MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear Women's Football Family

Bedri Akkerman

Bedri Akkerman

President, KAFUDER

Following the General Assembly of the Women Soccer Player Association, I carry both the pride and the responsibility of having taken on the role of President through the trust of our members.

First and foremost, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to our previous President, our boards of directors, and all our members who have dedicated themselves so generously to our association since its founding. The institutional identity that KAFUDER holds today is the product of the shared effort, solidarity, and belief demonstrated up to this point.

Over the first three years since our founding, we strove to go beyond simply being a civil society organization and to produce projects that shape the development of women's football. Through Kristal Ayaklar TV, Türkiye's first and only women's football program, Women Gool, Türkiye's first and only women's football digital magazine, the annual Kristal Ayaklar Awards, university gatherings, workshops, social responsibility projects, and our national and international partnerships, we have built a structure that increases the visibility of women's football, brings its challenges into public discourse, and produces solutions.

Today, together with our new board of directors, we are beginning our second three-year journey with an even stronger vision.

Our goal for the new term is not merely to be an association that carries out activities, but to become an exemplary institution that shapes the development of women's football in Türkiye, develops policy proposals, successfully represents our country on international platforms, inspires our young girls, and produces sustainable value in every area of women's football.

We know that the development of women's football is not the responsibility of players alone, but a shared responsibility of former and active athletes, coaches, technical directors, referees, clubs, administrators, academics, media organizations, sponsors, local governments, and all stakeholders devoted to sport. That is why I invite everyone not only to follow us, but to build alongside us, to share their ideas, to develop projects, and to help construct the future of women's football together.

In this new term, we will act with an approach that confronts challenges with courage rather than postponing them; that goes beyond criticism to develop solutions; and that strengthens our national work with an international vision. We will lead when needed, pave the way for change when needed, and always maintain a constructive stance so that women's football can reach the value it deserves. Because we believe that every investment in women's football is an investment not only in sport, but in education, equal opportunity, social development, and the future.

As KAFUDER, our goal is to go beyond being the voice of women's football and become one of the strongest stakeholders in its development. We believe that unity, solidarity, and shared wisdom are our greatest strength on this path. Every step we take today is part of the road that leads to the dreams of thousands of girls who will take to the field tomorrow. I sincerely thank everyone who has contributed, supported, and wished to walk alongside us on this journey, and I wholeheartedly believe that together we will build the future of women's football.

Bedri Akkerman
President Women Soccer Player Association (KAFUDER)