29.04.2025 22:00
Former national basketball player Murat Şamil Şen announced that he is a candidate for the presidency of Gençlerbirliği, a team in the Trendyol 1st League. Şen's team includes former football players Uğur Boral and Serkan Balcı. Presidential candidate Şen stated, "The biggest problem of sports clubs is finding temporary solutions to problems. We and our team know what we will do when we get promoted to the Super League starting today." The general assembly will be held on June 3rd.
Former national basketball player Murat Şamil Şen announced at a press conference that he will run for the presidency at the general assembly of Gençlerbirliği Club, one of the teams in Trendyol 1. Lig, which will take place on June 3.
Murat Şamil Şen "THE TECHNICAL DIRECTOR WILL BE A CHILD OF THE COMMUNITY" At the meeting held at a hotel in Ankara, former footballers Uğur Boral, Tarık Daşgün, and Serkan Balcı, who have achieved many successes in different clubs and the national team, attended. In the meeting where Murat Şamil Şen met with the press, he talked about his projects. Stating that he wants to rebuild the future of Gençlerbirliği, Şen said, "Recently, there have been financial problems, administrative weaknesses, and institutional indiscipline in the club. If we are elected, we will bring a technical director and an assistant who are children of the community to lead the team."
"THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS TEMPORARY SOLUTIONS" Pointing out that production and income have stopped since İlhan Cavcav at Gençlerbirliği, Şen said, "These types of works usually happen in the last 2-3 months. We see managing a team, a club as a job rather than just a task. If you don't have any income-generating projects or production, you cannot get out of this business. Without real sponsorship, you can only go so far with temporary funds. The biggest problem of all sports clubs in Turkey is finding temporary solutions. Since the legendary president İlhan Cavcav, production and income have ceased at Gençlerbirliği. As much as income has stopped, it has also drifted away from its goals. A team that is referred to as a Super League team in its history is now competing at the 1st League level and cannot foresee what will happen if it rises to the Super League. Nobody knows what will happen when we rise to the Super League. We and our team know what to do when we rise to the Super League from today. We know with which budget, which players, which coach, and which goals we will play. Neither I nor my friends have any concerns about rising to the Super League. We are 100% ready, and we are not worried that we will fall when we rise to the Super League. We will be permanent, and we will build a very good team. We have a great team. Whether we are in the 1st League or the Super League, we are a team that lives on a single budget," he stated.
"YOU MUST RESPECT FORMER FOOTBALLERS AND BENEFIT FROM THEM" Şen stated that they are in contact with former footballers who wore the Gençlerbirliği jersey in the past, saying, "If you are going to start at Gençlerbirliği, you must respect former footballers and benefit from them. What does it mean to benefit? Some are appointed, and information is obtained from some. A suggestion coming from them will take us to very valuable places and has already started to do so. The election should normally be held on June 3, but if you don't have a project, a budget, or a plan for the future, and if you have no idea about what to do in this business, if your only hope is to rise to the Super League and then see what happens, you should not be in this community. A good management should have trust, self-confidence, a project, and a budget, and it should know what to do. A management that will develop human resources or the infrastructure should carry out both the rise to the Super League and the election decision together," he said.
"WE HAVE 10 BASIC PROJECTS READY" Murat Şamil Şen stated that they have prepared 10 basic projects for Gençlerbirliği if elected, saying, "Our first project will be the Gençlerbirliği Football Development Center (GFGM). A new education and development system will be established that will bring our club's infrastructure to world standards. We will establish the Gençlerbirliği Children's University. Thus, we will raise developed generations as both athletes and individuals by combining sports with academic education. We will establish the Gençlerbirliği Athlete Parent Academy. We will create scientific and systematic training programs for families to raise conscious athletes. We will also discover talents across Ankara with neighborhood leagues and spread the culture of Gençlerbirliği. In addition to these, a career union, a fan and manager joint-stock company, women's teams, and an e-sports team will be established. We will ensure that culture, art, and sports intertwine through festival organizations," he said.
UĞUR BORAL: THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE IS THE FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT CENTER Former national football player Uğur Boral, who grew up in Gençlerbirliği and transferred to Fenerbahçe, stated that a new page needs to be opened in Gençlerbirliği, saying, "The most important issue is the football development center. It is also very important for Gençlerbirliği's fans and community. Looking at the history of Gençlerbirliği, it has always produced talented young players. It has raised people who are beneficial to national teams and the country. I do not enjoy watching anything; I am bored with it as a former football player. I cannot watch football unless I have to. Don't you think something needs to change? The value of our league is now at rock bottom, and we are trying to revive it together with Gençlerbirliği," he said.
SERKAN BALCI: I AM VERY SORRY FOR THE CURRENT STATE OF THE CLUB Former national football player Serkan Balcı, who remembers Gençlerbirliği as his home in the past, said, "I am very saddened by the current state of the club. Our experience of producing players from the youth academy was so beautiful, and we had such great coaches... Our late president İlhan used to say, 'Wherever you go, the money of young Gençlerbirliği is blessed.'
“We are indeed still living off the money of Gençlerbirliği. There are many young people like us. Sports is a means that keeps us together and keeps us away from bad habits, especially for those of us from poor families. It is sports and these communities that have brought us to this situation. Gençlerbirliği will always hold a special place for us. Hopefully, we will have many years in this club where we can pave the way for the children,” he said.