Türkiye has enough capacity to handle international sports events: President
capacity to handle all kinds of international sports events, including
the Olympics, the nation’s president said on Thursday.
This
assertion is possible thanks to the work and projects “we have brought
to our country in the last 23 years,” said Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
referring to his time as the country’s leader, speaking at the opening
ceremony of a UEFA office in Istanbul.
“We have taken Türkiye to a
very different league in terms of sports investments. We have opened
new sports facilities according to the needs of our provinces.
“We have increased the total number of sports facilities from 1,575 to 4,470,” he noted.
He highlighted that they have largely addressed the country’s shortcomings in sports infrastructure.
Stressing
that UEFA is opening a representative office in Türkiye for the first
time following London and Brussels, Erdogan said that through this
office, his country will establish more contact with UEFA for the
development of Turkish football and undertake joint projects together.
Stating
that the representative office will also facilitate UEFA’s faster
communication and coordination with regional federations, he added: “I
believe that the representative office will play an important role in
the various football events we will host in the coming years.”
Following
the opening ceremony, Erdogan received UEFA President Aleksander
Ceferin. Turkish Youth and Sports Minister Osman Askin Bak and
presidential adviser on foreign policy and security Akif Cagatay Kilic
were also present at the reception.
The Istanbul office of the
European football governing body will play an active role in
preparations for the 2032 UEFA European Football Championship, which
will be co-hosted by Türkiye and Italy.
Istanbul has already
hosted many major UEFA events, including the 2005 UEFA Champions League
Final, 2009 UEFA Cup final, 2019 UEFA Super Cup final, and 2023 UEFA
Champions League final.
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