show the cause of Cyprus Turks to people in different countries through this documentary.  

Stating that art has a universal power, Kayalar pointed out that such stories are told in many different ways in the Western countries.

Kayalar underlined the need to produce more and more stories of this kind.

Hoş, the director, drew attention to Simon Kuper’s book Football Against the Enemy, which was translated into Turkish with a title that suggested the idea that football is not just football, and said, “Football has two important roles in Cyprus Turks’ fight for survival. First, it has an important place in organizing people. Second, it comes into play through moral values, that is by creating the sense of being ‘us’. That’s why, from 1950 to 1974, football was not just football for Cyprus Turks”.

Dursun Oğuz, the TRNC Minister of Natural Resources, Bahar Ayvazoğlu, AKP Trabzon Deputy and guests attended the gala night.