July 19 – The former president of Turkish club Trabzonspor, İbrahim Ethem Hacıosmanoğlu (pictured) has been elected as Turkish Football Federation (TFF) president at the TFF Financial and Electoral General Assembly.
The meeting held at the Ankara JW Marriott Hotel sawHacıosmanoğlu win a tightly contested ballot with 134 votes against 129 votes for Mehmet Büyükekşi.
Turkish Grand National Assembly Member Mehmet Baykan was elected as the chairman of the council, while the president of Lig 1 club Iğdır, Cantürk Alagöz, was elected as the vice chairman.
TFF Presidential Candidates İbrahim Ethem Hacıosmanoğlu and Mehmet Büyükekşi, UEFA vice president Armand Duka, FIFA European member federations director Elkhan Mammadov, TFF Board Members, TFF Former Presidents, Parliament Members, club presidents and delegates attended the meeting.
Hacıosmanoğlu’s candidacy had been endorsed by 16 clubs.
“We have applied for the duty to open a new page in Turkish football, just like the colour of our ballot paper, we will not embarrass those who trust us. Congratulations have been coming for hours. I did not win, Turkish football won. There were those who tried to create perception in this election, who were more royalist than the king. We will manage Turkish football fairly and justly. My first thanks go to the President. He is my elder brother. If he did not want me to enter the election, he would call and say, ‘Ibrahim, what are you doing?’,” said Hacıosmanoğlu in his first speech as TFF’s president.
“I am grateful to our sensible delegates for throwing those who use his name out of football today. We set out to ensure peace and brotherhood in football. Our burden is very heavy. An election was held today. The horse neighs according to its owner. I call out to all boards. They should resign as soon as tomorrow. We will choose the names we will work with. We worked hard and got tired. Victories are not easy to win. There are hidden heroes behind this whose names I cannot reveal. I also thank them very much,” continued Hacıosmanoğlu.
“When I was 8 years old, my daughter said to me, ‘Dad, the world championship is coming, make us champions.’ I was very touched. We will keep our promise. Our national team has a great generation. I am sure we will achieve great success. I repeat, we did not win, Turkish football won, may God not make me and my team ashamed”, he added.
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimorov, at moc.l1725754407labto1725754407ofdlr1725754407owedi1725754407sni@o1725754407fni1725754407