Abstract :
In 2011, the Ministry of Youth and Sport, which is the main governing organi-zation of the Turkish sports, replaced the former General Directorate of Youth and Sports. This study queries the possible involvement of neoliberal policies in the regula-tions, decisions, and implementation regarding sport after the establishment of the Min-istry. The aim of the study is to analyze the neoliberal transformation of the Turkish sports management. In the study, multiple data collection and analysis methods, such as document analysis, discourse analysis, and interviews were used. The findings have in-dicated that the football is the predominant policy area in the sports, and that invest-ment is mainly made in football stadiums, rather than in public sports facilities. Moreover, it is argued that if mega sport events like the 2013 World Cup and 2020 Olympic Games are hosted, public money to be used will increase local and global capital flow. All these point out that sports is commercialized with a neoliberal approach, and is seen as an economic commodity.
NaturalLanguageKeyword :
Sports , sports management , neoliberalism , football , olympic games.
