Honorary President Mehmet Sepil of Göztepe, which not only competed for Europe in the Super League with its breakthrough in football but also collected trophies in many sports branches such as volleyball, basketball, water polo, gymnastics, archery and taekwondo with its breakthrough in Olympic branches in recent years, gave messages to the community. Sepil, who was a guest on the Sports Fan program presented by İzmir-based journalists Mutlu Yılmaz and Hasan Ercazip on Egemax TV, also talked about the infrastructure academy that the fans were eagerly waiting for. Sepil, who is also the president of amateur branches in Göztepe, where he built facilities such as Urla Adnan Süvari Facilities, Gürsel Aksel Stadium, Göztepe Sailing Facilities, said, “When I came, there was not a single piece of land in Göztepe. We have been working on the academy for 12 years, but we have come to the end now.”
”WE WILL GIVE OPPORTUNITIES TO THE WORLD’S CHILDREN”
Mehmet Sepil said, “We need a flat area of 60-70 decares for the academy. The land we found in Torbalı before was taken back during the process. We arranged a very nice land in Torbalı 9 months ago. The land was allocated to the Ministry of Youth and Sports. We are in the final stage of allocating the facility land to our club from the Ministry of Sports. The paperwork is over. Olympic branches will also take part in the academy. This will be an international academy. We claim to train only Turkish players here. “We are not. African players will also be trained here. We will give opportunities to the children of the world,” he said.
”U17 AND U19 URLA, NARLIDERE AND BALÇOVA FIELDS ARE READY”
“One of our biggest problems was our Urla Adnan Süvari Facilities,” said Mehmet Sepil, “When I took over the club in 2014, I completed the facilities in Urla Torasan. In the first planning, there was only one field. With the support of Urla and Izmir Metropolitan Municipalities, we purchased the field lands we had previously rented from their owners. We turned the facility into the desired 2 fields. We will turn the existing facility into the center of the U17 and U19 teams. It is in Narlıdere. “We took over Ali Artuner Facilities. We spent around 30-40 million TL in the last 5 months and turned it into an excellent facility. We agreed with Balçova Municipality to play infrastructure matches and renovated 3 fields.”
”I TOO WALK FOR KARŞIYAKA STADIUM”
Honorary President Mehmet Sepil, who brought Göztepe Gürsel Aksel Stadium to the club in 2021 with great effort from the very beginning of the project from scratch, also supported the stadium that Karşıyaka could not get. Mehmet Sepil said, “I always say; if the people of Karşıyaka will march for Karşıyaka Stadium, I will march with them. When I took over Göztepe, Karşıyaka Stadium was started. I have been playing in my stadium for 5 years.”
”THERE WAS 15+2 MILLION OFFERS FOR JUAN”
Mehmet Sepil, who transferred Göztepe’s football branch to Sport Republic, the first foreign investor of Turkish football, in 2022, also spoke about the level reached by the yellow-reds. Mehmet Sepil from Göztepe, who returned to the Super League under the management of Sport Republic and competed for Europe, and sold the players he showcased to European teams with record transfer income, announced that they received an offer of 15 + 2 million Euros for Brazilian Juan for an interim transfer, but they rejected it. At the beginning of the season, Göztepe sold the Brazilian Romulo to RB Leipzig with a transfer fee of 15+5 million Euros, which is one of the records of Turkish football, and reached an income that many giant companies could not reach. Emphasizing the importance of President Rasmus Ankersen, Sporting Director Ivan Mance and Coach Stanimir Stoilov in Göztepe’s football structure, Mehmet Sepil said, “Stoilov is a great chance for Göztepe. I believe in both my coach, my partner and the entire staff.” On the other hand, Stanimir Stoilov was chosen as the Coach of the Year 2025 in Bulgaria and won the same award for the second time in a row.
