The Support for Girls Association (Kız Çocuklarına Destek Derneği) is expanding girls’ access to sport through the Pusula / Compass: Sports Participation Support Programme for Children, supported by Türkiye Mozaik Foundation’s Sports Giving Circle. The grant is administered via Support Foundation for Civil Society through Sahadayız Association for Justice and Rights in Sports.
In this interview, the association explains how the programme is breaking down barriers to participation and creating more opportunities for girls across Antalya.
Can you tell us about the Support for Girls Association and its work?
The Support for Girls Association works to ensure that girls have equal opportunities and can fulfil their potential. We raise public awareness, build collaboration between stakeholders, and strengthen the ecosystem that supports girls across Türkiye.
Our programmes focus on education and life skills, culture, arts and sport, environmental sustainability, and climate action — all with a commitment to equality, inclusion, transparency and accountability. Alongside improving opportunities for girls, we also focus on strengthening local capacity and building lasting partnerships.
The Support for Girls Association works to ensure that girls have equal opportunities and can fulfil their potential.
What are the main barriers girls face when trying to access sport in Antalya? What role does sport play in supporting girls’ social and emotional development?
The barriers we see most often are practical ones: lack of suitable facilities, the cost of equipment, limited access to regular training, and in some areas, transport. Together, these make it difficult for girls to participate consistently.
Yet the positive impact of sport is something we witness first-hand. Being part of a team builds a sense of belonging; regular training develops self-discipline and confidence; learning alongside peers strengthens social bonds. In Demre, after a call went out for girls to join a newly formed football team, a group of children began training regularly and preparing for matches. This was a clear sign that sport is not just physical — it is a space for psychological and social growth too.
We believe in the potential of every girl.
Through the support of our Sports Giving Circle, you launched the “Pusula / Compass: Sports Participation Support Programme for Children”. How does this programme strengthen girls’ access to sport?
The Pusula / Compass Programme supports four projects aimed at increasing girls’ interest and participation in sport, while offering them broader opportunities for personal development. Together, these projects improve access to sports activities, strengthen local sports opportunities and encourage girls to take part in a wide range of disciplines.
The four supported projects are:
Demre Municipality – “Girls from Demre Empowered Through Football”: A girls’ football team has been established for girls aged 6–14, aiming to increase participation in a traditionally male-dominated sport, challenge gender barriers, and support the physical, social and emotional development of participants.
Antalya BBOM School – “Participatory and Peaceful Nature Sports for Girls”: To give girls a safe, inclusive space to discover their physical and mental limits and build confidence and problem-solving skills, a climbing wall and slackline course are built in the school grounds. These facilities are open to all children in the surrounding area.
Antalya Metropolitan Municipality – “Aim for Your Dream with Floor Curling”: This project increases access to sport for girls aged 9–14 in disadvantaged areas through floor curling — a low-cost, safe and inclusive sport. It aims to develop confidence, teamwork, leadership and a sense of belonging.
Antalya Sailing Club – “Champion Girls, Training Girl Champions”: Two successful young female sailors are supported in their sporting careers while also teaching eight of their peers the basics of sailing through a peer-learning model, enabling the younger girls to gain formal certification in the sport.
Between October 2025 and January 2026, the programme delivered 37 activities, reaching 445 children and 156 adults — including specialists, parents and supporters. The programme’s core approach is to move beyond good intentions and convert the real needs identified on the ground into direct, practical support for girls’ participation in sport.
Donations and support translate directly into tangible outcomes — girls connecting with sport, education and social participation.
How do in-kind grants, such as equipment, facilities and transport, help overcome structural barriers?
The supported projects each tackle specific obstacles that prevent girls from taking part in sport:
Facilities: In Demre, the training ground was renovated to create a suitable physical environment for regular sport.
Equipment costs: In the sailing project, two sails were provided to enable athletes to compete sustainably — and the equipment also proved to be a motivating factor in itself.
Local capacity: In the floor curling project, coaches attended federation training, building lasting knowledge and expertise at a local level.
Safe learning environments: In the BBOM project, a climbing wall and slackline course were installed by professional teams, creating a structured and safe space for children to learn.
Directing in-kind support to service providers directly — such as municipal bodies, clubs and local partners — speeds up procurement, ensures the right equipment reaches the right place, and removes the practical barriers that might otherwise delay children from getting started.
How do these projects contribute to a stronger local ecosystem for girls, and can this model be sustained and scaled?
By working across different neighbourhoods, districts and sports, these projects are transforming girls’ participation in sport from isolated events into something more like a local ecosystem. When municipalities, sports clubs, schools, coaches, parents and specialists come together around a shared goal, it multiplies the role models and safe spaces available to girls — and strengthens the local perception that girls belong in sport.
For us, sustainability comes down to two things: capacity transfer and the multiplier effect. Training coaches in floor curling, for example, creates a lasting foundation for the sport locally. In the sailing project, the plan for young athletes to then teach their own peers is a model that amplifies impact over time. This multi-stakeholder structure also makes scaling possible: what works well in one neighbourhood or district can be adapted and replicated through local partnerships.
For supporters, the impact is right there: a piece of equipment, a renovated space, a training session — each one opens a door through which a girl discovers that she can.
How would you describe the impact of your work to someone who wants to support you?
We believe in the potential of every girl. We build local partnerships, direct resources to where they are most needed, and grow an ecosystem that empowers girls. Donations and support translate directly into tangible outcomes — girls connecting with sport, education and social participation.
One story captures this well. After the call went out for Demre’s new girls’ football team, 12 girls signed up. They now train three times a week and are preparing for league matches. During one training session, a parent proudly said: “The girls of Demre finally have their own football team.”
That single word — finally — says everything. It speaks of a dream becoming reality: a team, a routine, a sense of belonging, and a hope in the future.
For supporters, the impact is right there: a piece of equipment, a renovated space, a training session — each one opens a door through which a girl discovers that she can.
