Hamit Altintop is currently team manager of the Turkish national team in Germany. He also sits on the board of the soccer association. But for how much longer?

Gelsenkirchen-born Hamit Altintop has been working for the Turkish Football Association since 2019. Initially as the board member responsible for the youth teams, and since 2021 also for the senior national team. The fact that the team is taking part in the European Championship in Germany is largely thanks to him.

Nevertheless, it is possible that Hamit Altintop will leave the association in just a few weeks. New elections are due to be held in the Turkish Football Association on July 18. Most of the professional clubs want the association president, who is under pressure and under heavy pressure, to be voted out and replaced.

Since taking office in 2022, Mehmet Büyükeksi has been responsible for a number of questionable decisions. In particular, he was blamed for awarding the Super Cup final between Galatasaray Istanbul and Fenerbahce Istanbul to Saudi Arabia in the year of Turkey’s centenary of all things.

The match was ultimately called off because the host country banned the teams from wearing T-shirts bearing the likeness of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. It has since been rescheduled in Turkey. Fenerbahce entered the match with the U19s in protest and caused the game to be abandoned after one minute.

The alignment had also changed following the change of manager, which ultimately also proved fatal for national team coach Stefan Kuntz. Altintop, who has always seen his work as long-term, is likely to think carefully about whether he wants to continue at all. After all, he has been criticized for many of his decisions and statements.

The former Schalke player repeatedly says that this also has something to do with the footballing education he received in Germany. You need patience for that. But it is also about the external image and the general appearance. He sees his task holistically and wants to build up the promotion of young talent strategically.

Short-term sporting success at the European Championships can certainly help Altintop to strengthen his position. But the question is whether he still wants that at all.

Ahead of Turkey’s second group game against Portugal in Dortmund on Saturday (18:00), he told the Turkish news agency “Anadolu Ajensi” in an interview published on www.aa.com.tr that he does not see his future as being directly linked to his performance at the European Championships. “There will be elections on July 18. Whether I continue does not depend on the tournament,” said Altintop. “I have to make my own decision. I will weigh up this decision after the tournament. “