ALI EMRE BILGIC
Academic Paper
What really puts one team above another? How financial strength outweighs fan support in Turkish football
Abstract
This research investigates the correlation between club capitalisation and competitive dominance in the Turkish Süper Lig. By analysing financial reports alongside stadium occupancy and social media engagement, the study finds that sustained financial liquidity and transfer market spending are significantly more predictive of league success than traditional fan support metrics.
The question
Money or passion?
Turkish football runs on loyalty and full stadiums. I wanted to know whether that support actually wins titles, or whether the balance sheet does.
How I tested it
Comparing two kinds of strength
I set each club's finances against measures of how much its fans show up and engage.
What I found
The balance sheet wins
Sustained liquidity and transfer spending predicted league success far better than fan support.
Financial strength beats Fan support
What it taught me
Trust the data over the instinct
As a fan, I expected the opposite. Being proven wrong by my own research was the most useful part of the whole project.
economic Empowerment
Financial Literacy & Investment Initiatives
The more economics I learned, the more it bothered me that most students are never taught how money works. So I started where I was, and kept widening the circle.
SAC Financial Literacy & Investment Club
Founder & President
A student club at Sev American College where we learn how saving, budgeting and investing work in real life.
Financial Literacy Education Initiative
Project Lead
With volunteers from India and Thailand, I helped adapt Mary and the Secrets of Savings into Turkish for 5th graders, first for my school and then a partner public school.
MicroBudgetCoach
Founder
A budgeting app built on one idea: people don't need more financial knowledge, they need small daily habits. Track spending, set small goals, notice patterns.
Social impact · KAÇUV Hope Ambassador
Running for something bigger than myself.
Abstract
KAÇUV, the Hope Foundation for Children with Cancer, gives families a place to stay near hospitals, psychological support and, most of all, the message that they're not alone.
The cause is personal. I spent time in hospital as a child, and I still remember how overwhelming it felt. So I didn't want to just run. I brought together a team of eight runners for the Istanbul Half Marathon, and together we raised around ₺250,000 for children in treatment.
Asking people for money was harder than any kilometre. Telling my own story in public was harder still. It's also the thing I'm proudest of.