Synthetic Turf in Turkey

There has been a negative reputation of synthetic turf in Turkey, caused by pre existing biases instead of rationalities. Synthetic turf had to be understood as alternative to natural turf instead of a substitute. The introduction of the FIFA ‘Quality Concept for Football Turf’ helped to gain support for synthetic turf and now synthetic turf in Turkey is on the forefront.

FIFA today lists 247 installations of synthetic turf in Turkey as part of their recommended pitches. Synthetic pitches have among others been installed in Ankara, Antalya, Istanbul and Izmir. At least two clubs of the Turkish Women’s First Football League (out of 10) do today play their games on artificial turf, including Ataşehir Belediyespor, the club that won the Championship for two consecutive times and did participate in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.