Galatasaray's 1921 European Tour and Its Effects on the Turkish Sportive Image and the Representation Issue

Representing a country or a nation abroad through tours has existed since the earliest periods of football. Before Galatasaray football club started preparing for a tour to Europe in 1921, four football teams went on three tours in the Ottoman Empire. Galatasaray's European tour in 1921 was a much more effective tour than its predecessors with its scope and the discussions it brought. Countries such as Switzerland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary were visited as part of this tour, and various football matches were played in these countries. During the preparations for this tour and during the tour, various discussions arose on issues such as the representation of the Turkish nation and the success of the team that would go on the tour in football, and many discussions were held regarding whether or not this tour would be successful. During and at the end of the tour, two-headed discussions and observations emerged, and this tour and the matches played within this tour in Europe and the Ottoman Empire were described with very different expectations and approaches. Galatasaray's tour, which was mentioned in a very progressive and positive way in Germany, was taken up quite critically in Switzerland and the Empire, and the representation and organization studies after the tour were carried out. Within the scope of this study, the tours that took place before Galatasaray's 1921 European Tour were explained, the 1921 European Tour was examined in detail, and its effects on the problems of Turkish sporting image and representation of the Turkish nation, the Turkish image reflected in the European media, and the changes and reforms in Turkish Sports and Turkish Football, including the Early Republican Period, after this tour were examined.