Mehmet Akif Ustundag: ‘‘We will continue to work hard in 2024 with the same appetite, excitement and desire’’

In an interview with FIVB.com, Mehmet Akif Ustundag, the President of the Turkish Volleyball Federation, shares his thoughts on the recent successes of the national teams. He also explores the increasing popularity of volleyball in Türkiye, the importance of event hosting for the country and goals for the future.

1. President Ustundag, first of all huge congratulations to your women’s national team for winning both the Volleyball Nations League and EuroVolley this year. Can you share your feelings and how these victories were celebrated in Türkiye? What is the secret of their success?

We are extremely proud of the women’s national team’s achievements this year, which include securing the number one spot in the FIVB World Ranking in the 100th year of our Republic, qualifying for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and securing gold in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL), CEV EuroVolley Women and World Cup all in 2023.

Türkiye claimed gold at the VNL 2023

We also hope to build upon this success at next year’s Olympic Games, where our biggest goal is to be on the podium and win a medal. We have the power to achieve this.

I would like to underline that the success of our national women's volleyball team is not a coincidence. Behind our achievements, there is huge amounts of hard work, dedication and planning from both our players and coaching staff, all actioned with sincerity and a love for the sport. There is great interest in the Sultans of the Net in our country, and we feel the support of the public who send thousands of congratulatory messages.

Also contributing to our success is our youth volleyball pathway. We introduce volleyball to children aged 6 to 12, from which we select players for our unique Volleyball High School project, and then, our youth teams. Our Federation has carried out youth age category work in 33 cities of Türkiye, and if this work had not been disrupted by the pandemic, there would have been ‘Fabrika Voleybol’ (volleyball factory) in 81 cities across the country.

2. You have mentioned in recent interviews that volleyball’s popularity in Türkiye has skyrocketed, can you tell us more about this?

Turkish volleyball, with the historical successes achieved by our national team in recent years, has become our country's most popular family sport. Rating records have been broken, match tickets sold out days in advance, and giant screens have been erected in city squares for viewers to watch our teams in both the day and night.

Passionate Turkish fans cheer for their team at the VNL Finals 2022 in Ankara

As the National Federation, our mission is to lead all elements of Turkish volleyball, develop cooperation with stakeholders and spread volleyball throughout the country. In line with this mission, we try to host major volleyball events, bring the world's best volleyball players together with sports fans, and present role models to our youth. We have successfully hosted many volleyball events such as the European Championship, VNL, Club World Championship, European Golden League etc. In terms of organization, Türkiye is number 1 in Europe and the world.

3. Türkiye’s men’s team won the Challenger Cup this year and qualified for the VNL 2024, congratulations! Can you please elaborate on the collaborative efforts of the National Federation and the team that led to this success?

The men’s national volleyball team has had great success this year and I could not be happier for them. They became champions in the European Golden League and Challenger Cup, they will compete in the VNL in 2024 for the first time in our history and they have risen from 24th to 14th in the FIVB World Rankings.

Volleyball Challenger Cup 2023 winners Türkiye (Photo credits: tvf.org.tr)

These successes are testament to the effective planning and collaboration within our strong volleyball ecosystem.

It is also crucial to note that our men’s national team has one of the lowest average age in the world. With our extremely talented youth players, our future in volleyball continues to look bright. We want to compete with both our men's and women's teams at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

4. Can you tell us about the development of beach volleyball in Türkiye and your future plans in this area?

Beach Volleyball in Türkiye, just like in other countries, had previously been a sport played during the summertime as a hobby. However, our Federation recognised its potential for growth. We have worked hard to institutionalise the sport through various initiatives. We have constructed beach volleyball facilities across Türkiye, organised tours and created national teams aiming to participate in the Olympic Games.

We have also applied to participate in numerous FIVB and CEV competitions, provided financial support to our national team players and established youth organisations in order to train athletes. Further, we have opened a beach volleyball centre in Antalya where youth athletes and national teams can train, and have opened our facilities for public usage, providing playing opportunities for anybody wishing to play beach volleyball within our country.

Action from the Bioderma Pro Beach Tour, organised in cooperation with the Turkish Volleyball Federation (Photo credits: tvf.org.tr)

We place a particular focus on the development of our youth beach volleyball players, developing athletes who can compete in the international arena, and hopefully one day in the Olympic Games. Working with local municipalities within the country, we hold several national youth competitions throughout the year, in order to provide young players with opportunities to play beach volleyball, such as the Türkiye Championships. We are also planning to increase the number of beach volleyball clubs across the country, to help provide further opportunity for player development.

5. Türkiye has consistently proven itself as a very reliable host, having staged a number of competitions in volleyball, beach volleyball and snow volleyball at various levels. Why is it important for you to bring more events to the country?

At the Turkish Volleyball Federation, we set out with a dream. In line with this dream, we are working hard to make volleyball the most popular family sport in our country. In this context, we continuously look to host numerous competitions across volleyball, beach volleyball and snow volleyball.

Hosting indoor volleyball events allows the world's best volleyball athletes to come together with sports fans, it presents our youth with older role models and it showcases our country's organisational success to the world.

Full stadium at the VNL Finals 2022 staged in Ankara, Türkiye

Through hosting international beach and snow volleyball events, in addition to promoting the sports throughout the country and beyond, more of our athletes have the opportunity to participate in international competitions and gain important organisational and match experience. Hosting competitions also contributes to the promotion of our country worldwide, through positive athlete experiences and the production of live broadcasts.

Crucially, through hosting various events, we are also able to increase the participation and experience of our young athletes, to which we attach particular importance. These experiences helps them to set goals for the future, raise their awareness around the sport and learn the values of sportsmanship.

6. Under your leadership, your National Federation has achieved remarkable results. What are the next objectives and goals you have set for the future?

2023 has definitely been the year of volleyball. I think we had a very good national team season in terms of morale and motivation. Our women's national team achieved remarkable success on the world stage, while our men's team continues to go from strength to strength and will compete in the VNL for the first time in our history in 2024. Meanwhile, our youth national teams continue to achieve significant success across the world.

On a club basis, three of the last four teams in the women's CEV Champions League were Turkish teams. In the men's category, one of our club teams made it to the semifinals and was among the last four.

If you have a good team, a good system and a good programme, success is inevitable. I am happy and proud to play a role in this success, as the President of such a brilliant community.

In the coming days, our men’s national team will compete in the qualification tournaments for a place at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Our biggest wish is to take part in the Games and win medals with both our men's and women's teams. We want to continue to push for success.

As the Federation, our aim before 2023 was to continue to enhance the popularity of volleyball within the country, especially among young people, and to make Turkish volleyball teams key competitors in volleyball competitions across the world. I am thrilled to say that I think we achieved this, and we will continue to work hard in 2024 with the same appetite, excitement and desire.