Not a Super League match, but a neighborhood match: 15 thousand people watched

The final of the traditional neighborhood football tournament held annually in Erdemli, Mersin was watched by 15,000 people. The final match attracted a lot of interest from everyone aged 7 to 70, including women as well as men.

A total of 48 teams participated in the neighborhood tournament organized in cooperation with the district governor’s office and the municipality in Erdemli. The tournament, which took place at the sports facilities in Kayacı, was held for the 19th time this year, and after 128 matches, Karakeşli and Elvanlı neighborhoods reached the final. In the final match, watched by approximately 15,000 people, there was no space left in the closed and open stands, so citizens followed the match from the hills. The excitement and enthusiasm experienced in the stands were remarkable. In the fiercely contested match, Elvanlıspor defeated Karakeşli 3-1 and lifted the championship trophy.

“There are over 15,000 spectators watching the match.”

Highlighting the unifying power of sports, Erdemli Mayor Mustafa Kara stated, “Our tournament, which started on June 28, is coming to an end today. It has been a tournament with 48 teams and 1,250 football players sweating it out. Today, our final match is being watched by approximately 15,000 spectators. As Erdemli Municipality, we fully support amateur athletes and amateur clubs. Today is also a beautiful final. There is an interesting group of spectators, with 15,000 fans currently watching. The people of Erdemli, the Yörük people love football; they support their teams, and this brings us joy.”

Expressing his excitement while watching the final match, Ali Gökçen said, “We are at the Elvanlı – Karakeşli match. A beautiful summer rain has also started, and we are trying to watch the match under a plastic cover. I wish success to both teams.”

Fatma Dere, who has been following village matches for 19 years, said, “I have been coming to watch these matches for 19 years. I wish success to all the teams in the matches we will watch. We relieve our stress, we meet those we know, we talk with our villagers, and we get to know the villagers from neighboring villages.”

“We left the stress of home and came to watch the match.”

Hacer Gün, one of the spectators, stated, “We came to watch the match. I used to not like watching matches, but as I came to these matches, I started to enjoy watching matches. Now we watch the matches on TV as well. We leave the stress of home, work, and responsibilities and come here to watch the match.”

Meanwhile, the trophies were presented to the winning teams by Erdemli District Governor Aydın Tetikoğlu, Mayor Mustafa Kara, and District Youth and Sports Director Ferhat Keskin.