A Brief History of Cyprus BXL FC

 Cyprus BXL FC 2010-11

Early days

It’s November 2004. A bunch of freshly arrived Cypriots sit in the gloom of Brussels winter, trying to come up with a plan that would secure them their regular fix of footy. It doesn’t take too long before they connect with a team of EU officials that play on Saturdays in “Overjise”. But where the hell was Overjise?

The first email went out.

Saturday, December 4, and the first get-together of the group takes place at Rond-Point Schuman,  from where they would try to find their way to exotic Overjise, and join the “Eurocommission 8” team.

Zenon Severis, Giorgos Rossides, Akis Kyriacou and Christophoros Ioannou were there for that first game, which sowed the seeds of the superb idea that was about to take shape.

June 2005, first appearance

The early months of 2005 pass uneventfully. The trips to Overjise continue every Saturday, and a few more Cypriots join that first core group, making the idea of a ‘sovereign’ Cyprus team seem actually possible, in all of its precarious ambition.

The opportunity first presented itself later in 2005, when the European Parliament football tournament was announced for June.

Alexandros Karides and Antonis Markoullides, working at the EP from those early days, suggested joining the tourney. Despite the initial doubts as to whether a competitive side could be fielded from the few Cypriots in Brussels at the time, a Cyprus team was entered in the tournament.

A desperate scramble ensued to find a kit. 24 hours before the first game, a dozen shirts were found, with a choice of three colours: blue, yellow and red. The yellow shirts with blue imprints for the numbers were chosen. "Cyprus" was printed on the chest, almost timidly.

To date, the yellow colour is maintained in the away kit.

In the tournament itself, the squad turned out not only to be competitive, it actually made it all the way to the final, where it dramatically lost the trophy in a penalty shoot-out to Italy.

Despite the defeat, the great effort of the miniscule new–kid-on-the-block did not go unnoticed, winning the supportof the non-partisan spectators, who, stirred by the Cypriot enthusiasm and passion on the pitch, were chanting “Kypros PAME, Kypros PAME”!

  Cyprus team - EP Tournament June 2005

2006-2007

Following on from the stunning success of the first tournament, the team stayed together through the next two years, despite not being entered in regular competitions. Weekly training sessions were instituted, and some friendlies were played.

The next big milestone for the team was the 2006 European Parliament tournament, where the Cyprus team finished fourth among 18 teams.

   Cyprus team - EP Tournament June 2006

April 2007, founding of the BXL Euroleague

Early 2007 saw the creation of the BXL Euroleague. Taking the pulse of the football community at the European institutions, which hungered for regular games throughout the year, eight national teams got together to play in a championship format from April to June.

The first game of the BXL Euroleague was to be the game between Cyprus and France, at the Parc Cinquantenaire pitch on 12 April 2007. Final result 0-0.

Cyprus finished 6^th in this first mini-edition of the league, with two wins (against Germany and the UK), two draws (France and the winners of the mini-league Italy) and three defeats (to Finland, Slovenia and Portugal).

   Cyprus team - June 2007

   Cyprus team - June 2007

2007-2008

The first regular, full-length season started in September 2007, with 11 participating teams. Cyprus didn’t have the best of seasons, finishing the 10^th with 11 points.

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2008-2009

The lead-up to the beginning of the 2008-2009 saw an influx of new talent for the Cyprus team, and a re-invigorated commitment to achieve more in the league.

Yiannakis Constantinou took over as team coach, and regular training sessions were established.

The results of the hard work became quickly apparent on the pitch, where despite some unlucky results and a string of injuries of key players, Cyprus finished 12^th out of 18 teams at the end of a very competitive season.

In the Play-offs, the team pulls off the surprise of the season by eliminating Romania (5^th) on penalties. In the quarter-finals however, Portugal prove too strong an opponent and go through on away-goals. (1-0, 1-2)

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2009-2010

Frangiskos Nikolian takes over as team coach in September 2009, and Cyprus has a very good year, finishing the season 10^th among 19 teams (six wins, three draws and nine defeats).

Cyprus is eliminated by Finland in the first round of the Play-offs (2-1, 2-1)

Meanwhile, in the Presidency Cup, the team puts in another great performance, stunning once again the big European nations by sailing through to the semi-finals where it got knocked out by Poland.

At the end of the season, the team is renamed to Cyprus BXL FC.

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2010-2011

Nikolian stays on the bench, and in combination with the return of some players from injury and a successful recruitment drive, Cyprus BXL FC fields its most competitive side to date.

It finishes the season seventh (of 19), ahead of much ‘bigger’ names, with seven wins, three draws and eight losses.

The season tally could have been even better had it not been for some unlucky, last-minute point dropping during the regular season.

In the playoffs the Cyprus BXL FC is eventually knocked out by Portugal (2-3, 2-2), while the team’s contention for the Presidency Cup ends unceremoniously in the first round single-elimination game against France (2-2, France through in penalty shoot-out).

    Cyprus BXL FC - April 2011