Özlem Başyurt

Özlem Başyurt — Biography

Özlem Başyurt was born on 20 September 1971 in Giresun and completed her secondary schooling in her hometown. After a vocational high school education in tourism, she moved to Ankara and studied physical education at Gazi University; she now teaches physical education at an Anadolu high school in the Florya district of Istanbul.

She entered football by obtaining a licence with the capital's Osmanlıspor club in the spring of 1994, moving on after one season to the newly formed Gürtaşspor. Capped for the Turkey women's national team, she took the field in a UEFA Women's Euro qualifying group match against Ukraine in the summer of 1996.

After her football career she turned briefly to basketball, playing for Çevre Orman SK in the 2006-07 season. Having earned a basketball coaching certificate in 2014, she went on in later years to both preside over and coach a club based in Büyükçekmece, Istanbul.