Loizides Unopposed as CFA Presidency Race Ends Before It Began

On Saturday, 21 June 2025, the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) confirmed that the deadline for submitting candidacies for the presidency had officially closed at 12:00 noon. Only one name was put forward: Charis Loizides, the current Deputy President. Backed by 12 members of the CFA General Assembly, Loizides will be formally proclaimed President during the Extraordinary General Electoral Assembly on 24 June 2025, securing a two-year term covering the 2025–2026 and 2026–2027 football seasons.

His uncontested rise marks a continuation of his long-standing involvement in Cypriot football governance. A board member since 2005, Loizides was elected First Vice President in 2007 and later assumed the role of Deputy President in 2018. He has also chaired the National Teams Committee and represented the CFA at numerous UEFA and FIFA congresses. His work with UEFA’s Social and Environmental Sustainability Committee further reflects his broader engagement with football development at the European level.

Yet, this smooth succession came only after a notable withdrawal – one that left a lingering sense of what could have been.

On 20 June 2025, Charis Savvidis – the only anticipated challenger and a candidate who had garnered public support as a reform-minded alternative – officially withdrew from the race. In a statement marked by both gratitude and quiet resignation, he summarised the moment with one cutting line:
“The system has chosen itself again.”

Savvidis, who had positioned himself as a candidate ready to challenge the status quo and push for structural reform within Cypriot football, made it clear that while there was encouragement and moral support for his candidacy, it was not matched by the voting power necessary to effect real change.
“I want to thank the associations who backed my plan,” he stated, before acknowledging the harsh political reality:
Nice messages, but minimal votes.

Still, he reserved praise for the fans – highlighting them as the true drivers of transformation in the game. But among those with the power to vote, continuity won out over change – even if that continuity is precisely what many argue led to the current crisis in Cypriot football.

Savvidis didn’t step aside out of defeatism, but rather out of recognition. Recognition that the electoral playing field was far from level, and the result predetermined.