Passolig card sales have been strong this season with the latest figures showing a significant increase in interest from abroad.
Interest from abroad in Turkish football continues to increase, according to the latest Passolig sales figures revealed this week.
To date, over 125,000 foreigners from 120 countries have purchased Passolig cards — the card necessary for anyone who wishes to attend a Turkish Super Lig, 1.Lig or Turkish Cup game.
The reports also show that Shinji Kagawa’s transfer to Besiktas in January has caused a spike in interest from Japan. Close to 1,000 cards have been sold to Japanese citizens, most of which who have purchased cards with a Galatasaray logo.
Since Kagawa’s arrival, more than 70 Japanese citizens have purchased Passolig cards.
There has also been increase in the number of foreigners attending Turkish team’s fixtures in the Champions League and Europa League. More specifically, Middle Eastern nations such as Lebanon and Iraq have the highest number contribute the highest number.
Citizens of Germany, Netherlands, Austria and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus have purchased the most Passolig cards, according to the statistics.
Interestingly, majority of British citizens’ purchases have been of cards with the Fenerbahce logo while Besiktas logo cards have sold the least among British fans.
Azerbaijani citizens, on the other hand, have purchased mainly Galatasaray logo cards.
The last Besiktas-Fenerbahce derby saw more than 1,500 foreign nationals attendance.
Even though the upcoming Galatasaray-Besiktas derby is still two months away, it has made headlines in Japan as two of the country’s two biggest stars, Yuto Nagatomo and Shinji Kagawa, will line up against each other. This has led to over 2,000 Passolig applications from Japan.
Of all the Passolig card holders, 74%, close to 95,000, have purchased cards affiliated with the four biggest clubs (Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Besiktas and Trabzonspor).
In line with the Turkish Football Federation’s objective of increasing the number of women in attendance, the number of female card holders has increased to more than 400,000.
