Football can be a uniting force against terror and charity matches are where we start

On Thursday night, a charity match was held between Turkish football stars and foreign stars playing in the country as a way of expressing solidarity with the victims in the recent wave of terror attacks.

Just like when Galatasaray's Yasin Öztekin hugged the on duty police officers, a day after the terror attack in front of Besiktaş's stadium, the nation once again found a brief moment of relief and feeling of unity, needed most at the moment as stressed by President Erdoğan before the kickoff.

Nevertheless, these feelings must not be a gift to the Turkish people only after terror attacks, or when it is absolutely necessary. In order to create a more unified and confident society, we need to use our public figures more and our football stars must do their part too.

I wrote about this a few weeks ago and have since developed some ideas on how we could utilize the most recognizable faces in the country to bring it together.

To begin with, there could be at least two conventions a month where ordinary people can come together with the football players in public squares or other appropriate locations.

The aim of this organization would be to minimize the distance between footballers and ordinary people. That is to say, the public must see that the larger-than-life footballers share the same worries and are essentially, human beings.

These meetings would enable the society, especially the fans, to feel closer to football. At present, ironically, they have almost no contact with the clubs. They do not know any of the officials, coaches or players. The only thing they share with their team is the feeling of glory when the team wins. Therefore, the only motivation for the fans, at the moment, is winning.

Understandably, it makes them furious when they do not win, despite the beauty of the game.

I believe unity can come from recognizing and understanding the worries and joys of others, and in this case, the others are your countrymen. Knowing the people around you and sharing your feelings with them may contribute to that, but by understanding that we are all on the same boat and even the most distant member of the society holds the same feelings as yours, will make you hold on to the boat with more dedication.

In addition, the clubs could organize events at different locations, at least twice a month, to raise awareness on social issues, and I am not talking about attending events organized by other people. You know, there is a big difference between a father who gives his son a surprise gift for Christmas and the one who just takes him to a mall to choose something. That is the difference between dedication and just fulfilling ones' duties. And I want dedication from the clubs for people who dedicate their lives to for their clubs.

Take your football players and go play football with kids to raise awareness on diseases, human rights violations, or funding NGOs.

Please, be a part of the society that you are living in. Turkish people must see that you are sincere about solving social issues and raising awareness. Otherwise, we cannot transform this emotional relief into social unity in which people might believe in. Right now, Turkey needs their heroes and football world should finally pay their respect to Turkish people, we need it and deserve it.