Göztepe has the chance to become a role model
Türkiye is Europe's sixth largest football economy with broadcasting, sponsorship and ticket revenues amounting to 1 billion Euros. Göztepe has taken its place among the leading actors of an economy growing 5 times in the last 10 years by managing to win against Eskişehirspor in the final of the playoffs to be promoted to the Super League. However, the real struggle starts now.
The most crucial problem big clubs in Türkiye face is that they have the structure of an association and bulky forms of management. Frequently changing managerial staff do not render continuity possible, either. Anatolian teams, on the other hand, usually depend on the budget to be allocated by the municipalities. They also have an unstable structure that is affected by elections.
In Europe, more clubs have begun to be bought by real persons in recent years. The clubs that are entrusted to real professionals of the business are both improving their achievements and increasing their incomes rapidly.
Göztepe is very lucky in this regard. The club has learned much from its turbulent past that has stretched from the Super League to the amateur league. With the purchase of the club by Mehmet Sepil, the club has achieved a steady rise.
The new target for Göztepe is to make a difference in the Super League with its quick decision-making mechanism. Göztepe, known as the reds and yellows of İzmir, can bring a different excitement and dynamism to the league with its management that adopts the current football mind and its ardent supporters who have not surrendered to the spirit of the industrial football.
If it manages to fully create a sporting and administrative infrastructure until the completion of its stadium's construction, Göztepe can become a part of the long-awaited championship and race in participation to European Championship.
The success of Göztepe will mean the winning of İzmir. Domestic tourism will be mobilized, the number of direct flies from İzmir will increase, and the local press will also revive İzmir will appear more on the pages of the national press.
In brief, Göztepe and İzmir can be a role model that earns the sympathies and appreciation of the whole Turkish football family. The great support put behind Göztepe in the social media before the final game to get promoted to the Super League is the first signal flare of this.
Come on Göz Göz, this is just the beginning. The history pages already say that you can do much more.
05.06.2017
