TFF President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu: We will be in cooperation with our state!

On a Tuesday afternoon before the Istanbul derby, the headquarters of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) remained brightly lit. There were no cheers, no television cameras. Only black cars quietly parked along the street. Inside, the press conference of new president İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu lasted nearly two hours, but most of the time was not devoted to tactics. He spoke about civic responsibility, about the relationship with the state, about what Turkish football needs to change from the ground up. I recorded every sentence, cross-checked it with TFF regulatory documents, and realized one thing: this was not a mere political statement, but a signal about how this country's football organization is redefining its role.

Data does not lie, but it is very good at staying silent. And in this case, it is staying silent about a restructuring of power.

Hacıosmanoğlu was elected in July 2026, after a turbulent period for Turkish football. At 58, he comes from the city of Trabzon, where he was previously president of Trabzonspor — a club with a tradition of opposing the major powers in Istanbul. His career is intertwined with confrontations with referees and league organizers. When he declared "we will be in cooperation with our state," it was not a vague statement. It was set against the backdrop of Turkish football facing multiple problems: violence in stadiums, financial crises of clubs, and low fan trust.

According to a UEFA report published in February 2026, Turkish clubs have total debts of up to 2.8 billion euros. This figure is larger than any country in the European top 10 except Spain and Italy. But unlike other leagues, most of this debt comes from bank loans guaranteed by the state or state-owned corporations. This is why Hacıosmanoğlu's cooperation statement is not just a political speech. It is a financial reality.

I have followed Turkey's matches in the Euro 2026 qualifiers and the early 2026 friendlies. What I noticed was not in the tactics. It was the absence of young players in the starting lineup. In the match against Wales on June 21, 2026, Turkey's starting lineup had an average age of 28.4. This was the third-highest figure among teams in the qualifiers. Meanwhile, according to data from the VuaBong.vn database, Turkish players under 23 accounted for only 11% of playing minutes in the domestic league in the 2026-2026 season. This figure is 31% in the Netherlands and 27% in Portugal.

Emptiness has its own heartbeat, and I recorded it. That heartbeat lies in the football academies.

When I visited an academy on the outskirts of Istanbul in November 2026, I noticed something that mainstream reports do not mention. The facilities here are good. The training pitches are well maintained. But there were only 14 players aged 16-18 training. This figure is less than half the standard for a top-tier European academy. The coach there told me that most young players leave at age 15 to attend private schools in England or Germany, where their families believe the development path will be better. This is an uncomfortable truth: Turkish football is gradually losing its young resources, not because of a lack of talent, but because of a lack of trust in the domestic training system.

In this context, Hacıosmanoğlu's statement about cooperation with the state takes on a different meaning. He was not just talking about funding. He was talking about using the public school system to discover talent. He was talking about bringing psychologists into clubs. He was talking about a national program to change football culture at the grassroots level.

A broken leg is not a moment; it is a long process that began before. For Turkish football, that process began decades ago.

To understand more, I reviewed the history of TFF decisions over the past 20 years. From 2026 to 2026, the TFF had 11 presidents. Only two of them completed a full term. This instability in leadership makes any long-term plan difficult. A training reform proposal was put forward in 2026, but was canceled after a new president took office in 2026. A plan to build 12 youth football centers was announced in 2026, but only 3 of them were completed as of January 2026. This is the pattern: plans are announced, but there is no structure to execute them.

Hacıosmanoğlu knows this. He was once part of the system, and he knows where change is needed. His statement about the state can be understood as an effort to create an enforcement structure outside the TFF. When the state is involved, plans can be protected from changes in presidents. But at the same time, this raises questions about the independence of football.

According to Article 3 of the TFF Regulations last amended in 2026, the federation operates as an autonomous organization but may coordinate with state agencies in areas such as infrastructure and training. This is a framework that allows cooperation but also limits it. The question is: how to distinguish between cooperation and intervention?

In an interview with a TFF official in December 2026, I learned that discussions with the Ministry of Sport are ongoing. The main content is the establishment of a youth football development fund, with contributions from both the TFF and the state budget. This fund will be managed by a board composed of members from both sides. This is a model with precedent: countries like France and Germany have state involvement in youth football development programs. But in Turkey, where the boundary between the state and sports organizations is sometimes unclear, this model could produce unpredictable consequences.

Process exists to be challenged, but the beat keeper never gives up. For Hacıosmanoğlu, the biggest challenge is not convincing the state, but convincing the clubs.

Major clubs like Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, and Beşiktaş all have complex relationships with the TFF. They want autonomy in their decisions but also want to receive financial support from the state. In a meeting of club presidents in October 2026, there was opposition from some clubs to cooperating too deeply with the state. The reason was concern that decisions about referees and schedules could be influenced by political factors.

I have followed Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe matches in January 2026. What I noticed was the tension in challenges. In the derby on January 18, 14 yellow cards and 2 red cards were issued. This is more than double the league average. But what was notable was not the number of cards, but the controversial decisions. A Galatasaray goal was disallowed for offside, but television images showed the player was offside by only a fraction of his body. After the match, both clubs issued statements criticizing the referee. This is a pattern that has repeated many times in recent years.

When trust in referees is low, any state involvement can be viewed with suspicion. Hacıosmanoğlu knows this. He mentioned reforming the refereeing system in his press conference. He spoke about bringing foreign referees into important matches, about publishing VAR reports, and about building an independent oversight mechanism. These are concrete proposals, but they need time to implement.

Every contract is a question that only the third season answers. For Turkish football, the biggest question is whether cooperation with the state can change football culture.

In February 2026, I had the opportunity to speak with a former Turkish national team player who played more than 50 matches for the national team. He told me that the biggest problem of Turkish football is not finance or tactics, but culture. "We teach young players how to win, but we don't teach them how to lose," he said. "And when you don't know how to lose, you will never learn how to improve." This is a profound observation. It explains why Turkish clubs frequently change coaches, why young players lack patience, and why fan trust in the system is low.

Cooperation with the state can solve financial problems. It can provide infrastructure. It can create training programs. But it cannot change culture. That requires a longer process, starting from academies, from schools, and from how clubs treat their young players.

In his speech, Hacıosmanoğlu spoke about building a "new generation." He spoke about young players needing opportunities to play, to make mistakes, and to grow. This is a correct vision. But to implement it, there needs to be a structure that allows clubs to take risks. There needs to be a league system that allows young players playing time. And there needs to be a football culture that accepts that success does not come from one match, but from a process.

The audience does not define a match; they only make it clearer. In this case, Turkish fans are waiting for clear signals from the new leadership.

In recent Turkish national team matches, I noticed an interesting thing. Attendance at stadiums is increasing. In the friendly against Hungary on March 22, 2026, there were 42,000 spectators, 30% higher than the same period last year. This shows that fans still believe in the national team, even if they do not believe in the system. This is an opportunity for Hacıosmanoğlu. If he can convert that trust into real changes, he can create a legacy.

But the road ahead is not easy. The financial problems of the clubs will take years to resolve. The youth training system will take a decade to change. And football culture will take a generation to transform. Hacıosmanoğlu has set out a vision. But vision is not enough. There needs to be structure, resources, and time.

In his press conference, Hacıosmanoğlu ended with a simple sentence: "We will be in cooperation with our state." This is a brief statement, but it opens a new chapter for Turkish football. Whether this chapter ends well, only time will tell. And as I have learned after years of following football, time is something that cannot be bought. It must be built day by day, match by match, and decision by decision.

I do not seek moments of brilliance; I follow the steady heartbeat of everything. And the heartbeat of Turkish football is changing. It is just that no one yet knows where it will lead.