First of all, could you introduce yourself to us?
My name is Andrew Simes, I am 42 years old, I was born in London, I am married and we have a child. I am active in the fields of education, business and football management. I live in Izmir and London. I am a Beşiktaş and Arsenal congress member. I am the sixth generation of a family that has traveled to and from Türkiye. My grandfather's grandfather came first, and then my grandfather's grandfather and my grandfather's father came back and forth for business reasons. It was my family who built the first railways of the Ottoman Empire on the Izmir-Aydın route and the Izmir clock tower. The first football match in the Ottoman Empire was played between English youth in Izmir Bornova in the late 1800s, and my grandfather's father was present in that match. My grandfather was one of the country's first foreign football players after the Republic period. He played in Altay between 1933-35. Football is in my blood.
How did you become interested in football management and how was your development process in this branch?
My interest in football management started when a football player friend of mine wrote to me on social media. While he was looking for the president of a team, he noticed that I had a mutual friend and asked me to speak for him. I was helpful and I didn't expect anything in return, but then when both his friends and he started writing to me, I started to devote more time and turned it into a job. Also, the fact that my wife is a former football player helped me focus on women's football. Previously, I had provided pre-season treats such as baklava, pedicure and movie day to Izmir's Konak Municipality sports team. I wanted to make a gesture to the football players. Over time, I expanded this cooperation and started to represent them.
Could you please explain your extra work and the resources you use to be one step ahead of your competitors in this branch?
Frankly, I have no intention of being ahead of my competitors. First of all, I want to represent my football players well and be a good brother. As I did this, of course, I got rewarded and the number of football players who trusted me approached 700. But of course, I always work to provide a better service. We actively use social media, we send weekly and monthly newsletters to our business partners, we have a contracted sports dietitian and sports psychologist, we offer services in 7-8 languages, I am in contact with nearly 600 clubs thanks to the four members of my family who have played professional football before and my close relations with Beşiktaş and Arsenal clubs.
Could you explain with a few examples how you manage successful domestic and international transfer processes?
The story of each transfer is actually very different because the profile of each club is very different. The important thing is to offer the right player to the right team at the right time. It's a bit like a solar eclipse, all conditions must be suitable. But perhaps one of the transfers I was most proud of was taking the first Arab female football player to the Champions League, because then the Jordanian king hosted us at the palace.
What criticisms do you have about football management and women's football clubs in Türkiye?
In Türkiye, some things are done for show or are the monopoly of unqualified people. There are a lot of buddy relationships. For example, my wife is also a coach, but I make at most 1-2 transfers to her a year, too much will lead to misunderstandings. But there are teams here that transferred 14 players from one manager! Also, sometimes financial promises are not kept and they use the classic empty phrase "nobody has any money left with us". But we will continue to fight to fix things.
What deficiencies do you see between the concepts of management in Europe and management in Türkiye in terms of protecting all the rights of the football player? What kind of regulation should the federation make regarding this?
You have complaints authorities in Europe. It is not clear who you are complaining to here, but one advantage of being a foreign national is that we can activate our connections in UEFA, FIFA, and CAS. Unfortunately, most people here do not have this opportunity.
Could you give us some information about your future career planning?
We have 2-3 different projects in the coming period. These are projects that will make an international impact. But one of our most important goals is to transfer Turkish football players with high potential abroad and ensure that they receive the value they deserve.
