Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) announced today its new sports strategy and future plan aiming to improve the city’s sports vision.
Speaking at the launch event, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu emphasized “olympism” as a philosophy of life, as well as a movement of peace. “With the spread of the Olympic movement, Istanbul will unite around shared excitements and joys. [Olympism] allows you to develop a peaceful and compatible language instead of adopting a combative one internationally,” Imamoglu said.
“Supporting and enabling sports has been a priority of ours from the first day I took office. We have been conducting research through our boards and institutions to make sustainable contributions to the future of sports. We are making the final touches for a sustainable sports strategy. Our dream is to make Istanbul a city where millions of people engage in sports.” the Mayor said.
Reiterating that Olympism is a health-centred and environmental movement that promotes and defends equality, mayor Imamoglu declared that their first goal would be to host the 2036 Olympic Games and Paralympics, and called on the Turkish government, the Turkish National Olympic Committee, the Turkish National Paralympic Committee, and all relevant institutions to cooperate and work towards the same goal.
Through its subsidiary Spor İstanbul, the municipality runs 52 sports facilities equipped with 25 pools, 42 fitness rooms, 44 tennis courts, 31 gyms, 41 football courts, eight stadiums, one athletics track, and two ice rinks. Within these facilities, 30,000 children are trained in 15 sports branches annually.
IMM Sports Club will represent Turkey in Tokyo with 22 athletes – 14 of whom will compete at the Summer Olympics and 8 at the Paralympic Games.
Source: IMM
