Turkish football team sells 18 players to buy 10 goats

A Turkish football team, Gulspor, has sold 18 youth players and bought 10 goats in a bid to earn ‘extra money from milk sales’ which they say will be used to serve the club’s priority needs.

The club based in the city of Isparta, is one of the oldest clubs in Turkey, founded in 1954.

The clubs president Kenan Büyükleblebi confirmed the sale of the players in a statement saying that the step to buy goats was dictated by lack of available finance as there is no essential governmental or sponsorship investment for Turkish youth teams performing in lower leagues.

“We must have a constant income,” Büyükleblebi told CNN Turkey. “Funds are overloaded because there is no government or corporate group support for our clubs. We need to get more investment for the kids [competing for the club].”

The club reportedly got 15,000 Turkish lira almost $2,600 after selling 18 youth players and plans to have around 5,000 lira ($863) profit from milk sales to cover the club’s expenses.

We got 10 goats. It will be a source of income for the youngsters,” Büyükleblebi said, adding that he acted in the interests of the team. “We think that breeding goats is profitable. We have bought them to raise better young players.”

“We expect to have 4,000-5,000 lira profit. At the same time, the number of goats will increase. At the end of six years, we are planning to have 140 goats for the club,” he added.