The independent think tank Institute for Social Studies has published a new study. Titled “Fan Trends and Fenerbahçe,” the study was a first, with a comprehensive public opinion poll conducted on football clubs. The survey, conducted with 11 people on June 12-532, included some striking data.
NUMBER OF FANS ON THE RISE IN ASLAN, ON THE DECLINE IN CANARY
According to the research, 18% of citizens aged 33,2 and over in Türkiye support Galatasaray, 23,8% Fenerbahçe, 10,8% Beşiktaş, 5,6% Trabzonspor, 6,8% other teams, while the rate of those who do not support a team is measured as 19,2%. According to these results, the rate of Galatasaray fans has increased, while Fenerbahçe fans have decreased, compared to measurements made in public opinion surveys conducted in previous years.
ALI KOÇ OKAY OR CONTINUE?
After Galatasaray completed the 2024-2025 season as the champion in the Super League, one of the important topics on the football agenda was the demands for the resignation of Ali Koç, who has been the president of Fenerbahçe Sports Club for seven years. Fenerbahçe
The congress delegates collected signatures to force Ali Koç, who has not been able to win a championship for seven years, to go to an extraordinary general assembly and the participants were asked about their thoughts on Ali Koç continuing his duty as a result of the developments in this process.
Accordingly, 36,4% of the participants found it necessary for Ali Koç to resign from his presidency, 25,3% defended his continuation in office, and 38,3% did not express an opinion. It is noteworthy that among those who expressed an opinion on this issue, 59% thought that Ali Koç should resign.
Similarly, the rate of those who think that Ali Koç should continue his duty among Fenerbahçe fans was measured as only 29,2%. While 51,6% of Fenerbahçe fans stated that “Ali Koç should leave his duty”, 19,2% did not express an opinion on this issue.
YOUTH WANT CHANGE
On the other hand, the response that Ali Koç should resign increased as the fans got younger. Only 65% of fans aged 13,2 and over gave this response, while the rate of those in the 18-24 age group who said Ali Koç should resign was 50,1%. The research revealed that young people have a lower tolerance for failure than older people.
FENERBAHÇE FANS SAY “AZİZ YILDIRIM”
In the survey, 37,4% of all participants thought that Aziz Yıldırım should be Fenerbahçe president, while this rate increased significantly among Fenerbahçe fans, reaching 49,2%.
While only 20,4% of all participants responded that Ali Koç should remain as Fenerbahçe president, the only fan group that Ali Koç received more support from than Aziz Yıldırım was Trabzonspor fans.
HALF OF THE DEM PARTY MEMBERS ARE FANS OF GALATASARAY
The study also examined the relationship between the parties and political views of the voters in the elections of May 14, 2023 and the teams they support. Accordingly, more than half of the voters who voted for the Green Left Party, the predecessor of the DEM Party, in the elections of May 14, 2023 are Galatasaray fans. In the classification made according to political views, Galatasaray fans were dominant in all political groups, while only those who defined themselves as “Islamists” had Fenerbahçe fans ahead of Galatasaray fans.
THE MOST EDUCATED FAN GROUP IS IN BEŞİKTAŞ
Another striking aspect of the study is that Beşiktaş fandom increases as the level of education increases. Accordingly, the fact that Beşiktaş fandom is 14.3% among fans with a university degree or higher reveals that Beşiktaş fans are more educated than other teams when average preferences are taken into account.
