Mehmet Büyükekşi's response to Ali Koç was not delayed!

Turkish Football Federation (TFF) President Mehmet Büyükekşi stated that their primary goal in the 2024 European Football Championship is to advance from the group stage.

Speaking to members of the press after the Ziraat Turkish Cup final, Büyükekşi said, "We have a match against Italy on June 4. After this match, our coach will also take the U21 National Team to Italy. Those who do not play will have a 30-minute preparation match the next day and then move to the camp in Poland. We need to submit the 26-man squad on June 7. We will play our first match against Georgia on June 18; our goal is to first advance from the groups. It is a great advantage for us that it is in Germany. More than 4.5 million Turks live in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. Our citizens have a huge demand for tickets. Our goal is to be successful in the tournament and to make our citizens smile. The national team is the national team of all of us; it is a national team that we will rejoice and grieve together."

Speaking about the fact that the 2026 UEFA Europa League and 2027 UEFA Conference League finals will be played in Istanbul, Büyükekşi noted the following:

"It is not easy to secure these finals. This process started on May 17 last year. The application deadline to be a candidate was July 17. First and foremost, our President and our ministers all signed for this tournament to be held. After completing the documents, we nominated the Beşiktaş Stadium. UEFA asked us for a stadium name, and we nominated Tüpraş Stadium. We nominated the 2026 UEFA Europa League Final and the 2027 UEFA Conference League. A new stadium is being built in Ankara. We plan to host the 2027 final there. We will co-host with Italy in 2032. There was a Champions League final last year; all of these are a great advantage for us, thanks to the stadiums, beautiful highways, bridges, and airports built under the leadership of our President. We are currently ready for 2032. The Italians are planning to build new stadiums. Our securing of these final matches was supported by the fact that the facilities in Turkey are ready. Therefore, we thank our President."

Stating that the final went very well, the TFF President said, "We wanted women, children, and families to come to this match, and that is what happened. Both teams played well. They played without making football ugly. Both presidents had wished for a match where the winner congratulates the loser and the loser congratulates the winner. The coaches congratulated each other, and the players applauded each other. Football is not a war; it is a game of friendship, brotherhood, love, and peace. We should enjoy watching it. It is not something to be done by swearing or throwing foreign objects onto the pitch. The number of tickets sold at the Olympic Stadium today is 60,464. It was almost like a Champions League final."

RESPONSE TO ALI KOÇ REGARDING THE TURKISH CUP

Büyükekşi responded to a question regarding Fenerbahçe Club President Ali Koç's remarks about not participating in the Ziraat Turkish Cup next season by saying, "When the instructions for next year are announced, we will see what we will implement regarding teams that do not want to participate."