From historic individual breakthroughs to title-winning runs at home and abroad and from global milestones to scandals that shook the foundations of football, Turkish sport packed 2025 with defining moments that revealed both its rising power and its deepest vulnerabilities.
The year unfolded as a study in contrast. Athletes delivered world titles, Olympic-level performances and long-awaited breakthroughs, while administrators and federations grappled with credibility crises that spilled far beyond the field of play, culminating in a reckoning for Turkish footballβs governance.
January set the tone with milestones and controversy arriving side by side.
NBA center Alperen ΕengΓΌn became only the second Turkish player after Mehmet Okur to be selected for an NBA All-Star Game, earning coachesβ votes after emerging as the cornerstone of the Houston Rockets with averages of 19.1 points, 10.4 rebounds and five assists.
His selection marked a coming-of-age moment for Turkish basketball on the global stage.
Football, however, entered turbulent waters early.
Amid mounting criticism over officiating standards and perceived inconsistency, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced it would deploy foreign VAR referees for the SΓΌper Ligβs second half, a temporary fix that signaled eroding trust in domestic systems and foreshadowed deeper problems to come.
February delivered momentum across dis
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