A documentary about the sporting embargoes faced by Turkish Cypriot athletes and the routes they have found into international competition has drawn more than 32,000 YouTube views in just over two days online.
UNSEEN: The Athletes of Northern Cyprus was released in full on Monday 9 November on the Freedom and Fairness for Northern Cyprus YouTube channel. The hour-long film had been viewed over 32,588 times by Thursday 12 November and is free to watch worldwide.
Athletes from North Cyprus recount being refused visas, denied entry to competitions and turned away from tournaments. The film also follows Turkish Cypriots who have found a route to international competition by representing Türkiye or other countries, a choice often shaped by the lack of opportunity to compete for their home country.
Finding a way to compete
High jumper Buse Savaşkan (pictured below talking to Mert Ahmet) reached the women’s Olympic final representing Türkiye at Paris 2024, where she finished tenth. Fellow track athlete Ada Kafa won the 800m for Türkiye at the Mladost Under-18 International Meeting in Bulgaria in May.
Wheelchair basketball offers an example of how to penetrate the embargoes at club level. North Cyprus’s Vakıflar team was entered under Türkiye for the 2026 EuroCup. The film features the team’s captain Murat Ekşi, head coach Hasan Serbülent and mechanic Saadettin Çakas, as well as TRNC Disabled Sports Federation president Ahmet Akdeniz.
The 21 contributors also include two-time EuroLeague basketball champion Erten Gazi and his parents, former professional volleyball player Uğur Gazi and former track and field athlete Ayten Gazi. They are joined by Fenerbahçe women’s sport pioneer Dr Ayten Berkalp, professional boxer and academy founder Sugar Atahasan, amateur boxer Kutay Özkuş and open-water swimmer Doğukan Ulaç.
TRNC Tennis Federation president Hasan Gazioğlu and player and coach Azra Yalkıç feature alongside TRNC National Olympic Committee president Orçun Kamalı (pictured top), drift racers Dr Enver Haskasap and Juan Black, football photographer and content creator Münür Dağgül, and digital content creators Urban Cypriot and Osman Barışsever.
From a Soho premiere to YouTube
More than 100 guests attended the film’s London premiere at The Soho Hotel on Sunday 1 November, including Türkiye’s Ambassador to the UK Koray Ertaş and TRNC Ambassador Aysan Mullahasan Atılgan.
The film was directed by Afzal Choudhury of NoPlayBook, presented by Mert Ahmet and executive produced by Eren Ramadan, with support from the Freedom and Fairness for Northern Cyprus campaign. The same team made OFFSIDE, about the isolation of Turkish Cypriot football, and DISPLACED, which recorded the experiences of Turkish Cypriots forced from their homes during the Cyprus conflict.
“These athletes are not unseen because they lack talent. They are unseen because the world has chosen not to look,” Ramadan said. “We encourage everyone to watch the documentary, share it and help these stories reach a wider audience.”
Watch UNSEEN: The Athletes of Northern Cyprus in full on YouTube
