Steve Menary reportsHalf-a-dozen clubs with origins that
reflect the island’s cultural and political
make-up dominate Cypriot football, but
a new challenge is emerging. Following
in the footsteps of the Greeks, Turks
and British, Russians are flocking to the
Mediterranean island seeking security
and sun.
The Russians initially brought money
and colonised the banks in Cyprus, only
to pull out billions six years ago when the
island’s economy went into meltdown
and the European Union imposed a
financial “haircut”.
To stem the departures, the Cypriot
government created a “golden visa”
scheme that offered residency rightsin return for investment in property
development. As a result, there are now
so many Russians with a Cypriot passport
that two years ago they formed their own
political party. And their influence has
now spilled onto the football pitch.
Pafos FC were formed in 2014 with
the merger of AEK Kouklia and AEP
Pafos. Kouklia chairman Christakis Kaizer
drove the plan, but two Russian exiles,
Roman Dubov and Sergey Lomakin,
bought into Pafos in 2017 after the club
had secured promotion to the top flight.
A new board was formed with Christos
Glykis installed as president. Anton
Evmenov was recruited as sporting
director, and the ex-Zenit head scout
described the project as a “football club
...practically being started from scratch”.
Pafos finished ninth in the Cypriot First
Division in their debut campaign after
recruiting Steven Pressley as coach
in February 2018. After losing their first
four matches last season, the former
Scotland international defender wassacked by Lomakin, who had replaced
Glykis as president. Ex-Hajduk Split boss
Zeljko Kopic restored momentum and
Pafos recovered to finish eighth despite
a seven-point deduction for fielding an
unregistered player.
Last summer Pafos began to spend
heavily in an ambitious bid to take on
the country’s old guard. In August,
veteran Premier League midfielder Jason
Puncheon was signed in a deal reputedly
worth €370,000 a year. Pafos hailed the
signing of the nomadic 33-year-old –
who had most recently been on loan at
Huddersfield Town from Crystal Palace- as one of the most important in Cypriot
history. While that claim may have
prompted wry smiles, the
club have reportedly
been the second-biggest spenders in the
league this season.
Welsh international Joe Ledley came
on trial and played in a friendly before
opting to return to Britain, but plenty of
other seasoned internationals are now
at Pafos. Slovakia striker Adam Nemec
lines up alongside USA midfielder Danny
Williams, Mali’s Bakary Sako, Kevin
Lafrance of Haiti, Paulus Arajuuri from
Finland and Angolan forward Va.
Recruiting heavily from overseas is
common in Cyprus, where 66.8 per
cent of those playing in the top flight
are from overseas, according to recent
research by the Swiss-based CIES
Football Observatory. While that is the
highest level in any of Europe’s top 31
leagues, Pafos have taken recruiting of
foreigners to a new level and 93.5 perAmbitious
Pafos think big
Backed by Russian money, a new club
is challenging the existing order
eyewitness
CYPRUSPafos hailed the signing of Jason
Puncheon as one of the most
important in Cypriot historyVeteran...Pafos’ Jason Puncheon played over 200 Premier League games