Girls from orphanages form football team

SİVAS

Girls living in orphanages in the Central Anatolian province of Sivas have formed a football team and qualified for the Third Women’s Football League that will start in February.

The team is called the Family and Social Policy Youth and Sports Club, named after the Family and Social Services Ministry.

The members of the team have been training in sub zero temperatures as cold as -10 degrees Celsius, Demirören News Agency reported on Jan. 25.

“I was training a men’s football team. After seeing the demand from the girls, we decided to form a women’s team,” Safiye Pınarbaşı, the manager of the team, said.

“The girls are eager, and our target is significant. We want to succeed in the league,” she added.

Playing for the national team one day is the women players’ dream. Fifteen-year-old Yasemin Erva Ada is one of them. “It is great to be a part of this team. We play matches, have fun and improve our football skills,” she said.

Ada’s teammate Meryem Bekik said she aims to play “today” and manage “tomorrow.”

“We carried out our trainings under snow. My dream is to become a manager in the future,” she added.

There are three women football leagues in Turkey, with Turkcell Süper Lig, Women’s 2nd League and third Women’s League.

Twenty-four teams compete in the Süper Lig, which started seven weeks ago and has the Istanbul powerhouses Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş.