Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu (TFF) Yönetim Kurulu Üyesi Ural Aküzüm, 12 Mayıs Salı günü UEFA Gençlik ve Amatör Futbol Komitesi Toplantısı'na katıldı.

The meeting was held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Ural Aküzüm, responsible for amateur, women's, and disabled football in the TFF, attended as a new committee member. At the opening session, he was introduced to the committee by its chair, Bjorn Vassallo, and Rafael Louzan, the president of the Spanish Football Federation and a committee member known for his amateur football background.

Other attendees included Andriy Shevchenko, the president of the Ukrainian Football Federation and former Milan legend, Christian Kofoed, a member of the Danish Football Federation's board, Hermann Winkler, a Bundesliga board member, Marc Keller, the president of the French Amateur Football Federation and former French national team player, and Marko Zdravkovic, a member of the Serbian Football Federation's board.

The committee reviewed past work and discussed upcoming events, including the 2026, 2027, and 2028 Under-17 and Under-19 European Championships, and the UEFA Regions' Cup. The preparation and planning for the UEFA Regions' Cup group stage matches to be held in Turkey were also discussed.

In his speech, Aküzüm highlighted Turkey's potential in football, emphasizing the country's status as one of Europe's largest football economies. He noted that amateur football is a crucial part of Turkey, with nearly 550,000 licensed players and over 7,000 amateur clubs active in the country. Aküzöm also discussed the reforms in amateur football, the development of youth categories, and digitalization efforts under the TFF.

Aküzöm further emphasized the need to strengthen lower leagues, local football structures, and youth academies. He called for increased financial support from UEFA and the European Union for youth, amateur football, and infrastructure development. He also stressed the importance of developing uniform methodologies for youth player development across Europe, focusing on technical education, data usage, and club-academy integration.