Mehmet Ali Yılmaz laid to rest

The funeral prayer for Mehmet Ali Yılmaz, who passed away due to a heart attack, was held at the Marmara University Faculty of Theology Mosque in Altunizade.

The funeral prayer, held after the Friday prayer, was attended by Yılmaz's family, Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak, former ministers Mehmet Ağar, Adil Karaismailoğlu, and Süleyman Soylu, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, representatives of the Turkish Football Federation, Trabzonspor Club President Ertuğrul Doğan, current and former executives of the burgundy-blue club, former Trabzonspor footballers, and many figures from the worlds of sports, politics, and business.

Following the prayer, Yılmaz's body was interred at the Karacaahmet Cemetery.

Former Trabzonspor Club President Ahmet Ağaoğlu stated that Mehmet Ali Yılmaz was a very important figure for Turkish sports.

Ağaoğlu said, "We have lost an important value for Turkish football, Trabzonspor, and our national sports. Our honorary president was a person who provided very important services to Turkish sports."

"NOT EVERYONE WOULD HAVE HAD THE COURAGE FOR THIS"

Stating that Yılmaz made the Turkish Football Federation autonomous during his time as Minister of Sports, Ağaoğlu said, "In the early 1990s, at a time when the state held everything in its hands and dominated everything, he was the person who made the Turkish Football Federation, which was under his authority, autonomous as the State Minister Responsible for Sports. This was a revolutionary innovation in Turkish football. Not everyone would have had the courage for this. Furthermore, during the same period, he determined the distribution of broadcasting revenues, which we call the 'pool system' today," he said.

Reminding that the name of Mehmet Ali Yılmaz was given to Trabzonspor's current facilities, Ahmet Ağaoğlu noted the following:

"He is the person who brought Turkey's first modern sports facilities to Trabzonspor in the early 1980s, at a time when our national team did not even have a field to train on. In a sense, he laid the foundation for institutionalization in Turkish football and sports. The Mehmet Ali Yılmaz Facilities have become the symbol of Trabzonspor. Although it is a facility that is nearly 40 years old, I have not encountered a second facility in the world that remains current even today and meets today's needs. Beyond his sporting achievements, these three important services make him very different. They place him in a very different position. We lost him at an early age. Our pain is great. May God have mercy on him."

News Source: AA