EuroLeague 2025-2026: Panathinaikos Coach Ergin Ataman Sounds Off on Turkish Basketball’s Football Fixation

As the 2025-2026 EuroLeague season looms, basketball minds across Europe are gearing up. Among them is Panathinaikos’s celebrated coach, Ergin Ataman, a figure synonymous with success in the continent’s premier club competition. Ahead of the new campaign, Ataman has voiced strong opinions regarding the landscape of Turkish sports, particularly the overwhelming dominance of football in public discourse and media attention.

Speaking in the wake of a pre-season Presidential Cup match between Fenerbahçe Beko and Beşiktaş Eml, Ataman expressed frustration with the media’s focus, or lack thereof, on basketball. He believes the intense spotlight on football in Turkey, despite its significant financial investment, has overshadowed the sport’s potential for European glory. The turkish sports public opinion has, in essence, destroyed the basketball media, Ataman stated, highlighting a perceived football frenzy that leaves little room for basketball’s narrative.

This sentiment echoes a broader concern within international basketball circles: the challenge of cultivating a robust media presence and fan engagement for basketball when football commands such a disproportionate share of attention and resources. Ataman pointed to a stark contrast in European success, noting that while football clubs in Turkey boast considerable financial backing, their European achievements have been limited. There is not the slightest degree [of success] in Europe [for football], he observed, implying a misallocation of focus and resources.

The coach’s critique extends to the cyclical nature of club management in Turkish football, suggesting that frequent changes in club presidents disrupt long-term strategic planning and ultimately hinder european success.Football teams have not been successful because the presidents change, basketball teams [win the] EuroLeague championship, he asserted, drawing a clear line between stability in basketball leadership and consistent European triumphs.

Is the Ultimate Goal Just Domestic Dominance?

Ataman’s pointed question, Is all this to be the champion of Türkiye? probes the ambition and ultimate objectives of Turkish sports organizations. He suggests that the immense economic power concentrated in Turkish football might be narrowly focused on domestic accolades rather than striving for the pinnacle of European competition, a feat that Panathinaikos, under his guidance, has consistently aimed for.

This perspective offers a valuable lens for American sports enthusiasts,who are accustomed to a more diversified sports media landscape where basketball,baseball,and hockey often share the spotlight with American football. The intense, almost singular, focus on football in Turkey presents a unique challenge for developing other sports to their full potential on the international stage. It raises questions about how resources, media attention, and fan passion are cultivated and directed within a national sports ecosystem.

For fans of the EuroLeague, the 2025-2026 season promises another year of high-stakes basketball. While the focus often remains on the on-court action, understanding the broader cultural and media context in which these teams operate, as highlighted by Coach Ataman, adds another layer of appreciation. The pursuit of european championships, as exemplified by Ataman’s own track record, requires not only on-court talent but also a sustained commitment and a supportive habitat, something he clearly feels is lacking in the broader Turkish sports narrative.

Further investigation could explore the specific media consumption habits of Turkish sports fans, the financial disparities between football and basketball clubs in Turkey, and the strategies employed by successful European basketball clubs to build their brand and fan base self-reliant of football’s shadow. The EuroLeague itself continues to be a beacon of competitive basketball, with live scores and standings readily available on platforms like Flashscore.com [[2]] and Livesport.com [[3]], allowing fans worldwide to follow the action.