Abdülkadir Bakırdöven: “We can see Turkey as the most colorful team of the tournament”

Abdulkadir Bakirdoven, one of the founding presidents of the European Turkish Football Federation Academy, stated that Turkey is capable of advancing from the group in EURO 2024 and could be seen as the most colorful team of the tournament. The founding president of the European Turkish Football Federation (ETFF) Academy, Abdulkadir Bakirdoven, and the Founding General President of the ETFF Academy, Sedat Aydemir, made statements to Ihlas News Agency (IHA) regarding both the academy and infrastructure studies as well as EURO 2024. Bakirdoven, emphasizing their aim to introduce talented Turkish youth to Turkish football in an academic education framework, stated, “We have established the European Turkish Football Federation (ETFF) Academy. We have intensive studies in this regard. Our aim is to train talented Turkish youth in an academic context and contribute to Turkish football in a more professional manner.”
Bakirdoven, mentioning that the Turkish National Team is capable of advancing from the group in EURO 2024, expressed, “Germany hosting the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship is a great opportunity for Turkey. We feel like we are playing in our own home. We have a Turkish population of nearly 3.5 million living here. Throughout Europe, this number exceeds 5 million. Besides Germany, Turkey has a national team that competes as if it were the host. There is a strong fan support in the stands. We have a young squad. It is an advantage for us to be a team that runs a lot and competes well. I believe that we will advance from the group. We displayed good football in the match against Georgia. The opponent threatened our goal with good counter-attacks, had shots hitting the post. But looking at the result, we achieved a good score of 3-1. I also believe that in the match against Portugal, our national team will perform well and leave the field with a good result. I believe we are capable of beating Czech Republic. We can see Turkey as the most colorful, popular national team of the tournament.”
“Football is like a smokeless factory”
Comparing the infrastructures in Europe and Turkey, Bakirdoven informed about the projects of the ETFF Academy. Abdulkadir Bakirdoven stated, “Teams in Europe attach great importance to infrastructure. They scout young talents. They strive to train talented footballers professionally within the academies they have established. Unfortunately, in Turkey, we do not see the emergence of players from the grassroots as effectively due to the insufficient emphasis on infrastructure by our teams. At least Arda Guler’s emergence is a good example of this. After Arda, Semih Kilicsoy playing for Besiktas also influenced other teams to focus on the grassroots. In the end, football is like a factory. If you produce, nurture, and sell, you contribute to both the club’s treasury and the country’s football. I believe that with the necessary investments, many more players like Arda can emerge from our population of 85 million. Everything depends on investing in infrastructure. I believe that whoever invests in infrastructure in a real sense will reap its rewards. As the ETFF Academy, we are currently collaborating with the German Football Academy. We have a major project. A comprehensive ETFF Academy area covering 12,500 square meters will be established near Munich, and it is currently in the project phase. There, both education and football will be conducted compactly. We have the opportunity to play matches with teams like Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich. The players joining the academy there will not only receive tri-lingual education. Everything from dietitians to sports psychologists is available within the academy.”
Sedat Aydemir: “The academy we will establish will serve all expatriates as it is located in the middle of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy”
The Founding General President of the European Turkish Football Federation Academy, Sedat Aydemir, spoke about the academy project as follows: “Our current project is in its final stages. It will be completely finished in 2-3 weeks. With the facility we will build on a 12,500 square meter area there, we will play a major role in bringing our youth to the national team. It will be an area where school and education in 3 languages are provided. Three meals will be prepared by dietitians. We aim to train our youth with a professional team and contribute them to the country’s football. The academy we will establish will serve all expatriates as it is located in the middle of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. A young person not only from Europe but also from Turkey can come to the academy here to receive education and develop their football skills. The players who step into professionalism will be able to receive their training for free through the selections we will make.”
Aydemir added that they are in talks with the Turkish Football Federation and stated, “We are in the process of talks with the Turkish Football Federation. As you know, they have an election process ahead of them. At the same time, due to their presence at the European Championship, we could not conduct detailed discussions, but the necessary information has been provided.”
“Necessary importance should be given to infrastructure studies in our country”
Finally, emphasizing the need for increased importance on infrastructure in Turkey, Sedat Aydemir said, “They attach great importance to infrastructure in Europe. Even in a town or village today, there is an infrastructure academy where children can receive education. They value this situation greatly. This is also an important effort for keeping young people away from bad habits. As a result of this situation, as you can see, many players who receive education there are serving in the Germany National Team and various leagues in Europe. Today, we are a country with a population of 85 million. It is necessary to give the required importance to infrastructure studies in our country as well.”