Backed by the government, Turkey’s banking sector and soccer federation have launched an effort to salvage the soccer industry, which, like many other sectors, is in a financial bottleneck. Many fans in the soccer-mad country may rejoice at the news, but the rescue operation is likely to result in tighter government control over soccer clubs, which are not exempt from the country’s political and cultural wars.
On Jan. 7, Huseyin Aydin, the head of the Banks Association of Turkey (TBB), and Yildirim Demiroren, the chief of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), appeared together on a television program, in which they spoke about a debt restructuring plan for soccer clubs. Referring to Turkey’s economic downturn, Aydin said, “We have been restructuring [the debts of] companies due to serious exchange-rate risks, interest-rate risks and economic contraction over the past six months. We’ve restructured companies exposed to exchange-rate risks and interest-rate risks that operate decently, face temporary disruptions in cash flow and can survive. We are doing the same with the soccer industry.”
