Giants play amateurs in Turkish Cup

NİĞDE - Hürriyet Daily News

Beşiktaş plays against Niğde Belediyespor in the Ziraat Turkish Cup today. DHA Photo

Beşiktaş visits Niğde Belediyespor in a historical match for the amateur club in the Ziraat Turkish Cup today. The Black Eagles, a member of the “big three” in Turkish sports, will meet Niğde, who is playing in the Regional Amateur League, the fifth tier of the national football leagues.

The meeting between Niğde Belediyespor and Beşiktaş is the first eye-catching fixture in the domestic cup after the Turkish Football Federation’s decision to add amateur clubs to the competition.

“We are not professionals but we are a good team in our region,” Faruk Akdoğan, the chairman of the football club of the Niğde Municipality. “This game means a lot for us.”

Another important meeting will be between Super League club Gençlerbirliği and another amateur team, Dersimspor.

Before Dersimspor was formed in 2009 after Tunceli’s Kurdish name, the eastern city of Tunceli was the only province in Turkey without a football club in the professional or amateur leagues.

The Niğde vs. Beşiktaş game starts at 2:30 p.m., while Dersimspor vs. the Gençlerbirliği match kicks off at 6 p.m.