Urbane

Türkiye is home to a soccer league filled with some of the world’s most dedicated fans, yet it is not exactly a walk in the park to purchase tickets. Tickets are available for sale at http://passo.com.tr. However, a Passolig card is required to purchase tickets to sporting events due to the high security presence and prior incidents of fan violence. The card costs about $10 and is depicted below. Step-by-step instructions are located at the bottom of the article

Unfortunately, http://www.passolig.com.tr., where you purchase the card, is not available outside of Türkiye. We tried both in New York and Greece. Once in Türkiye, the website worked. Some recommend using a VPN, however, using a VPN seems pointless when you can pickup the card at the stadium and tickets go on sale only a few days or a week prior to the game. The card may also be shipped anywhere in the world. When applying for the card, we recommend using a computer rather than a phone because the photo upload on the phone was finicky.

Unfortunately, upon completion of your Passolig registration, you will be unable to purchase tickets on Passo with your ordinary credit or debit card. Since we had U.S. credit cards, I called a Turkish-American friend whose mom had a Turkish card and sent her a Venmo. Note, this step/requirement is not listed anywhere and we only figured it out after trying all of our credit cards and finally my friend just decided to try his mom’s Turkish card. We understand many people may not have friends to do this for them, so we recommend asking your hotel concierge, purchasing a visa/mastercard gift card in Türkiye, or reaching out to any friends you may have with ties to Türkiye. Finally, if none of these options work, reach out to us on Instagram and we will try to accommodate.

We were fortunate enough to attend a Beşiktaş J.K. game at the Vodafone Arena in Istanbul. It was one of the coolest sporting events I’ve ever attended. Once arriving at the arena, it was very difficult to locate anyone who spoke English. Finally, we figured out we needed to go to the help desk to pickup our Passolig cards before entering. Whereas, Turkish citizens didn’t need the physical card and could enter off their phone. You’ll need your passport and ticket information to receive this card. Most lines in the help desk only speak Turkish, which we learned the hard way. Eventually, a Dutch man told us to simply show your ticket and passport without speaking. Finally, we received our Passolig Card and approval to enter.

Turkish soccer games are rowdy, so be prepared to encounter droves of riot police and crowd control devices. My Turkish friend recommended sitting in the middle/upper bowl, which he dubbed “the family section.” Behind the goals were the rowdiest locations, filled with people jumping, singing, and throwing things on the field. The new restrictive measures taken by the Turkish government through the Passolig card are to ensure safety inside the arena, however, it is worth taking note of your surroundings. Crowds outside of the arena may be rowdier, so we waited a bit (10 min) before leaving. Below is a photo of me at the game.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Enter Türkiye and visit http://www.passolig.com.tr on a computer. Enter all relevant passport data, photos, etc.

2. Visit http://www.passo.com.tr and check out with a Turkish form of payment.

3. Download to Passo App and bring your passport to the stadium

4. Find the help stands outside of the stadium. IMPORTANT: if you do not speak Turkish, simply show the app and your passport and you should receive your Passo Card. I believe foreigners must go through this step every time they attend a game.

5. Enjoy the game, but monitor the crowds for your safety.