Sports complex opened in Famagusta to honour children who died in earthquakes

A new sports complex was opened at Famagusta’s Turk Maarif Koleji (TMK) school in honour of the 24 children who attended the school who died during the earthquakes which hit southeastern Turkey in February 2023.

The complex’s construction was financed by the European Union, with contributions from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the north’s ‘education ministry’, and the Turkish Cypriot Famagusta municipality.

It was named the “Champion Angels Sports Complex” after the 24 children who died, who had made up the Famagusta TMK school volleyball team and had travelled to the Turkish city of Adiyaman to play an international tournament when the earthquakes struck, and were killed when the hotel in which they were staying collapsed

To open the complex, a “symbolic” volleyball match was played by girls from the school  in memory of ‘Champion Angels’.

Stefan Simosas, the head of cooperation at the European Commission’s Cyprus settlement support unit, was the first to speak at the opening event, saying that the day will “commemorate the ‘Champion Angels’, who lost their lives in the earthquake” and “keep their memory alive”.

Meanwhile, UNDP Cyprus office head Jakhongir Khaydarov said the facility “is a complex which symbolises the endurance and fighting spirit of the ‘Champion Angels’ and will enable young people to take part in sports safely.

The north’s European Union coordination centre director Selcuk Yurukogullari said that “the young athletes who will train here will follow in the footsteps of the ‘Champion Angels’ and make their dreams come true”.

“The ‘Champion Angels’ are not just a team, they are a symbol of determination and discipline,” he added.

Turkish Cypriot Famagusta mayor Suleyman Ulucay said the pain experienced after the earthquakes and “the names who supported us in those days” must not be forgotten.

He added that his municipality “will do its part to keep the memories of the ‘Champion Angels’ alive”.

Rusen Karakaya, whose daughter Selin was among those killed and who now chairs the chairs the Keeping the Champion Angels Alive association, created in the children’s memory, said the complex will be “a facility where the ‘Champion Angels’’ dreams will be kept alive”.

A total of 24 Cypriot children, 11 Cypriot adults, and 37 others died in Adiyaman when the hotel in which they were staying, the Isias hotel, collapsed during the first of the two earthquakes which struck the region in 2023.