The Evaluation of Foreign Female Basketball Players’ Thoughts on Turkey, Turkish Culture and Their Professional Sports Life in Turkey

Abstract

Athletes have to give up on activities, social life and the routines of daily life during their careers. In addition, they have to cope with stress created by difficult training and the anxiety to succeed. In this respect, athletes should not be considered only as athletic performance. They should be considered as individuals who display development and change physically, socially and cognitively as well as professionally. When all these are taken into consideration, the aim of this study is to investigate the thoughts and experiences of foreign female basketball players in Turkish Women?s Basketball League (10 team players?) on basketball and their athletic life in Turkey. The study was conducted using qualitative research technique, and the data was obtained using semi-structured interview technique. The data obtained showed that the most frequent problem the female basketball players faced was not getting their payment on time. The fact that the teams do not have a professional structure, experiencing communication problems and not having a mentor to support them during this difficult process are among the other problems which draw attention. On the other hand, despite these difficulties, the female basketball players stated that they were pleased with the Turkish social structure and the services offered by clubs such as accommodation, nutrition and facilities. In addition, they have stated that there is a tolerant and friendly atmosphere in Turkey in contrast to racism and discrimination. To sum up, female basketball players? thoughts on Turkey and Turkish basketball are generally positive.