ISTANBUL
Turkish Prime Minister and former semi-professional footballer Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he hopes Turkey will make it to the 2016 European Championship.
Speaking at the opening of a sports facility in Istanbul, Erdogan said on Friday: "We really wish we could take part in the World Cup, but we didn't make it."
"We now have the European Championship ahead of us. We hope to take part in it."
The facility - which was built for the training of national football teams - was completed in 450 days.
"Strong places will create strong people. So we need strong places," the prime minister stated.
The Hasan Dogan National Teams' Camp and Training Facility - which is among the most modern sports training facilities in the world - includes tennis courts, running tracks, recreation areas, conference halls, a lake and a mini-golf course as well as football pitches and is the Turkish Football Federation's biggest infrastructure investment.
Erdogan added: "When we are watching the (World Cup) matches we feel sorry, because countries with five or six million people are taking part but Turkey - which has 76 million people - is not."
The most recent championship, co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine in 2012, was won by Spain which beat Italy 4 – 0 at the final in Kiev.
The next European Championship will be held in France in 2016.
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