“Looking to the Future: Roadmap for Turkish Football” Event Held
In order to address the issues facing Turkish football and propose solutions, the IAÜ Sports Management Department organized an event titled “Looking to the Future: The Roadmap for Turkish Football.” The event featured former referee Binali Kartal, former footballer and technical director Bülent Uygun, Chest Diseases Physician Prof. Dr. Nurettin Yiyit, and sports commentators Harun Uyar and Serdar Kelleci as guests.
The event titled “Looking to the Future: The Roadmap for Turkish Football,” organized by the Department of Sports Management at the Faculty of Sports Sciences, began with a minute of silence in memory of the 20 martyrs who lost their lives in the plane crash in Georgia while traveling from Azerbaijan to Türkiye, and in honor of the Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. After the moment of silence, Prof. Dr. Kemal Tamer, Dean of the Faculty of Sports Sciences, took the floor and expressed his views on the past autonomy of the Turkish Football Federation and the current state of Turkish football. Prof. Dr. Tamer emphasized the importance of such meetings in solving the current problems of Turkish football.
Expressing his views during the event, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet İlvan also addressed the scandal surrounding referees and players betting on Turkish football matches, stating that this meeting provided an important platform for finding solutions to the problems at hand.
Versatile Assessments of Turkish Football from Expert Guests
In the interview segment moderated by Associate Professor Dr. Serdar Samur, Head of the Sports Management Department, technical director Bülent Uygun spoke about players’ personal rights, players’ bonus issues, and the role of the media in the reforms to be made. Sports commentator Serdar Kelleci addressed the students, saying, “We can be more successful if we fulfill our responsibilities. The more effort you put into a task, the greater your reward will be.” Sports commentator Harun Uyar stated in his remarks that the media is a very effective tool, noting that it can have a powerful impact in both positive and negative ways in a short period of time. Former FIFA-certified referee and TÜFAD Secretary General Binali Kartal spoke about the TFF Referee Investigation. Kartal said that due to betting companies’ past sponsorship of broadcasting rights, referees were forced to open betting accounts to follow matches at the time, which led to the current investigation into referees placing bets.
Chest Diseases Physician Prof. Dr. Nurettin Yiyit emphasized that doctors play an important role in protecting athletes’ health as the pace of football increases today and athletes adapt to this pace. Yiyit also stated that football has become highly scientific and that detailed analyses can be performed with the support of technology to extract data.
The event also featured players from the Tekirdağ Marmaraereğlisi team Marmaragücü youth team, Ampute Super League Team Yeditepe Football Club President Ahmet Türkcan, Tek Rumeli TV Sports Director Erol Eftekin, Tek Rumeli TV Reporter Kadir Çiftçi, football figure and journalist Ahmet Karaali, Meltem TV main news anchor and film actor Bülent Tapıcı, and Premier Master League President Erdoğan Özcan.
