Concerts to be staged before football matches

ISTANBUL

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) will be organizing music concerts before matches to promote interest in the sports and fill the stadiums once emptied due to coronavirus and unsatisfactory football matches.

The target is to attract mainly women and children, local media outlets said.

The first concert will be staged by Turkish pop singer Göksel on July 4 in the TFF’s headquarter in Istanbul’s Riva neighborhood.

The mastermind of the project is TFF’s new head, Mehmet Büyükekşi.

According to the plan, a list of performers will be selected through the year-long matches and announced before the start of the season.

With this, football teams will be able to sell more season pass, local media pointed out.

The head of the country’s football federation believes there will be enormous interest in the concerts, especially in Anatolian provinces.

Local media likened the initiative to concerts staged before U.S. Super Bowl.

Türkiye witnessed a “concert before match” event just on Aug. 27, 1998.

The board of Istanbulspor had invited Turkish singers Mahsun Kırmızgül, Hakan Taşıyan and Nadide Sultan and the band Ayna to stage before the team’s UEFA Cup match between Romanian Arges Piteşti.