TFF President Büyükekşi on candidate stadiums for Euro 2032: 'There is no point in muddying the waters'

Turkish Football Federation President Mehmet Büyükekşi made statements regarding the debate over the candidate stadiums selected for the 2032 European Football Championship (EURO 2032), which will be co-hosted by Italy and Turkey.

Speaking to members of the press at the airport entrance, Büyükekşi said the following:

"WE WANT TO GAIN AN ADVANTAGE"

"We have a very important match against Croatia. It is Vincenzo Montella’s first match. We have two very important matches to qualify for the 2024 European Championship. One is tomorrow, and the other is the Latvia match in Konya. With the results we get from these two matches, we hope to gain a great advantage in terms of going to the European Championship. Our coach knows Turkey well, having worked here for two years, and when he left Turkey, he shared with the world public on every platform that he had very good experiences and that the Turkish people are hospitable even abroad. He knows our feelings and thoughts well. He will follow not only the big teams but all the matches. He is not just watching the matches; he is also watching the training sessions of those teams in the cities he visits. He is extremely well-intentioned about creating a nice family environment for our players. We brought in Selçuk Şahin as an assistant coach. As a Turkish coach, he will also make a separate contribution to the work our coach will do in this regard. I hope the results will be beneficial for our country and our nation."

"WE WANT TO DEVELOP TOURISM"

Stating that they discussed the EURO 2032 candidacy with Italian coach Vincenzo Montella, Büyükekşi said, "Our coach's views are extremely positive. Because we have 9 years ahead of us. These 9 years are very important. We are not looking at this event only as football. It is a cooperation that includes sports and art in terms of promoting our countries. Italy is the 5th largest country we trade with, both in terms of imports and exports. We want to develop this further. We want to develop tourism further. We have an academy project. We started this with our Super Lig clubs this year. Next year, we will start it with our 1st League clubs. The country we are partners with and will work together with is a country that has won the World Cup 4 times so far. It is the cradle of football; we will also research and develop some collaborations there. It will combine our strengths and provide advantages in taking steps together. We are two Mediterranean countries, we have similar cultures. We can look at events a bit more emotionally. We will work on this issue to reach the goal both with our coach and with Italy in the 2032 European Championship," he said.

"RE-EVALUATIONS WILL BE MADE"

When asked about the Beşiktaş Club's post regarding the stadiums reported for the 2032 European Championship, President Büyükekşi spoke as follows:

"The goalposts behind the stands at the Olympic Stadium will be expanded; it will have a capacity of 80,000. I do not find it right to enter into such a debate right now. When we applied separately, we had reported 10 stadiums each. This will drop to 5, and a re-evaluation will be made. This will be done in 2026. There is no point in muddying the waters today for this. There is no purpose to it either. Today, the Italians are rejoicing, saying 'it is very important for us.' Let us enjoy the joy; such a thing is not even in question. We already have 38 stadiums, and we have to eliminate most of them. We can change these; perhaps the number of stadiums in Istanbul will drop to 1. We are not handing out favors to anyone. There are UEFA criteria here; there must be stadiums with the highest spectator capacity. The revenues from the matches played in these stadiums will go neither to that club nor to the TFF. All revenues go to UEFA. With the re-evaluations in accordance with UEFA criteria, only 5 stadiums will remain. Then every city of ours will stand up on this issue. 2032 is not an Istanbul championship, it is a Turkey championship. The stadiums of our other clubs may also be left out. It is not right to express an opinion on this. Many of our cities in Anatolia want it to be held in their own city. I wish we could hold it in 30 cities."

SUPER CUP STATEMENT

Regarding where the TFF Super Cup to be played between Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe will be held, Mehmet Büyükekşi concluded his words by saying, "I made my statement on this issue in a television program; I said we are in talks with Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. If we reach an agreement, it could be abroad on October 30. These negotiations are not a study carried out by the Turkish Football Federation on its own initiative. It is a study we conducted with both the president of our Fenerbahçe Club and the president of our Galatasaray Club, and we received their 'approval.' Both of them expressed their consent on this matter. If we agree, we will announce in which country the agreement, made with the consent of these two clubs, will take place. If it happens, you will hear it from us; do not pay attention to posts by unauthorized persons."