A total of 351 matches need to be completed in the lower leagues in Turkey. After the most recent meeting with the Health Board, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) set June 19 as the start date for the 1st League and July 18 for the 2nd and 3rd Leagues. It also announced that the away system would continue. The Ministry of Youth and Sports has also worked on the lower leagues.
The capital of sports tourism
First, the matches will again be played at a single center, meaning a quarantine zone will be created. Teams will have minimal contact with the outside world and will prepare for and play their matches in isolation. The Ministry, eliminating the travel risk, designated Antalya as the central location. Antalya, already the capital of sports tourism, has hundreds of hotels and around 200 training fields.
Fields designated
Hotels in Belek and Kadriye were chosen for the 1st and 2nd Leagues. For the 3rd League, facilities in Antalya’s Kundu and Manavgat regions will be used. The matches are expected to be played mostly on fields at hotels that meet the required standards. There are two date options. The first is to play one match per week between June 12 and July 19. The other is to play two matches per week between June 13-14 and July 1. All matches will be played without spectators.
Details of the schedule
According to the first option, with one match per week, the matches will be held on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The other plan, with two matches per week, has two alternatives. The first is to play matches on Sundays and Wednesdays between June 14 and July 1. The second is to play on Saturdays and Sundays and then on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. As a reminder, six matches remain to complete the normal season in the lower leagues.
10-kilometer limit
While designating Antalya as the quarantine zone for the lower leagues, the Ministry of Youth and Sports determined that the distance between the hotels where teams will stay and the training and match fields should not exceed 10 kilometers. The vehicles transporting the teams will be fully equipped for hygiene purposes.
Four hospitals designated
Considering the large number of teams in the lower leagues, the Ministry designated four hospitals in and around Antalya for emergencies. If the leagues are played as planned, these hospitals will be fully prepared before matches and training sessions.
Matches at 8:00 PM and 10:00 PM
Taking into account the high temperatures and humidity in Antalya during the summer, the Ministry of Sports decided that matches would not be played during the day to avoid putting athletes' health at risk. The matches will start at either 8:00 PM or 10:00 PM. The fact that nearly all facilities have lighting is a significant advantage in this regard.
