A Turkish Football Federation video at the start of the World Cup has led to controversy in the country because apart from footballers it also shows projects of the governing AK Party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The music video for the song “All of You – We Are Turkey” was commissioned by Erdogan and is based on a reinterpretation of a traditional folk song, state news agency Anadolu said.
Apart from scenes from national team matches and flag-waving fans the clip also shows fighter planes, navy ships and a drone company. Erdogan is shown playing football, during a car ride and at a military parade.
Parts of the video were made with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
Some fans were not impressed, with one X user saying in the comments section under the video: "Are we going to a football match or to war?"
Opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet criticised the fact that the video focused "more on AK propaganda than on the national team, football and the World Cup”.
Namik Tan, an MP for the main opposition party and Turkey’s former ambassador to the United States, wrote on X that the national team represents a shared national value and is not a propaganda tool for any political party.
Turkey qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 2002 which sparked joy and pride in the football-mad country.
The team starts on Saturday against Australia. The other group stage opponents are co-hosts United States and Paraguay.
