Only two out of seven football stadiums in Cyprus have secured safety approval for the upcoming league season, leaving authorities in a race against time to upgrade facilities and avoid disruptions.
A police report obtained by Phileleftheros revealed widespread security deficiencies across most venues. Major issues include inadequate CCTV facial recognition, failing electronic ticket controls, poor disabled access, exposed VAR units, and unverified roof structures.
An inspection by the Police Division for Preventing and Combating Sports Violence in early June found that fans regularly enter stadiums without identification and sit unassigned due to unnumbered seating. Investigators noted that while minor improvements occurred since last year, several stadium authorities relied on temporary fixes rather than permanent solutions.
The Alphamega Stadium in Limassol and the AEK Arena in Larnaca passed the inspections. The GSP Stadium in Nicosia remains on standby, while the Antonis Papadopoulos, Ammochostos-Epistrofi, Stelios Kyriakidys, and Katokopia-Epistrofi stadiums failed to meet requirements.
Individual Stadium Deficiencies and Requirements
Katokopia-Epistrofi Stadium
- Install electronic ticket and turnstile entry control systems.
- Establish designated drop-off and pickup areas for banned items.
- Build proper infrastructure for disabled spectators.
- Improve internal grandstand and external perimeter lighting.
- Construct a sheltered security search area to protect fans from weather conditions.
- Install sturdy, removable queue barriers outside gates to enforce single-file entry for better security checks.
- Number all rows and seats, and clearly divide grandstand sections.
GSP Stadium
- Construct permanent ticket booths at the south parking lot to prevent rival fans from mixing.
- Install sturdy, removable queue barriers at the north and south entrances to ensure single-file security checks.
- Raise the east grandstand perimeter wall by at least 1.5 metres to stop ticketless entry and prevent objects from being thrown.
- Erect an outer perimeter fence to disperse crowds gathering outside gates without tickets.
- Build shelters over security search areas at the north, east, and south grandstands.
- Set up marked drop-off stations for restricted items.
- Install protective netting behind both goals to shield goalkeepers from projectiles.
- Relocate the VAR vehicle from the southwestern exterior, where passing fans leave it exposed to security risks.
Ammochostos-Epistrofi Stadium
- Replace the obsolete and malfunctioning electronic entry system that allows fans to bypass security checks.
- Install removable single-file queue barriers outside entrances.
- Number all seats and rows, and place clear signage separating grandstand sections.
- Commission an expert structural inspection of the stadium roof to verify its safety.
- Fit protective metal grilles over facility windows.
Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium
- Replace the outdated turnstile and electronic entry system to prevent unauthorised access.
- Install removable single-file queue barriers outside the north and south grandstands.
- Upgrade insufficient external lighting at the south parking lot and the changing room area on the eastern side.
- Number all rows and seats, and install clear section dividers.
- Replace broken seating in the north and south grandstands.
- Relocate the VAR vehicle to a secure area, as its current position lacks adequate safety.
Stelios Kyriakidys Stadium
- Install single-file queue barriers outside the east grandstand.
- Implement an electronic spectator and ticket verification system.
- Raise the east grandstand wall by 1.5 metres to prevent gate-crashing and missile throwing.
- Number all seats and rows, and rectify marked seats in the west grandstand that block spectator movement.
- Construct a sheltered area for disabled visitors who are currently exposed to weather conditions.
- Fit protective grilles over the east grandstand restroom windows.
- Erect a 2-metre protective metal fence to secure the VAR vehicle at the west grandstand.
Approved Venues: AEK Arena and Alphamega Stadium
The police granted full approval to these two modern stadiums, though minor adjustments were requested.
At the AEK Arena, inspectors requested a protective safety railing in the disabled section of the west grandstand. For the Alphamega Stadium, police requested a security gate in the north away-fan grandstand leading toward the main deck, alongside sheltered exterior security checkpoints to protect incoming fans from weather conditions.