A historic day in Turkish football: İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu wins TFF presidential election

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) Ordinary Financial and Elective General Assembly meeting, which the sports community had been eagerly awaiting, was held today at the JW Marriott Hotel in Ankara.

At the general assembly, which began at 11:00, 321 delegates cast their votes. The vote counting process for the TFF election then commenced.

The Turkish Football Federation's (TFF) Ordinary Financial and Elective General Assembly meeting in Ankara opened with the signatures of 261 delegates.

RESULTS FROM THE BALLOT BOXES ARE IN

The voting process at the TFF Ordinary Financial and Elective General Assembly has concluded.

TFF Presidential Election ballot box results:

Of the votes cast by 281 delegates, İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu received 134, while Mehmet Büyükekşi received 129, with 18 votes deemed invalid. With this result, İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu became the new president of the TFF.

İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu's list of principal board members is as follows:

Mecnun Otyakmaz, Bayram Saral, Zehra Neşe Kavak, Lale Cender, Fuat Gökdaş, Cengiz Gökay, Zafer Bahadır Saraç, Mevlüt Aktan, Bayram Akgül, Hasan Surözü, Ceyhun Kazancı, Mustafa Temel Bozbağ, Ural Aküzüm, Bilal Aslan.

CONGRATULATIONS TO TFF PRESIDENT HACIOSMANOĞLU FROM ERDOĞAN

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu, who was elected President of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF).

Erdoğan congratulated İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu, who was elected TFF President at the Turkish Football Federation Ordinary Financial and Elective General Assembly held today. Wishing success to Hacıosmanoğlu and the new board of directors, President Erdoğan said, "May it be auspicious for Turkish football and our country.”

Making statements after the election, Hacıosmanoğlu said the following:

Thank you very much. I did not win; Turkish football won.

"THEY SHOULD SUBMIT THEIR RESIGNATIONS TO THE OFFICE WITHOUT DELAY"

Turkish Football Federation President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu said, “I am making a call to the federation's boards from here. If we are there, they will act accordingly, but the ethical thing to do is to pave the way for the elected president and management. My request on behalf of the public is that they submit their resignations to the office without delay.”

Following the completion of the election agenda at the TFF Ordinary Elective General Assembly, Hacıosmanoğlu delivered a thank-you speech.

Stating that the winner was not himself but Turkish football, Hacıosmanoğlu said, “May God grant us success. There are those who are more royalist than the king trying to manage perception in federation elections. If you have willpower, people will respect your will. These people who are more royalist than the king have always tried to manage Turkish football, but when things went well, they took the credit, and when something went wrong, they blamed our President. We will manage Turkish football fairly and ethically. My first thanks go to our President. It was said that candidates were withdrawing due to pressure from the President.

I carry the honor and pride of being friends with our President. I told everyone who said this to me; even if our President were to fall from power tomorrow, he would always be by my side as my elder brother. If such a situation had occurred, he would have called me and said, 'İbrahim, what are you doing?'

Therefore, let us give the President his due. I express my gratitude to our common-sense delegates who supported us in this matter, as we have removed those who used him and put him in a difficult situation from football today, along with the football family. When we were children watching matches, we admired the European teams' stadiums and pitches. Our President, who loves football, has also pioneered a new era for this country in football,” he said.

Stating that they set out to ensure the characteristics of football, brotherhood, and peace, Hacıosmanoğlu said:

“We gave that promise. Our burden is very heavy. May Almighty God not embarrass me, my friends, and all the federation's boards on this path. Of course, an election was held here, management was elected, auditing was elected, and a president was elected. I am making a call to the federation's boards from here. Of course, the horse neighs according to its owner. If we are there, they will act accordingly, but the ethical thing to do is to pave the way for the elected president and management; my request on behalf of the public is that they submit their resignations to the office without delay.”

"THERE ARE ALSO HIDDEN HEROES"

Stating that they have been working at an intense pace for the last month, Hacıosmanoğlu said, “May this fatigue lead to carrying Turkish football to beautiful tomorrows. There are many people to thank. Victories are not won easily. There are also hidden heroes behind them. I thank them very much as well,” he said.

FIRST DISCHARGE AND BUDGET VOTING, THEN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

At the general assembly, where the accounts and activities for the period covering June 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024, were presented for discharge, the budget covering the period from June 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025, was also submitted for approval. The presidential election was held after the discharge and budget voting.

BOMB SEARCH CONDUCTED IN THE HALL

According to Ali Yağız Baltacı from Halk TV, a bomb search was conducted in the hall where the general assembly was to be held. Officials stated that it was a routine search, not based on a tip-off.

The TFF's ordinary elective financial general assembly opened with the signatures of 261 delegates. For a simple majority to be reached at the congress, the participation of 161 delegates was required. 274 delegates attended the general assembly.

DIVAN CHAIR DETERMINED

A vote was held for the chair of the divan at the TFF general assembly.

Mehmet Baykan and Murat Sancak were nominated. Mehmet Baykan was elected chair of the divan board with 146 votes, and Cantürk Alagöz was elected deputy chair. Murat Sancak received 84 votes.

Baykan's name had been proposed by the current TFF President Mehmet Büyükekşi.

STATEMENTS FROM HACIOSMANOĞLU

Making statements before the general assembly, Hacıosmanoğlu stated that UEFA and FIFA had sent observers to the general assembly for the first time following Servet Yardımcı's statements, saying, “Servet Yardımcı's withdrawal and the statement he made put us in a very difficult situation in the world football community. I suppose UEFA and FIFA sent their vice presidents as observers to the general assembly for the first time. I told Büyükekşi that the congress should be held in a manner worthy of our noble nation. I conveyed that we need to show UEFA and FIFA that it is a democratic election. I think I will win; I see this. If it had been a single-candidate election, UEFA and FIFA would have intervened. In this sense, I think I am serving Turkish football,” he said.

WARNING TO CLUB PRESIDENTS: IF BÜYÜKEKŞİ IS ELECTED...

Expressing his wish for the general assembly to pass 'in a manner worthy of the Turkish nation,' Hacıosmanoğlu said the following regarding the candidacy process:

"Before Mr. Büyükekşi became a candidate, important clubs wanted me to be president at a meeting. Hasan Arat also wanted me at the time. However, I did not think of becoming a candidate at that time. Following developments, the football family wanted me to be a candidate again. There is a presidential candidate who will fix this crooked order, this dirty football. If they elect Büyükekşi, presidents who do this work with heart should no longer deal with this business. I told this to all the presidents.”

THANKS TO ALİ KOÇ

In his statement where he said, “We will fix Turkish football together,” Hacıosmanoğlu said, “I thank Ali Koç and all the presidents. We will solve the problems of Turkish football by working hand in hand. If you say, 'I will solve all the problems,' you will embarrass yourself to the world like this,” and concluded his words.

ALİ KOÇ: PRESSURE, THREATS, BRIBERY... EVERYTHING IS IN THIS ELECTION!

Fenerbahçe Sports Club President Ali Koç made striking statements at the general assembly.

Speaking to Habertürk, Koç said that this election is null and void for Fenerbahçe.

Ali Koç's statements are as follows:

"For Fenerbahçe Sports Club, this election is null and void!

We will seek our rights at the highest level. There are four people from UEFA and FIFA! Usually, there would be one person. I hope they listen to my speech! Because this business cannot go on like this!

The will of the delegates has been usurped. Pressure is being put on the delegates here today to get someone elected.

Pressure, threats, bribery... Everything is in this election!"

SÜLEYMAN HURMA: WE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THIS PICTURE

Fatih Karagümrük President Süleyman Hurma said, "There is a group trying to dominate Turkish football. We should be ashamed of this picture. We have only one chance left. May our President save us. There is pressure! Under normal circumstances, Mehmet Büyükekşi cannot even come to this hall as a spectator!" he said.

APPLICATIONS OF 3 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES HAD BEEN ACCEPTED

Following the completion of the candidacy application period (July 11) for the TFF presidential election, the TFF announced in a statement on July 12 that the applications of current president Mehmet Büyükekşi, Servet Yardımcı, and İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu had been accepted.

SERVET YARDIMCI HAD WITHDRAWN

Servet Yardımcı, who announced that his candidacy application was accepted on July 10, stated in a post on his social media account on July 11 that he had withdrawn from his presidential candidacy.

For the 3 candidates in question to enter the presidential election, they must submit the wet-signed support they receive from 1/5 of the delegates (65 delegates) to the General Assembly Divan on the day of the congress. Each delegate can sign for one presidential candidate.

The newly elected TFF President will serve until June 2027.

BÜYÜKEKŞİ'S STATEMENTS

Taking the podium to make his presentation, Mehmet Büyükekşi said the following:

Almost 25 months have passed since the elections. I emphasized that the most important thing Turkish football needs is trust. Because at the heart of football, there is love and passion.

Our National Team was in 58th place; we came to 26th place. I invite you all to applaud the Turkish National Team from here.

We rose from C class to B class.

I hope Turkish teams will be successful in European cups. And I hope Turkish teams win those cups. They made very important contributions to the country's coefficient. We rose from 22nd place to 9th place in UEFA. Our clubs equaled the record for the highest points collected in a season. We will participate in the cups with 5 teams this year, and I hope we will go further.

I hope Turkish teams will be successful in European cups. And I hope Turkish teams win those cups. They made very important contributions to the country's coefficient. We rose from 22nd place to 9th place in UEFA. Our clubs equaled the record for the highest points collected in a season. We will participate in the cups with 5 teams this year, and I hope we will go further.

To develop referees, we established the 'Referee Academy.' We introduced the digital referee assignment system for referee assignments. We succeeded in preventing the cronyism in the existing system. We became the country that used the semi-automated offside system for the first time in Europe after Italy. We became the federation that announced VAR records for the first time in Europe after Spain. We ensured that foreign VAR referees serve in the league.

We provided the biggest contribution to our clubs in terms of revenue in the last 3 years. As a result of the agreement we made with beIN Media Group for broadcasting rights, we increased it from 84 million dollars to 214 million dollars. We reached 786.9 million TL in Super Lig sponsorship revenues and broke a record. We made Trendyol the title sponsor, and we got a sponsor for referee jerseys. This is also a first.

We lifted the away fan ban. After 2025-26, we granted clubs the right to sell their own tickets. We brought a new format to the Turkish Cup and increased the revenue 3 times. We made an agreement with TRT for the live broadcast of the Women's League, and for the first time in history, matches began to be broadcast regularly.

NUMBER OF DELEGATES WHO SIGNED IS DETERMINED

At the Turkish Football Federation's general assembly held in Ankara, the number of signatures collected by presidential candidates Mehmet Büyükekşi and İbrahim Ethem Hacıosmanoğlu from the delegates was revealed. While it was stated that there were 183 support signatures for current president Büyükekşi and 95 support signatures for Hacıosmanoğlu, as a result of 23 delegates signing for both candidates, Mehmet Büyükekşi's number of signatures remained at 160, and İbrahim Ethem Hacıosmanoğlu's number of signatures remained at 72.

Thus, both candidates managed to exceed the 65 delegate votes with wet signatures.

REMINDED THAT THE FENERBAHÇE BUS WAS SHOT AT

Fenerbahçe Board Member Hulusi Belgü, criticizing both presidential candidates with harsh words, said the following:

It is painful that one of the candidates presented to us is, in Galatasaray's words, and we agree, the worst management and president in history. Another is a candidate who said, 'We will take such an action that perhaps I will not be able to continue as Trabzonspor Club President' during the period when the Fenerbahçe bus was shot at.

We saw and experienced how politicians called club presidents and mayors to influence the TFF elections, which should be independent, and how they withdrew some candidates with instructions. Dear Delegates, our friends serving on the Divan Board are also politicians, Members of Parliament. There is a friend from the municipality; he is also a politician. How do you accept this? I am struggling.

POISONOUS STATEMENTS FROM ALİ KOÇ

Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç, announcing that he would speak for 15 minutes at the Congress, said the following:

There are 300 delegates here, but no one has any intention to speak, no excitement! It means they have no worries. I will speak for 15 minutes.

While UEFA and FIFA officials are here, I want to talk about the unfair penalty given to Merih Demiral, who grew up in our youth academy. The penalty given because of a symbol that only concerns ourselves in all Turkish states and contains no insults is unfair.

I congratulate you for coming out as a candidate again, even though you are a president whose management style is not accepted by any segment of society, who has experienced scandals never seen in any season of history in a single season, who takes no responsibility, and who cannot come to Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş stadiums! Well done."

TENSION BETWEEN KOÇ AND BÜYÜKEKŞİ

To Ali Koç's words, "An honorable, dignified person; would not become a candidate in this way," TFF President Büyükekşi replied by saying, "A great Fenerbahçe President cannot speak like this." Ali Koç replied, "I take back my last word. However, you lied to the state regarding the great Fenerbahçe President," and continued his words as follows:

FIGHT AGAINST FETÖ

During the candidacy process, we witnessed classic FETÖ modeling and methods in the moves to block potential candidates.

The reason why Fenerbahçe has been champion only once in the last 13 years is the fight it has waged against FETÖ."

Fenerbahçe was the club that raised the flag of rebellion against FETÖ and was the first to raise its voice. FETÖ is still inside Turkish football and is gradually gaining strength. I recommend you look at today's TFF elections with this perspective.

BÜYÜKEKŞİ DISCHARGED

At the Turkish Football Federation Ordinary Financial and Elective General Assembly, Mehmet Büyükekşi and his boards were discharged by majority vote.

BÜYÜKEKŞİ'S 8-POINT ACTION PLAN

TFF Presidential candidate Mehmet Büyükekşi announced his 8-point action plan if elected:

- Clubs' Spor Toto and iddaa revenues will increase.

- Sponsorship and broadcasting revenues will continue to increase.

- I had a meeting with the Ministry for technical staff and footballers to be covered by Bağ-Kur.

- We will continue to increase club revenues. We will make an agreement with a company for travel and accommodation.

- We will evaluate the player eligibility rule according to the opinions of our clubs.

- We increased the Turkish Cup revenues three times. We brought a new format to the Super Cup.

- We will broadcast a total of 25-26 matches every week from the 2nd League and 3rd League on the TFF YouTube channel.

- I hope we will make our nation proud in the World Cup.

'I WILL LIFT THE PFDK REFERRAL'

Presidential candidate İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu said the following:

"We know the problems of Turkish football. They say 'The President is interfering!' There are things done by sidekicks, but everyone knows how close I am to the President, but he has not had the slightest expression to me. We have beautiful stadiums, but we cannot fill them with morality. Why? The will to manage Turkish football is not there.

We say justice, but all problems arise from injustice. Büyükekşi said, 'We established an academy, we trained referees.' How were they trained, I didn't understand? Can you, as president, show willpower? Mecnun president and I took off our jerseys; we are equal to every team. It is not difficult to ensure this! However, if you have no intention of ensuring justice, why are you becoming a candidate? You please one person one week, another person the next week. If you do this, those below you will fall apart. We ruled the world for 600 years; we don't trust our own children. We give so much money to foreign referees!

Halil Umut Meler was punched, but he refereed like a lion in EURO2024. A referee is human; he can make mistakes. If Trabzonspor and Diyarbakırspor are playing and you absolutely have to use a discretionary right, you will use that right in favor of Diyarbakırspor. If you create an environment where the rightful prevails, referees will increase their performance. I will be the one to point out human error before the club president, and I will ask the referee why he made this mistake.

If I am elected, I will lift the referral of club presidents to the PFDK!

THANKED ALİ KOÇ

I thank Ali Koç for his speeches. After the warning of the Divan Chair, he took back one of his words. He said, 'How are you becoming a candidate?', I took note. A disgraceful season was experienced in Turkey last year; nothing like this level has ever happened before. We took our two distinguished teams to Saudi Arabia for the price of tea and soup for the Super Cup match. In Turkey's 100th year... We are victimizing the clubs, we are embarrassing Turkey to the world. And the most painful thing is that we are making the National Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk a subject of debate! Does this befit a TFF President? Couldn't you say, let's play in Ankara, and then let's go before our Ancestor?

There is a wonderful generation; after the Austria match, I believed we would play in the final. However, there is confusion inside. I think the President was sending the players to the match by shaking hands. Every player is valuable, but the striker is different. Our brother Cenk Tosun is passing from behind, not from the front. Can such a thing happen? What is inside you?

The success or failure of the National Team solves the problems. Is the TFF President making the team champion? Spain didn't have a president; the team became champion. It means it doesn't happen with a president.

I am a brother of yours who will change this order! Whatever your preference is, we will respect it. Lower leagues, our Anatolian teams... If you don't want to serve as extras again, if you want a fair environment, we have the will to provide these. We will be an impartial management. We closed the old books. To those who take one step, we will take ten steps. Have no doubt.

TFF Presidential Candidate İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu also stated that he chose the white envelope on the ballot paper, using the expression, "We want to turn a new leaf in football."

Explaining that there are some problems in Turkish football, Hacıosmanoğlu said, "First of all, Turkish football needs fair and just management. We will solve the problems, but not with 'we did it, it happened' as a federation. Starting from amateur to Super Lig, technical teams will sit and talk. Decisions will be made by finding a common ground in the interest of the clubs."

Stating that all problems arise from "injustice," Hacıosmanoğlu continued as follows:

"As a federation president, ensuring justice is not very difficult. When Mecnun Otyakmaz president and I hugged and set out, he took off his Sivasspor jersey, and I took off my Trabzonspor jersey. We no longer have our jerseys. We are at an equal distance to every team. It is not very difficult to ensure this. If you have no intention of ensuring this, why are you becoming a candidate for the Turkish Football Federation Presidency?"

Emphasizing that being a club president is difficult and that when they make criticisms, presidents are immediately referred to the Professional Football Discipline Committee (PFDK), Hacıosmanoğlu said, "If I come out of this hall as president, my first job will be to ban the referral of club presidents to the PFDK."

Emphasizing that he serves Turkish football at the general assembly whether he wins or loses the presidential election, Hacıosmanoğlu said, "As a brother of yours who comes from among you, we can change the order that has been coming for a long time. But whatever your preference is, we will respect it. If you want fair and just management, we have the will to provide it."

"BOTH ARE VERY VALUABLE"

Kayserispor Club President Ali Çamlı said in his speech, "(Mehmet Büyükekşi and İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu's candidacy) Both are very valuable to us and worthy of this job. We would be honored and proud to work with whoever is elected."

Pazarspor Club President Hüseyin Yangın expressed that female referees should be supported.

Vanspor FK President Feyat Kıyak drew attention to the fact that they manage clubs under difficult conditions as a community.

İstanbulspor Club President Ecmel Faik Sarıalioğlu evaluated, "If this election is a 2-person multi-candidate election here today, believe me, it depends on the delegates. Whoever wins the election here, if everyone does this job competently and fairly and we respect them, what is the problem?"

Kahramanmaraşspor Club President Fatih Mehmet Ceyhan also said, "As lower leagues, we are clubs with much different troubles. Clubs that should normally be football factories are dealing with many problems."

VOTE COUNTING COMMENCED

Voting for the TFF Presidency has been completed, and counting has begun. Voting for the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee continues.

NUMBER OF SIGNATURES OF CANDIDATES

On the other hand, the number of signatures collected by Mehmet Büyükekşi and İbrahim Ethem Hacıosmanoğlu from the delegates was revealed. While it was stated that there were 183 support signatures for current president Büyükekşi and 95 support signatures for Hacıosmanoğlu, as a result of 23 delegates signing for both candidates, Mehmet Büyükekşi's number of signatures remained at 160, and İbrahim Ethem Hacıosmanoğlu's number of signatures remained at 72.

MESSAGES OF CANDIDATES

Turkish Football Federation (TFF) Presidential Candidate İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu said in his statement at the TFF Ordinary Financial and Elective General Assembly, “We say justice, all our problems arise from injustice. This is not a very difficult thing to ensure. Our president said in his previous speech that we established an academy, we trained referees. I didn't understand how they trained them. The fish rots from the head. It is not very difficult to ensure justice as TFF President.”

TFF Presidential Candidate İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu stated in his speech that if elected president, they would ensure justice in Turkish football, saying, “We know the problems of Turkish football, we come from within it. We need to produce the solution to this practically. There is a need for fair and just management. It is said that the President interferes like this, interferes like that. Everyone knows how close I am to the President. He has not had a personal expression to me. Beautiful stadiums have been filled everywhere in Turkey, but unfortunately, we cannot fill them with morality. As a federation, we will sit and talk with technical teams starting from amateur to Super Lig, not with 'we did it, it happened.' Decisions will be made by finding a common ground. This is the solution,” he said.

Turkish Football Federation (TFF) presidential candidate Mehmet Büyükekşi said, “We succeeded in preventing the cronyism in the existing system. In addition, we became the country that used the semi-automated offside system for the first time in Europe after Italy. After this step, we eliminated offside discussions in our league.”

Stating that they established the referee academy as a first in Turkish football to improve the performance of referees and train new referees, Büyükekşi said, “Our referees started to receive training in this system that develops, supports, and follows their development processes. In this way, we aim for our referees to show minimum error and maximum performance when they come to professional leagues. We switched to the digital referee assignment system in referee assignments. We introduced a proficiency requirement in the exam for referee candidates. In this way, we succeeded in preventing the cronyism in the existing system. In addition, we became the country that used the semi-automated offside system for the first time in Europe after Italy. After this step, we eliminated offside discussions in our league. We became a federation that publishes VAR records every week for the first time in Europe after Spain. We ensured that foreign VAR referees and observers serve in the Super Lig in Europe's top-level leagues. By transferring observer and representative reports to the digital archive, we ensured the acceleration and reliability of the process. We started studies to develop the data, analytical, and digital competencies of Turkish football. We separated field and VAR referees. We implemented transparency registration technology in the second and third leagues to create a model for all lower leagues regarding transparency,” he said.

The general assembly was attended by current TFF President and candidate Mehmet Büyükekşi, TFF board members, FIFA and UEFA representatives, TFF Presidential Candidate İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu, club presidents and managers, and delegates. Fenerbahçe President and Clubs Association Foundation President Ali Koç, Galatasaray President Dursun Özbek, Beşiktaş President Hasan Arat, and Trabzonspor President Ertuğrul Doğan also took part in the congress.

News Source: AA