It is an undeniable fact that football reigns supreme in Turkey. It is the national sport and people are mad about it. But a person from the US should not be fooled by this statement, because here the football is not their football, but what an American would simply call soccer.American football is quite a young sport for Turkey. While there have been university teams since the 1990s, it was only brought under the Turkish Federation for Baseball, Softball, American Football and Rugby in 2005.
The league has played since the 2005-2006 season, following the signature of a deal with the federation. Last season’s champion is the İstanbul American Football Club, also known as İstanbul AFK and the İstanbul Cavaliers. The Cavaliers is one of only two American football teams in Turkey not affiliated with a university; the team was established by a couple of former university students who played the game in 2005. They play against seven other teams in the second division.
While enjoying success as an exemplary sports club, the Cavaliers lack one of the basics of the sport -- a training field -- amid the abundance of regular football facilities. This would not be an issue if there were no financial problems, but the only people paid are the coaches. The players actually pay to participate. “There are many football teams, and they get facilities and training fields in the most beautiful places. But we cannot find a training pitch. When I go to talk to the owners of facilities, they ask for a total of TL 35,000 per year, but I can’t afford it,” Cavs President Bahadır Ilgaç told Sunday’s Zaman.
“Our team has three to five times the number of players that football teams field. We take part in international events and represent Turkey. But they [amateur football (soccer) teams] are able to make transfers and thus earn money,” Ilgaç said, adding that there is not a transfer market for American football in Turkey.
The situation is causing trouble ahead of the team’s looming European American football event. “We have a game on June 26 and we cannot train,” Ilgaç noted. He said that they could earn an international cup if they are supported.
There are four big events for American football in Europe. Euroball is the top platform, followed by the second-level European Federation of American Football (EFAF) Cup and Central European Football League (CEFL) Cup, which features teams from Central European states including Serbia, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary and Turkey. At a lower level, there is the Challenge Cup. The Cavaliers are competing in the Challenge Cup and aspire to earn a wildcard spot for the CEFL Cup.
The Cavs are currently undefeated in the Challenge Cup. Three other Turkish teams have been eliminated so far. “Our ultimate target is to play in the Euroball,” Ilgaç added.
Highest point without a budget
Like all federations, the federation with which American football is affiliated is a part of the General Directorate of Youth and Sports (GSGM). But the budget given to American football by the GSGM is not sufficient, Ilgaç said.
His team is a motley collection of young American football aficionados, with the oldest players in their early 30s. Stating that the first division Turkish league, which has eight teams, is quite competitive, the 29-year-old president said the sport is currently at the highest point it can achieve in Turkey with such a small budget. He also underlined that sponsor support is critical for further development.
The İstanbul Cavaliers also compete in the second division of Turkey’s American football league. The team currently has 90 players in total; they want to recruit more players and spread the sport if they can find the finances with which to do so.
Like many other amateur sports in Turkey, the American football athletes earn their livelihood through other professions. Ilgaç, a former American football player, for example, works as a strategic planning and development specialist at a private company. The sport does not have old athletes; the oldest players in the Turkish leagues are in their early 30s and most players are still students either at universities or high schools.
Turkey’s NFL player: Tunç İlgin
When we scan the media, we see that the US’ National Football League (NFL) once featured a Turkish player, Tunç İlgin. He is the only Turk to have played in the league. İlgin played for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 14 years and currently works as a television sports commentator.
Visiting the Cavs’ training in March, İlgin said in an interview on nfltr.com that he wanted to contribute to the development of the sport in Turkey. Turkey currently has three American football leagues: first division, second division and university league. Ankara’s Hacettepe University led this season’s university league. “The Turkish national American football team will compete in an international event for the first time this year in Italy in July,” the federation’s secretary-general, Metin Ejder, told Sunday’s Zaman.
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