Management of football academies in Turkey: The player’s perspective

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 36 Sayı: 1, 18 - 37, 28.03.2025

Gökhan Bozkurt , Claudia Dias , Maria Jose Carvalho

https://doi.org/10.17644/sbd.1544864

Öz

The performance of football academies is contingent upon the collaboration of various internal and external stakeholders. In this context, considering football players as crucial internal stakeholders in club-based football academies, the current research explores, from the viewpoints of elite players, the factors impacting the efficiency of management in Turkish football academies. Using the system theory approach as its theoretical framework, the specific focus was on describing the essential requisites and services within the input, process, feedback, output, and environmental aspects of the football academy management system. Subsequently, the study aimed to propose practical solutions to enhance various facets of the football academy management in Türkiye. Fifteen male participants, aged between 19 and 36 years old, were selected among active professional players competing in the top division of Türkiye (Süper Lig) who had also represented the Turkish National Teams in at least one official game above the U18 level during their careers. The data was obtained through semi-structured interviews and analysed using qualitative content analysis. According to the results, the effective selection of talented players, high-quality coaching, parents’ education, providing more competitive game experience, and resolving transition challenges to senior teams were critical for the success of football academies. The findings also highlighted key suggestions for the improvement of the overall performance of academies in Türkiye.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Academy Player, Elite footballer, Football academy management, Football Management

Türkiye’deki futbol akademilerinin yönetimi: Futbolcu görüşü

Öz

Futbol akademilerinin yönetimsel başarısı çeşitli iç ve dış paydaşların iş birliğine bağlıdır. Bu bağlamda, akademilerde eğitim görmüş futbolcular, futbol akademilerinin en önemli iç paydaşlarından biridir. Mevcut araştırma, akademilerde eğitim almış, aktif profesyonel futbolcuların bakış açısından, Türkiye’deki futbol akademilerinin yönetim verimliliğini etkileyen faktörleri araştırmaktadır. Yönetimde Sistem Yaklaşımı’nı benimseyen araştırma, futbol akademilerinde girdi, süreç, geri bildirim, çıktı ve çevre faktörlerini dikkate alarak daha etkili bir futbol yönetimi için temel gereklilikleri ve hizmetleri tanımlamakta, yönetim sürecini geliştirmek için pratik çözümler önermeyi amaçlamaktadır. Araştırma için yarı-yapılandırışmış mülakat tekniği kullanılmıştır ve katılımcılar 19 ile 36 yaşları arasında, Türkiye'nin en üst liginde (Süper Lig) oynayan ve kariyerleri boyunca U18 seviyesi üzerinde en az bir resmi maçta Türk Milli Takımlarını temsil etmiş erkek oyuncular arasından seçilmiştir. Veriler nitel içerik analizi kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma, futbol akademilerinin başarısı için kritik öneme sahip olan bazı faktörleri ortaya koymuştur. Bu faktörler arasında yetenekli oyuncuların zamanında ve etkili bir şekilde seçilmesi, antrenör kalitesinin artırılması, daha rekabetçi bir oyun ve lig deneyiminin sağlanması, sporcu ebeveynlerinin eğitimi ve A-takımlara geçiş süreçlerinin etkin bir şekilde yönetilmesi yer almaktadır. Araştırma, ayrıca Türkiye'deki futbol akademilerin yönetim etkinliğini yükseltmek için bir takım somut öneriler sunmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Akademi oyuncusu, Elit futbolcu, Futbol akademisi yönetimi, Futbol Yönetimi

Kaynakça

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