The Journey
To My Success

Gevara Kanjo:
«Success is to truly love what you do because you chose to do it, not because someone made you do it»

We came on a boat in 2005, under terrible conditions, and the images still haunt me.

I am a Syrian Kurd and when I was 9 years old, my family and I left the country and moved to Cyprus. We came on a boat in 2005, under terrible conditions, and the images still haunt me. I cannot forget the fear and the anxiety we went through until we arrived and settled here. Our poor financial situation was the reason we left Syria. The five of us lived in a single room at my grandma’s house. The same room was used as a bedroom, kitchen and living room.

Sports changed my life. One day, while I was playing football in my neighborhood, a man who was living close by suggested that I joined a team.

It was not the first time I had been to Cyprus. I was born here and when I was two my family returned to Syria. When we got back to Cyprus, I enrolled in primary school, in the middle of the school year without speaking a word of Greek. Adapting here was very tough. When you are an immigrant, who does not speak the language and you are among strangers, you can understand how that feels. I definitely faced racism, specially at the beginning, but as time passed things got better so now the racist attacks are isolated events.

The Frederick University community is ideal to make you feel like you belong in a family

Sports changed my life. One day, while I was playing football in my neighborhood, a man who was living close by suggested that I joined a team. That’s how sports and football got into my life. In football, I was taking an outsider position in the teams because I did not have Cypriot citizenship, and that made things more complicated to the point I eventually gave up. Thankfully, I was given the chance for a fresh start in Futsal, and I continued to play even after I acquired my Cypriot citizenship.



I found myself at Frederick University through my club AEL Futsal. The contract with my team got me a sports scholarship to study. I finished my studies with a BSc in Physical Education and Sports Science which is offered at Frederick University in Limassol. The Frederick University community is ideal to make you feel like you belong in a family. The various activities organized for the students, the professors who are always there for you to help and guide you, as well as the fact that there are students of many nationalities in an environment of cooperation and teamwork – are all things that help. Even though for me it was slightly difficult to combine studying, working, and training, at the University I made friends that I will always have in my life.

University sports are an excellent opportunity for students to try out sports they never had the chance to

Frederick University has always had a great Futsal team. This year, we have had the best performance in a season to date, probably because we had both great football players and futsal players. Our performance was flawless up until the end when we won the championship. I remember every championship I won with Frederick University, and I truly believe that its team could easily be a very competitive opponent in the Pancyprian Futsal Championship. University sports are an excellent opportunity for students to try out sports they never had the chance to.

Success is to truly love what you do because you chose to do it, not because someone made you do it

My personal goals, beyond sports, involve all the things a person wants in life: start a family, and have a great job so I can provide for my family. To me, success is to truly love what you do because you chose to do it, not because someone made you do it. This is what will give you the strength to work and become the best, whatever it is that you are doing.