The National Women's Basketball Team, which will face Montenegro, Israel and Poland in the Second Round of the FIBA 2027 Women's EuroBasket Qualifiers, met with media members. Turkish Basketball Federation President Hidayet Türkoğlu, who was present at the event, also made a statement to the press.
Reminding that they will play three important matches in the second round of the European Championship qualifiers, Türkoğlu said, "Of course, as a country and management, we would like to express our goals, which we have clearly stated before. As the Turkish national team, our goals for both men and women are to always be in organizations where we will represent our country in the best way, both world and European Champions. Our women have achieved successes that will make us proud in recent times, but maybe we could not achieve the success we wanted in the tournaments. This is very important in terms of seeing the points where we need to improve ourselves. We have three important matches ahead of us. "There is a process, we will play in November. Then we will have another three-game period with the same teams in February. Our goal is to participate in the 2027 World Championship and reach the point where we will represent our country in the best way. Then, I believe that with the development of our athletes during the year, we will be more ready for the European Championship and be at a point where we will represent our country in the best way possible," he said.
"We created a new national team squad"
Stating that new names have been added to the women's basketball team, President Hidayet Türkoğlu said, "As you know, we established the national team squad with a new team this year. Our new coach has arrived. I would like to wish success to him and his team. We also included Arzu, who has represented women's basketball for many years before, and we think that he will be a good sister to this team, to our team. We would like to wish him success as well. We would like to thank all our clubs, managers, and esteemed presidents for their understanding in this sense. Ultimately, the goal is for our national team. "This process has come to this point. In this sense, I would like to thank everyone before you and our esteemed presidents for supporting us in these processes," he said.
"As management, we trust our women in every sense"
Stating that they always aim to take part in big organizations, President Türkoğlu said, "As I said, our goal is to go to the European Championship, our squad is strong enough to achieve this. As a management, we trust our women in every sense. I believe that they will show this in the best way when they take the field with the Montenegro match on Wednesday. Then, I believe that they will achieve success against Israel and Poland that will make our country proud. As I said, I wish success to the whole team in terms of management from here. I hope they deserve to go to the European Championship, which is our first success. "That is the most important thing. I am someone who believes that we, as a country, should always show up in these types of events. As a former athlete, I know that our women are also aware of the meaning of the jersey. As I said, I hope they will achieve success that will make our country proud."
"I hope we will achieve successes that will make our country proud"
Referring to the support of the audience, President Hidayet Türkoğlu said, "First of all, as you know, when it comes to the national team, our people have always done what is necessary, and if you remember, they filled the stands to capacity even in the U17 World Cup. I believe that they will not leave our women's national team alone here either. In this sense, I express my gratitude and thanks to them. I hope that with their support, our women's national team will achieve success that will make them proud in front of them, with that energy, and then in front of millions. "As I said, it is a new excitement for us, we can say that the window periods are one of the most exciting processes for our national teams. As you know, it will be our first matches for both women and men. I hope, as I said, we will achieve success that will make our country proud."
"They will perform well in terms of the future of women's basketball"
Stating that they value the team structure off the field in order to increase the performance of the athletes, Hidayet Türkoğlu concluded his words as follows:
"After all, it is our duty to establish the right teams, administratively. But ultimately, as you know, performance is always made by the athletes, and when they achieve success, they are our friends who have the biggest responsibility, both women and men. Our only duty is to include Arzu, who has served women's basketball for many years and still manages a very valuable club, to our team, both as a coach and at the head of the team. In this sense, we think that it will be very useful for our women's national team. As I said, hopefully, the environment we are in now, both on and off the field. We hope that we will benefit from such experienced people in outdoor environments as well. As I said, what is important is the performance of our women on the field. Even though we bring in new teams, our athletes will show their performance on the field. I believe that they are aware of their responsibilities and will show a good performance in terms of the future of women's basketball. As I said, we will continue to support them, a success that will make them and their families proud. "After all, our goal is to represent our country in the best possible way in international organizations. In this sense, we trust our women to the fullest."
