Cyprus progress

The two football associations in Cyprus will meet in Zurich on November 5 for talks mediated by FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Both sides issued virtually identical statements about the talks, with the CFA saying: "The Cyprus FA would like to announce that its President has been invited by the President of FIFA, Mr. Joseph Blatter, to the FIFA headquarters in Zurich together with the President of the Cyprus Turkish FA to discuss and finalize a 'provisional arrangement for football in Cyprus' based on the FIFA and UEFA Statutes.

"It is expected that at the end of the deliberations the two delegations will sign a document outlining the steps for the progress of football in the whole of Cyprus, with the approval of FIFA and UEFA. The arrangement will need to be ratified by the general assemblies of both the Cyprus FA and the Cyprus Turkish FA. The meeting will take place on the 5th of November and will be presided by the President of FIFA in the presence of the President of UEFA. "

The details of the agreement reached between the two sides is being kept secret and any deal struck in Zurich will only be a provisional football-only deal, in anticipation of a political compact being reached by politicians on either side of the divided island in the future.