World Ethnosport Confederation President Bilal Erdoğan met with young people at the Diplomacy Workshop organized by the Istanbul Provincial Youth Branch of the Justice and Development Party. In response to a question, Erdoğan explained how the 2027 Spanish Super Cup came to Istanbul.
Erdoğan said civil diplomacy efforts conducted through the World Ethnosport Confederation had played a role in bringing the event to Türkiye, adding that they had hosted Turki Al-Sheikh, president of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, in Istanbul about two to three months earlier.
Erdoğan said they had briefed Al-Sheikh on the World Ethnosport Confederation's work in traditional sports during the meeting. He said Al-Sheikh had told them that, because the Asian Cup would be held in Saudi Arabia in 2027, plans were being made to stage the Spanish Super Cup in another country and that Istanbul could be a candidate.
Contacts with relevant institutions began
Erdoğan said contacts with relevant institutions and individuals began after the meeting, adding that relations between the countries, as well as the financial offer, had influenced the event's move to Türkiye.
Erdoğan said the teams' preference for Istanbul, strong Türkiye-Spain relations and developments in Türkiye-Saudi Arabia relations had all played a role. He said the Spanish Super Cup would be held in Türkiye despite the United States submitting a bid $11 million higher than Türkiye's.
Erdoğan said the process was a concrete example of how civil diplomacy contributes to relations between countries, adding that the World Ethnosport Confederation contributes to Türkiye's civil diplomacy efforts.
Emphasis on legal and economic infrastructure for international organizations
Erdoğan highlighted the importance of international organizations having their headquarters in Türkiye. He said hosting more international organizations such as the World Ethnosport Confederation would strengthen the country's civil diplomacy capacity.
Erdoğan said Türkiye needed to develop the legal and economic infrastructure that would encourage international organizations to choose the country as their headquarters, citing Switzerland as an example.
Erdoğan said civil diplomacy had produced results not only in relations with Saudi Arabia but also in efforts involving different countries, adding that relations established through traditional sports strengthened contacts between countries.
He highlighted the importance of foreign-language skills
Erdoğan said knowing a foreign language was important in civil diplomacy. He added that even as artificial intelligence-based real-time translation capabilities improve, the closeness created by communicating directly with a person in their own language is not the same as that created through technological translation.
