Harun Erdenay, who is the presidential candidate in the Ordinary Election General Assembly of the Turkish Basketball Federation, said, “Our goal is to return the country’s basketball to its old days, which won the country’s basketball and forced the summit in tournaments. It’s time to remind the world once again about Turkish basketball, which gave the opposing team a hard time in front of the full and enthusiastic tribunes, got together with the country and whose success was talked about by everyone. We will make Turkey the country of basketball again,” he said.
Turkish Basketball Federation President Candidate Harun Erdenay met with members of the press and explained his goals and projects. Harun Erdenay, who was nominated for the presidency at the Ordinary Election General Assembly to be held in Ankara on Thursday, November 4, announced his projects with the board of directors and emphasized that they rolled up their sleeves with his friends on the board of directors for sustainable sports success.
“WE WILL RETURN THE TURKISH BASKETBALL TO THE TOP”
Expressing that Turkish basketball is in a great decline in both men and women, Erdenay said, “While we were the eighth in the world in men in 2016, we have now regressed to the 16th place. In women, we dropped from sixth to tenth. The first goal of me and my board buddies is to get country basketball back to its old days, winning and pushing the top in tournaments. It’s time to remind the world once again about our basketball, which gave the opposing team a hard time in front of the full and enthusiastic stands, which is close to the country and whose success is talked about by everyone. We will return the country basketball to its old days of winning and pushing the top in tournaments. We will make Turkey a basketball country again,” he said.
“WE WILL BRING THE EUROPEAN AND WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TO TURKEY”
Harun Erdenay, who said that they will bring the big organization like the European and World Champions to Turkey in the short term, said, “It will definitely be our main goal to bring one organization to our country in the short term and then two. Thus, we will rekindle the basketball fire that has gone out in the Turkish audience, who will have the chance to watch the championships in our country. The contribution of such organizations to the country’s economy and promotion, culture and tourism will be inevitable,” he said.
“WE WILL INCREASE THE REVENUES OF CLUBS”
Stating that they will be the sponsor of each league and thus aiming to increase their club income, Erdenay said, “TBF will now have a structure that creates its own resources and whose brand value increases day by day. We will contribute not only to the federation, but also to our clubs in the processes of finding sponsors and creating funds. But most importantly, we will use the resources created only for basketball. Marketing strategies for each league will be created with working groups to be formed by experts in their fields, and it will be ensured that it has a sponsor who will make the necessary arrangements and updates regarding the league status. Team shares in broadcasting rights and sponsorship revenues will be increased by making necessary negotiations and initiatives. Our leagues will be made more attractive for basketball fans and the demand for viewing will be increased, and a new broadcast tender will be launched in the 2022-2023 season,” he said.
“REGIONAL LEAGUES WILL COME BACK”
Emphasizing that they will reopen the closed regional leagues in order to spread basketball to the base, Erdenay said, “Our main goal is to have at least one team from 81 provinces in the basketball leagues. There will be no city without basketball. Indoor sports hall agreements will be made with the Ministry of National Education and the Turkish Universities Sports Federation. Contributing to Turkish basketball both in terms of raising players and increasing communication and interaction between cities and regions; The regional leagues, which were canceled in 2017-2018, in which 82 clubs operate in 48 cities, 750-1000 basketball players, 75-100 coaches, 150-180 referees and 100 observers, will return in order to spread and further popularize basketball. ” he said.
“EVERY CHILD WILL HAVE A BASKETBALL BALL IN THE ROOM”
Stating that the age of playing basketball in the world has decreased to five, Harun Erdenay said, “We will make our children at this age experience the fun of basketball, share its serenity, keep them alive in team play and keep them in this love until they graduate from university. Each child will have a basketball in their room. We have to carry our infrastructure successes to the A-teams level. Our flow plan is ready for our youth players to take more time in A team matches. We will bring back the national excitement in the first teams,” he said.
“ORHUN WILL BRING TO TOURNAMENTS”
About Orhun Ene, Head Coach of the Basketball A National Team, Erdenay said, “If we come to the job, Orhun Ene is a good coach and if his contract continues, if Orhun Ene wants to work, we will continue. Orhun Ene will take us to the tournaments,” he said.
“THE FOREIGN RULE MAY HAVE A MINOR CHANGE”
Regarding the foreign rule, Erdenay said, “I don’t think the 5 foreigners limit will be lowered, clubs will object. The representatives of the league will come, they will ask for foreign players, we will talk about Turkish players. There may be formulas such as 4+1 3+2. There may be a slight change in the foreign rule,” he said.
RED: WE BELIEVE THAT BASKETBALL WILL REACH 12 GIANT DAYS
Nihat Kırmızı, a business person in Erdenay’s team, said that they believe they will raise basketball to world standards and said, “We believe that basketball will reach its deserved days with Harun Erdenay. We set our heart on sports, and we set our heart on basketball in sports. We believed that Harun Erdenay would raise basketball to world standards.”
KORKMAZ: BASKETBALL IS A GREAT ECONOMY BACK TO SPORTS
Businessman Halil Korkmaz, who is responsible for the economy in Erdenay’s team, said, “We came second in the world in 2010, we hugged each other and cried after the fight against Serbia in the semi-finals. Although the term of the federation presidency was short-lived, he carried the level to the top. When Harun the president said, ‘Let’s fight together and take basketball to the place it deserves’, I accepted. Basketball is not just a sport, it’s also a big economy. We want to keep these achievements alive for those who love basketball.”
İbrahim ALIOĞLU – Olgucan KALKAN / ISTANBUL,(DHA)
