National team denied the opportunity to compete

Sir,

Following the publication of your article regarding the unexpected participation of our national side in the forthcoming tournament in Europe, which will require self-funding, may I offer the following comment.

Your readers will be aware of the Cyprus Sports Association’s failure to support our national team and the consequent effect this must have on our young players. To state that we must prove ourselves before funding is forthcoming is ludicrous, as we are the only undefeated side in world rugby; four internationals in one year without loss.

The extreme frustration that I feel as the National Coach is nothing compared to the disappointment that my players are experiencing at this moment. How can our standards be raised if we are denied the opportunity to compete at higher levels to show the rest of Europe what we are capable of?

While some observers may find the Sports Association’s previous statements irritating and little more than one can expect from this organisation, I as the National Coach and Technical Director of one of the most exciting teams to emerge on the rugby world stage
personally find it insulting and degrading. I do not yet understand what is required and maybe KOA could explain to the players and me? I think this is the least we deserve.

Maybe if we were playing with a different shaped ball for fifty years or more without any major success, money would come more freely? I have a great passion for the sport of rugby and to coach Cyprus is a wonderful honour for me. I have never worked with a finer squad of players in all my years in the sport. They do deserve respect from their country and especially their Sports Association! So let stop making excuses and support our national team.

Niall Doherty
National Technical Director and Head Coach
Cyprus Rugby Federation.
 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.