Aktif Bank, the largest investment bank in Turkey, transfers its expertise and experience in sports finance to universities.

​The Bank launches Turkey's first Certification Program in Sports Finance in collaboration with Bahcesehir University Continuing Education Center (BAUSEM) to support development of professionals looking to specialize in sports finances, with expert instructors from various fields.

Aktif Bank has launched the Sports Finance Certification Program in collaboration with Bahcesehir University to put its international experience in sports finance into academic use. The program was kicked-off with a ceremony held at Bahcesehir University's campus in Besiktas on Saturday, May 14, 2016 with the attendance of Prof. Dr. Elif Cepni, Vice-chancellor of Bahcesehir University, and Dr. Serdar Sumer, CEO of Aktif Bank.

The Program will pioneer training of qualified people in sports finance and sports management at a time of financial difficulties for sports clubs in Turkey and around the world.  The program takes 3 weeks to complete and includes various training topics such as Sports Management and Sponsorship, Sports Marketing and Brand Management, Sports Communication, Team Budgeting, Sports Industry and Economy, Structure of Sports Economy, Sport Finance, Broadcasting Rights, Modern Stadiums and Matchday Revenues, Football Team Management and Budgeting etc., which will be delivered by Associate Professor Deniz Gokce, Melih Sendil, Yigiter Ulug, Hikmet Karaman as well as Associate Prof. Gulberk Gultekin and Assistant Prof. Bulent Anil, academics of Bahcesehir University specialized in sports.

The program is intended for trainees from various disciplines who are looking to specialize in sports finance, and the first lecture was delivered by Aktif Bank CEO Serdar Sumer, who discussed with the participants the sports economy and financial portrait of sports clubs in Turkey.

Sumer emphasized how sports went much beyond being just a means of entertainment and transformed into a large industry and said "Solid financial structures and management models must be adopted and implemented both by sports clubs and sports managers for sustainable accomplishments and specific transformations needed from time to time. The hindrances resulting from the conventional approach to financial governance lie behind the financial problems faced by the sports clubs, especially in football, in Turkey today. Turkish sports clubs face some serious risks from the point of UEFA Financial Fair Play restrictions and debt management. This actually points out a risk that needs to be taken very seriously for the sake of our national sports industry and brand value. Globally, sports clubs implementing the right financial management models devise permanent and sustainable strategies for success rather that short-term strategies; they significantly increase stadium revenues and make huge profits by selling the sportsmen, they have trained, at very high prices; examples like these prove how important the right financial management is for the players of sports community."

Dr. Sumer underlined Aktif Bank's vision of developing value-added projects to bring an institutionalized approach to sports economy for a healthy growth, and to provide solutions and guidance for sports clubs for such purpose, and noted "We aim to provide resources to finance long-term investment of our sports clubs, diversify their sources of income and offer them the best solutions to eliminate financial risks. To that end, we propose innovative, tailor-made solutions for their needs and develop revenue-generating projects. We are committed to making well-rounded contributions to Sports in Turkey. We support financial development of sports in Turkey through services provided by our subsidiaries and loan extensions. With this program we introduced in collaboration with Bahcesehir University, we aim to support training of professionals to develop projects for such purpose and serve sports finance.