Turkey’s first national soccer game in Kurdish heartland hints at electioneering
The match was set in Diyarbakir by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he faces a tough vote next year.
ISTANBUL — Turkey’s national anthem rang out around a packed stadium on Wednesday evening as the Turkish men’s soccer team lined up for the first national match ever played in Diyarbakir, widely regarded as the unofficial “capital” of the country’s Kurdish region.
With a crowd of some 33,000 flag-waving supporters singing "Istiklal Marsi," the players stood under the lights of the Diyarbakir Stadium for a friendly game against Scotland.
The game, which was played in the city on the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, came as Turkey faces elections next year in which the country’s Kurdish voters are expected to play a key role.
Erdogan is facing probably his toughest electoral challenge ever amid the worst economic crisis under his 20-year stewardship that has left the president and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) struggling in the polls.
