Leyla Firdevs Bağcı (born 6 February 1990) is a Turkish-Dutch
women's football Women's football most often refers to:
* Women's association football
Women's football may also refer to:
* Women's gridiron football
* Women's Australian rules football
* Ladies' Gaelic football
* Women's rugby league
* Women's rugby union
...
goalkeeper
In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
. She played in the Netherlands and Belgium, and was part of the Turkey women's national team.
Early years
Leyla Firdevs Bağcı was born to Turkish immigrant parents in
Dordrecht
Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Western Netherlands, lo ...
on 6 February 1990. She grew up together with her six-year younger sister in her hometown, an island with rich history, where she still lives.
She began football playing at the age of seven with boys on the street. She tried swimming and taekwondo before she and her father finally opted for football. Her mother advised her spouse that football playing would be best for Leya because she found Leyla's skills and technique insufficient for martial arts. She was supported in her passion especially by her father Sabri Kenan Bağcı, the president of the "Turkish Sports Clubs Federation in the Netherlands" () (HTSKF) and the "Federation of People from Yozgat in the Netherlands" (), who played football at regional level in his youth in his hometown
Yozgat
Yozgat is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Yozgat Province and Yozgat District. He took her by the hand and got her registered in a local football club.
Playing career
Leyla Bağcı was admitted to the mixed-gender children's team of the
FC Dordrecht
Football Club Dordrecht, or simply FC Dordrecht () is a professional Dutch association football club based in Dordrecht, a city in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. They currently compete in the Eerste Divisie, ...
(DFC) at the age of ten. She was chosen to play in the goalkeeper position as she was taller than her boy peers in the team. She was selected to play in the mixed team at regional level when she was fifteen years old, and at age seventeen she appeared in the mixed-gender Western Holland regional team.
Club
;Willem II
Bağcı transferred to the
Tilburg
Tilburg () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. With a population of 22 ...
-based Willem II, which competed in the Dutch Women's Eredivisie. She trained about half an hour almost every day without missing a training session although she was a substitute from the first day on. She played for SC 't Zand in the same city, which were in cooperation with Willem II. Due to financial reasons, the women's football section of Willem II was closed.
;RVVH Ridderkerk
After the closure of Willem II, Bağcı consciously joined
RVVH
Ridderkerkse Voetbal Vereniging Hercules, known as RVVH is a Dutch football club, based in Ridderkerk. Since 2023, its main male squad competes in the Vierde Divisie.
RVVH has a highly successful women's squad. It played most years in the Topklas ...
in
Ridderkerk
Ridderkerk () is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of in and covers an area of of which is covered by water.
The municipality of Ridderkerk also includes th ...
, becoming their first goalkeeper.
;SteDoCo
In June 2012, she returned to the Netherlands, and joined
SteDoCo
Voetbalvereniging Sterk Door Combinatie, more commonly known as VV SteDoCo or simply SteDoCo, is a Dutch football club based in the towns of Hoornaar and Hoogblokland in the Molenlanden. It currently plays in the Derde Divisie, the fourth tier o ...
from
Hoornaar
Hoornaar is a town in the Netherlands, Dutch province of South Holland, in the Alblasserwaard, north of the river Merwede and south of the river Lek (river), Lek. It is a part of the municipality of Molenlanden, and lies about 5 km north of Go ...
.
;Royal Antwerp F.C.
In July 2013, she went again to Belgium to play for Antwerp FC Ladies, a newcomer to the
BeNe League
The BeNe League was the highest women's football league in Belgium and the Netherlands. To increase competitiveness in their national leagues, the BeNe League was a joint cooperation between the Royal Belgian Football Association and the Royal D ...
.
International
When Leyla Bağcı was eighteen years old, she was called up to the Netherlands women's national under-19 team for qualification. After the training session, she told to the selective and technical staff that although born and raised in the Netherlands, she has her heart go out to the Turkey women's national team. Her preference was welcomed by the Dutch responsible people.
In 2010, she was called up to the
Turkey women's national football team
The Turkey women's national football team () represents Turkey in international women's football (soccer), women's football. The team was established in 1995, and compete in the qualification for UEFA Women's Championship and the UEFA qualify ...
camp at the age of twenty. She was not admitted to the team because unfit.
The next year, Bağcı was offered a substitute goalkeeper place in the Turkey women's national team to participate at the
UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying – Group 2
The UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying – Group 2 was contested by six teams competing for one spot for the final tournament.
Spain's MarÃa Paz Vilas, MarÃa Paz set a new competition record when she scored seven goals against Kazakhstan.
Stand ...
matches. In the match against
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
on 22 October 2011, she had to remain seated on the reserve bench. She debuted in the away match against
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
on 27 October 2011, entering the game in the 82nd minute to replace
Fatma Åžahin
Fatma Åžahin (born 20 June 1966) is a Turkish chemical engineer and politician. On 6 July 2011 she was appointed as the Minister of Family and Social Policies in the third cabinet of ErdoÄŸan.
Biography
She was born on 20 June 1966 in Gazia ...
. She played as the first goalkeeper in the home match against Romania on 23 November 2011. She defended the goal of Turkey in the match against
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
on 15 February 2012, and against
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
on 31 March 2012.
In August 2013, Bağcı was named for the national team's participation at the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification UEFA Group 6 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. The group comprised Belarus, England, Montenegro, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales.
The group winners qualified directly for the ...
. However, she stood away due to her intensive preparatory training sessions at her new club Antwerp FC Ladies in Belgium.
Private life
Bağcı holds a diploma in sports massage and a tcoaching certificate (TC3) in Sport and Movement from the Albeda College in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
.
She started a training for police officer career in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
. However, she broke off her decision after she received a call from the Belgian club Royal Antwerp F.C.
She appeared on the football club's calendar of Royal Antwerp F.C. as a
cover girl
A cover girl is a woman whose photograph is used for the front cover of magazines. She may be a model, celebrity or entertainer. The term would generally not be used to describe a person making a single, casual appearance on the cover of a magaz ...