ARMENIAN FOOTBALL TEAM FROM LONDON, IN CYPRUS
Gibrahayer
21 April, 2008
Nicosia
Dear Simon,
Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to write something
for your website about our forthcoming club tour to Cyprus. We
appreciate being able to spread the word to as many Armenians not
only in Cyprus but around the world.
I have taken the liberty of preparing a short article summing up some
information about our club and details of the tour itself.
The Armenian Youth Association’s Football Club’s tour to Cyprus this
May is a sentimental trip, as the founding members of the club all
came from the island 44 years ago. We have had to be patient, and now
with the cooperation of Cyprus Airways, and the tremendous support
of its Senior Manager Andreas Agathou, our dream has finally come true.
Our club chairman and former player and manager Emilios Nicolaou was
one of the founder-members of AYA FC, who many years ago played for
Cypriot team Pezoporikos, and the Cyprus national team alongside
such legendary players as Panicos Krystallis, Andreas Pakkos and
Panicos Efthymiades. Now he has passed on the mantle of leading the
club to his son Nick Nicolaou, current manager. Last season, the
1st team secured promotion to the Second Division of the Chiswick &
District Sunday Football League, while the newly formed 2nd team,
led by Mark Bedrossian, son of Dick Bedrossian, another ex-player,
played in the West Fulham Sunday Football League.
This season (2007-08) the 1st team is once again chasing promotion, and
has reached the final of the Feathers Cup, which will be played this
Sunday 20 April against Barnes Eagles Seniors, provided the weather
does not get any worse! The 2nd team has completed its season, and
will be moving to the Chiswick & District League as of next season,
starting in September this year.
We arrive in Nicosia on Saturday 10th May, where we will be staying at
the Centrum Hotel in the city cen tre. We have two games scheduled –
the first is on Monday 12th May against the Bank of Cyprus, and the
second is on Saturday 17th May against A.Y.M.A – both games kick-off
in the afternoon.
During our time in Cyprus we will be welcomed at an evening
reception at the A.Y.M.A clubhouse on our day of arrival, and will
be visiting the Melkonian Institute on Sunday 11th May. We have also
been very fortunate to be able to arrange two day trips, thanks to
the cooperation and support of the Cypriot Tourist Office here in
London. The first is on Tuesday 13th May to Paphos, and the second
is to Protaras on Thursday 15th May.
We are especially looking forward to an evening dinner party at the
home of Mr Vartkes Mahdessian, a former player with AYA, and now an
elected representative of the Cyprus Armenian Community. Our return
to London is on Sunday 18th May, in the afternoon.
I would like to thank everybody that has helped us make this dream
a reality. Without your support, our trip to Cyprus would not be
possible and would remain a dream for years to come.