North Cyprus national football team

The Northern Cyprus national football team (Turkish: Kuzey Kıbrıs Millî Futbol Takımı) represents Northern Cyprus, a de facto country, in association football. They are a member of the New Federations Board for non-FIFA-affiliated nations. Northern Cyprus' home stadium is Nicosia Atatürk Stadium in North Nicosia and their head coach is Fırat Canova. They are the current FIFI Wild Cup champions, having won the event in Germany in June 2006. They are also the current ELF Cup champions, having won the event at home in November 2006.
==History==
===Origins (1955-1984)===
Though the Cyprus Turkish Football Federation (Turkish: Kıbrıs Türk Futbol Federasyonu, KTFF) was formed as early as 1955 - a consequence of Turkish Cypriot clubs withdrawing from playing in Cypriot sport competitions - the national team did not play its first match until 1962, against Turkey. This was a result of former-FIFA General Secretary Dr. Helmut Käser's decision to allow TRNC to play against teams from other national associations, to the exception of official matches. Though this agreement is still in place, FIFA President Sepp Blatter is still resistant to calls to grant TRNC full membership.
Turkish Federative State of North Cyprus played in the Islamic Games of 1980 in İzmir, their first tournament. They suffered a 5-0 defeat against Turkey, their worst to date. Other results were a 2-0 loss against Saudi Arabia, 2-1 victory against Malaysia, and a 1-1 tie with Libya.
===After the foundation of TRNC (1984-2004)===
After the foundation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the KTFF hosted Sport Games Football Federation in 1999, winning the event.
===NF-Board (2004-Present)===
KTFF joined the NF-Board 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, Germany in June 2006 after defeating Zanzibar 4-1 on penalties after a goalless draw. KTFF was set to host the VIVA World Cup 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, winning 5-0, beating their previous 'largest win' record of 6-2 against Sápmi. Soon after the opener, they beat the new record with a 10-0 victory against Tibet.
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus defeated Crimea 3-1 in the ELF Cup finals to lift their second NF-Board cup in the same year.
==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 and the Sápmi 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 Hamburg, Germany. This also featured teams from Greenland, Tibet, Gibraltar, Zanzibar, and a team representing "The Republic of St. Pauli", amateur players drawn from the St Pauli 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 Islamic Games in Turkey, where they lost 2 matches on 4.