Exclusive: Turgay Demirel Re-Elected as President of Turkish Basketball Federation

Turgay Demirel has been re-elected as President of the Turkish Basketball Federation (TBF) for another four year term, following the exploits of the women’s national team at the Olympic Games, as well as the men’s qualification for the 2013 EuroBasket.

Demirel said:  “The Turkish Basketball Federation has reached an important milestone. Our objective the past 10 years was to build up basketball in Turkey and achieve success on the court.

“We are now one of the strongest basketball nations in the world and our national teams hold silver medals in the World and European championships.

“Now it is time to take our federation and sport to the next level and go for gold.”

Under his leadership, TBF have introduced their 2012-2016 strategic plan, named ‘Project Powerhouse”, which lays down the blueprint to cement the nation’s position as an elite in international basketball.

“The Turkish Basketball Federation is one of the strongest in the world. This is the result of long term planning and a clear vision. When I first got elected as President in 1992 our main focus was to create the right foundation for basketball in Turkey,” said Demirel, exclusively to iSportconnect.

“We worked on our grassroots programs and sports performance system to find the right players that could help us achieve the sports success we needed to get noticed nationally and internationally.

“We also knew we needed something to drive our development and decided to bid for major sports events.

“In 2001 entered a new phase. We had a strong national team and we had secured the rights to host the EuroBasket. Our aim was now to position Turkey as a leading nation in Basketball.

“We won the silver medal at the 2001 EuroBasket and used the sports success to secure new and exciting commercial partnerships both for our national teams and leagues. We continued to host major sports events such as the 2005 Women’s EuroBasket and the 2010 FIBA World Championship. And we continued to win medals.”

With the aim to pick up as many medals as possible, as well as to create the strongest domestic league, the next step revolves around creating the optimum talent development programme.

Demirel said: “Now it’s time for gold. We are entering into a new phase for Turkish Basketball. We have come far in the past 20 years.

“Now it is time to secure sustainable sports success and firmly position the Turkish Basketball Federation in the top of the world.

“We are excited about the future and ready to work hard to create a new chapter in the history of Turkish sports.”

Bettina Kuperman, CEO of Impact34, who helped construst the ‘Project Powerhouse’ plan, mirrored Demirel’s vision to achieve sustained growth and help the country be as successful as possible on the court.

Speaking to iSportconnect, she said: “The Turkish Basketball Federation is going for the top.

“It is very refreshing to see a sports federation that is this focused and ambitious.

“Their approach to sports management is an in-depth understanding of and passion for their sport mixed with essential business principles such as strategic planning, change management, communication and value creation.”

Patrick Baumann, Secretary General of FIBA, added: “I believe that good leadership within the TBF, the hosting of major events including the FIBA World Championship and strong governmental support have all combined to raise the profile of the sport, the number of players and, as a result the level of Turkish Basketball. The TBF is definitely a great example for others to follow.”