Basketball Trainings for Special Children – Izmir/Turkey

UNSUNG HEROES OF EUROPEAN BASKETBALL – ISSUE 2

Our next story about the Unsung Heroes of European Basketball is (again) coming from Turkey. Umut Dogan, a 43 year old basketball coach, who has been working for Izmir Buyuksehir Belediyesi Spor Kulubu, is a true basketball enthusiast.

In fact, Umut is a metallurgical and materials engineer by profession. After having studied at the country’s one of the most prestigious universities, Middle East Technical University, he initially chose the “typical” path for starting off a professional career, namely the corporate world, and worked for more than a decade as a partner and GM at his family business.

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40 Basketball Teams for 40 Villages Project – Kırıkkale/Turkey

UNSUNG HEROES OF EUROPEAN BASKETBALL – ISSUE 1

Kırıkkale is a province located in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, about 80 km east of the Turkish capital, Ankara. With its approx. 200.000 inhabitants, it belongs to the group of smaller cities in Turkey, especially compared to the truly large cities of the country, such as Istanbul, Ankara or Izmir where millions of people live. Also, on the basketball map in Turkey, it cannot be argued that Kırıkkale has a spot which would be known to many people in the Turkish basketball community. Its most successful team, Kırıkkalegücü Spor Kulübü is currently competing at the local level (5th division in the Turkish basketball system).

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