Cyprus has started to invest a lot in improving sports facilities.
So, a big project will soon start in the Larnaca area. A big centre for the Cyprus Football Federation (CFF) is going to be built between the villages of Kornos and Lefkara.
On Wednesday, 7 May, Lefkara mayor Sofoklis Sofokleous announced that the budget for the project had been increased from €16 million to €18 million. He revealed that the Cypriot government had given the site for the construction of the facility to the CUP on a long-term lease that is free of charge.
The new sports centre will be more than just a group of football fields. It will be a complex with top-quality European-style sports facilities. The project was developed by the architectural bureau FEREOS ARCHITECTS LLC - TSAMP, which tried not just to design buildings, but to create a space inspiring and immersing in the atmosphere of sport.
The complex will include:
- Four football pitches that are the same size as a normal football pitch.
- A big stadium with seats for spectators.
- There are areas where you can have fun and go for walks.
- The building where the office staff work.
- Classrooms and meeting rooms.
- There is plenty of space in the locker rooms and coaches' living quarters.
- Sports centres, areas for physical therapy and storage facilities.
- There are spaces for national teams and seminars.
The project also includes a landscaped public area that is part of the building, and a gazebo with a circular path for people to walk around, which connects important parts of the complex. This will let athletes and local people use the centre for fun.
The people who designed the building made sure to take the natural features of the area into account. The project aims to:
- minimise any disruption to the area's geology
- organise the movement of visitors, athletes and officials so as to avoid intersections
- integrate the facility into its surroundings
The Mayor of Lefkara says that work will start in December 2025.
The planning permission has already been granted and the building licence is due to be issued in June this year. The project will be paid for by European money, which shows how important it is for other countries too. Sofokleus thanked the CUP for their support, saying that the new complex will help the region's economy to grow and bring in new investments.
The new centre will be the largest sports project in the history of Cyprus. It will be about 10 thousand m2 in size. It is not just a training ground – it is a step towards creating a professional sporting environment, nurturing future stars and enhancing Cyprus' status as an active participant in the international football movement.