Clubs gear up for the new football season

FOOTBALL clubs are gearing up for the new season by stepping up their training and issuing club statements expressing their title ambitions.

Lefkoşa’s Küçük Kaymaklı — known as Forest — are deep in pre-term training, with head Ahmet Dirgen saying they are laying the groundwork for the 2018-19 K-Pet Super League season with confidence.

After the departure of several key players, when Forest languished seven places below champions and fellow Lefkoşa side Yenicami last season, technical director Serhat Ertürk said: “We are working to revive former glories with a fresh spirit.”

He added: “We want our fans to see a team that is striving hard to win this season. The technical team is now ready. Our priority was to transfer a goalkeeper, which has been done, and we are now looking to sign foreign players.”

İskele’s Gençler Birliği, which struggled in the Super League last season, finishing 12th, has renewed its administration, now headed by İlker Züğürt, while a debate is under way as to whether the team should hold its training camp inside or outside the TRNC in September.

Technical director Bülent Aytaç said team transfers would continue but added that they could experience problems concerning their stadium, which is undergoing maintenance, and players were currently training in the Bedi’s forest area near Salamis.

Mağusa Türk Gücü, too, have recently overhauled their facilities, with club head Koral Bozkurt saying with pride that the club’s ground “could now aspire to conform to European standards”.

The upgrade includes work changing, massage and meeting rooms, as well as social areas for use by players and club members and supporters.

Güzelyurt-based Baf Ülkü Yurdu were this week continuing their preparations for the season with double training sessions attended by technical director Kemal Yürekli.

Mr Yürekli, whose side finished sixth in the league last season, said: “We will continue our dynamic approach and are delighted with the performance of our players in training. We want to continue being the team that pushed many others last season and are continuing our search for a third foreign player.”

Meanwhile, Merit Alsancak Yeşilova has revealed a new signing, Burak Koçar, who last season scored 20 goals in the Super League for Lefke.

In the K-Pet First Division, Hamitköy has begun training at its ground near Lefkoşa under the watchful eyes of club chairman Evren Mannas and board members.