FC St. Pauli

Hello Esin, welcome to FC St. Pauli. Not every member or supporter will know you despite you being a public figure. Would you mind introducing yourself for us? 

I was formerly a full-time journalist and media developer and have had an organic tea business with my own brand, samova, for almost 20 years now. I spent my childhood in many different countries because of my Turkish father's job. That taught me how important it is to promote peaceful co-existence, and not only in respect of people. Diversity, not just cultural but also ecological, is the only real strategy for life on this planet. I'm an active, rather impatient kind of person, so I prefer to get involved rather than wait and see. I'm very much into alternative, green ways of doing business and issues affecting society. 

Your self-description gives us a clue, but what issues will be your priorities on the presidential board? 

Oke [Göttlich] approached me a few months ago because he knew I had expertise and experience in the fields of environmental protection and society. As a businesswoman, I'm also working with others on a new sustainable type of economy that puts the emphasis on social well-being. Achieving a balance in these areas at FC St. Pauli, i.e. economy, ecology and community, will be my focus, along with the expansion of our business network to companies and institutions with a similar outlook. We want to make bigger strides to becoming more climate-friendly and to review the implementation of sustainable goals in our day-to-day operations. FC St. Pauli has embarked on a good path and is considered a role model for other clubs – I will act to reinforce this motivation and increase the tempo.

What moved you to get involved at FC St. Pauli in an honorary capacity?

Globally, we're at a point where we have to join forces with all the energy and resolve at our disposal to maintain this planet as a suitable place for life and shape a society worth living in. That can only be done as part of a team, no one can do it alone. FC St. Pauli is a great team that is carried above all by the magnetism of professional sport and its vibrant fan community. We can bundle our energies with good spirit here, encourage each other and use our network to generate greater awareness, staying power and punch. I've always enjoyed working for what I believe in and convincing others, something I've done in an advisory capacity for a number of organisations, such as a local cultural foundation and an initiative for recyclable packaging. I'm especially delighted to apply my knowledge, energy and contacts at FC St. Pauli because what is lived here is authentic – not always easy, for sure, but always authentic. That's the most important yardstick for me, I don't have to be someone else to get things done. And for me sport is one of the most important tools for peaceful coexistence in a multi-faceted society. Sporting competition has the capacity to delight and weld people together irrespective of their social background and the language they speak.

Thanks very much for talking to us. We wish you the best of starts at St. Pauli! 

Photos: FC St. Pauli