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Turkish federation say logistical lessons learned for Istanbul’s Champions
League final
KIEV, May 28, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Istanbul’s Champions League final in 2020
will not be dogged by the logistical nightmare that confronted supporters
trying to get to Kiev for UEFA’s showpiece event this weekend, insists Servet
Yardimci, vice-president of the Turkish Football Federation.
However, Yardimci, who also sits on UEFA’s Executive Committee, said that
lessons have been learned from the city’s own experience of hosting the final
in 2005.
Liverpool were victors in the Turkish capital in 2005 after completing the
greatest comeback in Champions League final history to beat AC Milan on
penalties after trailing 3-0 at half-time.
However, many fans missed kick-off due to log jammed roads on what was then
the sole connection between the city centre and the 76,000 capacity Olympic
Ataturk Stadium, 14 kilometres south, whilst supporters also complained of
prohibitively expensive flight prices.
The stadium had only been completed months earlier, and Yardimci admits the
infrastructure wasn’t then in place to handle an event of that scale.
However, he believes the opening of a new Istanbul airport, planned to be
the biggest in the world, later this year makes Istanbul a prime location for
the demands of hosting a Champions League final.
“In 2005 it was probably too early to have hosted that final. The stadium
was completed and immediately after when this final took place we had some
hiccups for the supporters to get to the stadium in time,” Yardimci told AFP.
“Today in terms of accommodations and connections, airports, roads,
railways and underground are in place and there will be no problem whatsoever
in terms of logistics. It will be a fantastic venue.” – ‘New market’ –
Unlike Kiev, Istanbul was awarded the Champions League final after beating
out Lisbon in a formal bidding process where guarantees have to be made over
the hotel and airport capacity of cities to handle the influx of fans, media
and delegates for the biggest game in club football.
Supporters in the Ukrainian capital faced price hikes of up to 100 times
their normal value for hotels, whilst some Liverpool fans were left stranded
after the travel company they booked with failed to secure landing spots at
one of Kiev’s two airports.
Istanbul will also host the UEFA Super Cup final in 2019 and Turkey hopes
to host a major international football tournament for the first time by
winning the right to host the European championships in 2024.
Turkey missed out on Euro 2016 to France and declined to bid for Euro 2020,
which will take place in 12 cities spread across the continent, due to an
ultimately failed attempt to host the 2020 Olympics in Istanbul.
Their latest bid faces fierce competition from a German bid that will be
seen as a safer option due to Turkey’s political turmoil in recent years.
A state of emergency was introduced following an attempted coup in July
2016 to depose president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and more than 1,300
associations and foundations have been shut down under the measures.
“We cannot change this negative perception Turkey has outside of Turkey,
but politically Turkey is very stable, very consistent,” insisted Yardimci.
“Turkey is a new market, new territory to UEFA. Istanbul is a so well-
connected city, there are a billion people living in 43 countries less than
four hours away.
“It is a unique opportunity for UEFA not to miss to explore new markets.”
BSS/AFP/MRI/1742 hrs