University of Delaware Athletics
Men’s Soccer’s Fokas Served in the Cyprus National Guard Prior to Attending Delaware
11/7/2025 3:27:00 PM | Men's Soccer
NEWARK, Del. - The University of Delaware's men's soccer senior Petros Fokas came to Delaware from his home country of Cyprus after serving 12 of his 14-month military requirement upon graduating high school.
Since 1964, all 18-year-old male citizens of Cyprus are mandated to serve a 14-month term in the Cypriot National Guard. Fokas completed 12 of his 14 months before being granted leave to attend undergraduate school at the University of Delaware, and will complete the final two months of his term post graduation in the spring of 2026.
The National Guard of Cyprus was established in 1964 following the Cyprus crisis of 1963-1964 in which the breakdown of social and political relations between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots occurred on the island. Now there is a United Nations buffer zone called the "Green Line" that separates the south (Greek) and the north (Turkish) parts of the island.
The order in which new soldiers report to camp is alphabetical by last name. Fokas had a friend that he played soccer with in high school that reported one week prior to him arriving.
"It was nice to have him around after he had been there for a week, since it was a completely new experience for all of us," Fokas said.
The first three weeks were spent in training where they learned how to drive tanks and prepared for any potential wars. The soldiers then had a ceremony where they swore to serve their country. They were also trained on how to shoot, how to survive for 48 hours without any supplies, and then eventually up to seven days without any materials. Another two weeks of his service were spent guarding the "Green Line."
Fokas shared that his typical daily routine began with raising the Cyprus flag for the national anthem that was played every morning at 6 a.m. and then again in the afternoon. They also were required to complete six hours of guard shifts each day. This was split into three two-hour time blocks; two in the morning, two in the afternoon, and two in the evening.
The rest of his time was spent hanging out with the other 56 soldiers in his camp. Fokas still is in a group message with all 57 soldiers from his class where they frequently stay in touch.
"All 57 of us grew extremely close," Fokas said. "Still to this day, the guys send funny memories into our group chat at least once a week, and we'll all just laugh."
Fokas' father, Konstantinos, also served in the military for 24 months, as the required service didn't drop to 14 months until 2016. He ended up having to stay for an extra two months due silly mistakes like oversleeping for his watch shift a few times. Since Fokas' father spent more time in the military, after the first 12 months, he was required to then train new soldiers on everything he had learned in the past year. This is not the case with the now only 14-month service requirement.
After graduating this May with a bachelor's in business analytics from the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, the 23-year-old will return home and complete the final two months of his service. He is able to choose to serve the two months in the summer when he returns or wait until December. Fokas does have one other friend who also has to finish his term, but otherwise will be with an entire new group of 18-year-old soldiers.
"On one hand I want to go and experience it again," Fokas said. "But on the other hand, I am not looking forward to sleeping only four hours a day and having guys scream at me to 'go there and do this,' but I am going to try to enjoy the time since last time I did not enjoy it that much."
Beyond finishing all 14 months, Fokas is only required to go back yearly for just two days to practice shooting and stay prepared for war. He also is required to separately go once a year to have his guns checked and receive ammunition.
Before coming to the United States, Fokas grew up in a small village in the mountains called Kalo Chorio Orinis, Nicosia, where he spent most of his time hanging outside with his friends.
"For me, it's like the movies here [the United States]," Fokas said. "It was my dream one day to visit the US, because a lot of the movies I was watching when I was young were in the States, so I thought it probably is cool to be there and live there."
Fokas fulfilled his childhood dream of coming to America for the first time when he came to the University of Delaware in 2022 to play soccer. He has been a member of the team for four years now and has appeared in 41 games.
"Being part of UD soccer has taught me the true meaning of hard work, unity, and resilience," Fokas said. "It's an experience that's helped me develop as both a player and a person while sharing unforgettable moments with teammates who became brothers."
