Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin, Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak, TFF President Mehmet Büyükekşi, TFF managers, guests and press members attended the signing ceremony held at TFF Riva Hasan Doğan National Teams Camp and Training Facilities.

 

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister of National Education Tekin stated that they are making efforts to develop sports culture and sports habits in schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education.

 

Minister Tekin underlined that they want to raise children who can manage their own bodies and have sports habits and culture.

 

Explaining that he visited a primary school before coming to the program, Tekin said that in accordance with the decision taken in the summer months, he participated in the cultural and physical movements and games of the students in the school garden before the lesson.

 

Noting that they added an elective course called "sports culture" to the curriculum, Minister Tekin reminded that in the circular they sent during the summer months, they asked children to hand over their mobile phones to the school administration when entering the school. He said that with this application, they wanted to encourage children to play in the school gardens instead of spending time on their phones in the classroom during the break. Minister underlined they are working to transform school gardens into playgrounds by allocating funds to schools.

 

Touching on the practices of preventing obesity and creating a healthy life culture, Minister of National Education Tekin said that they have taken the necessary measures to ensure that children grow up to be able to manage their own bodies through sports culture.

 

Stating that studies were carried out for this purpose with the "project school" that was put into practice in 2014, Minister Tekin said that the football high school opened in this context was a structure created together with the football federation. Sharing that the volleyball high school is more successful than the football high school, Tekin said that more than twenty athletes in the Women's National Volleyball Team graduated from the volleyball high school run together with the Turkish Volleyball Federation.

 

Saying that in addition to the development of sports culture,they also want to contribute to the training of people who specialize in certain sports branches, Minister called on people who are interested in sports to support this process. Minister Tekin stated that sports clubs, especially sports clubs in the provinces and Anatolia, who want to carry out infrastructure work similar to what they do with the Football Federation, can work with the Ministry through their provincial directorates.

 

Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak said that they are making intense efforts to spread sports to the grassroots and introduce children to sports at an early age.

 

Stating that the common subject of the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Youth and Sports is children, Minister Osman Aşkın Bak underlined that they are making joint efforts to increase sports activities for their children. Noting that they talked with the Minister of National Education Tekin about activating sports high schools, Osman Aşkın Bak said that it is very important to spread sports to the grassroots and introduce children to sports at an early age.

 

Stating that Türkiye has one of the most important sports infrastructures in Europe, Minister Bak stressed that an important process has begun, especially in the training of coaches, managers and children who will raise young people in the best way in these facilities. Expressing that they want to raise champions all over Anatolia, Osman Aşkın Bak said that Türkiye's developing infrastructure is very important. Explaining that they taught swimming to 7.5 million children through the "No One Left Without Swimming Project", the Minister said that they found new talents by experts through talent screening conducted for 6 million children. Stressing that they attach importance to the development of Turkish football, Minister Bak announced that teachers in schools will be given basic and advanced education on football during this process.

Underlining the importance of sustainability, Minister Bak said that they should reveal the equity system within the framework of the football academy. Stating that they want young people to do sports, Minister Bak emphasized that the cooperation of clubs is very important at this point. Minister Bak stated that the academic structure of the teams in the Super League is also important and that they have the newest facilities in Europe. Noting that they want children to represent Türkiye in the international arena, Minister Bak stated that President Erdoğan understands young people very well. Emphasizing that they want to train great names in the facilities, Minister Bak said, they consider this project important for Turkish football to reach the place it deserves in the international arena. The Minister underlined that they, as the Ministry of Youth and Sports, will do their part.

 

Emphasizing the importance of the fight against addiction and obesity for the Ministry, Osman Aşkın Bak stated that they will achieve a stronger social structure by directing children to gyms, football pitches and facilities.

 

Stating that they believe that Turkish football will make a significant breakthrough in the new century, TFF President Mehmet Büyükekşi said that they took the first step with football academies. Büyükekşi stated that they will take the second step together with the Ministries of National Education, Youth and Sports with the Cooperation Protocol.

 

Stating that they examined the infrastructures in Europe and realized that children started their football training at the age of 6, President Büyükekşi noted that football education in Europe is carried out in an organized manner with the cooperation of sports clubs and schools. Explaining that with this cooperation protocol, they will provide football training to children in primary and secondary schools under the coordination of the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Büyükekşi said that they aim to reach 100 thousand children on the 100th anniversary of the Republic. Underlining that teachers should also be trained in order to achieve this goal, Büyükekşi said that they aim to select approximately 20 schools in each province that meet the criteria and provide basic coaching education to teachers in approximately 300 schools in total. In this context, Büyükekşi expressed that they plan to provide "Voluntary Leadership Coaching Education '' to 3,000-3,500 classroom teachers in primary schools and advance coaching education on football to 2,500-3,000 physical education teachers in secondary schools. Stating that the education will be face to face and online, Büyükekşi added that teachers will be awarded with diplomas.

 

After the speeches, TFF President Mehmet Büyükekşi gifted Minister Tekin and Minister Bak National Team jersey No.10 with their names on it.

 

After the signing ceremony, protocol members visited the Turkish Football Federation Meral-Celal Aras Sports High School in Riva.