17.09.2025 15:20
Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç made important statements regarding sponsorships during a live broadcast. In response to the question, "Will your sponsorships continue if you are not elected?" Koç said, "My personal support, of course, will not continue. However, there are sponsorship agreements, and these will continue for the duration of the agreements. It wouldn't be right to jeopardize the livelihood of our children in this regard. I don't like to talk about this issue."
Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç made statements that will be widely discussed during a live broadcast he attended.
"WE CANNOT RISK OUR CHILDREN'S FUTURE"
Koç responded to the question, "If you are not elected, will your sponsorships continue?" by saying, "The reason we did not hold elections in June and postponed them to September has two reasons. One is season planning. The struggle we have been fighting for 7 years, which has exhausted us, was to finish this process. That’s how we spent our entire summer. At this point, what we have done, the process we have designed, is to exit from the Banks Association. Mr. Sadettin and his team do not see a resource problem regarding financial matters. My personal support may not continue, but our sponsorship support, there are agreements. It will continue as long as it lasts. We would always be sponsors even when I was not in the management. We cannot risk our children's future at this point. I do not like to talk about this," he replied.
Koç's statements are as follows;
"WE DID NOT WORK WITH A FOCUS ON ELECTIONS"
We have just started the election process. We spent the entire summer on the issues we needed to address. Bureaucratic matters, negotiations, Banks Association agreements. We had a productive summer. We could not accelerate our election efforts. If our thinking had been election-focused, we would have acted differently. We had 160 million Euros in guaranteed sponsorship in our pocket. We could have discounted it by 3% and evaluated it for both the Banks Association and exorbitant transfers. We did not do it. In 2013, the naming rights of Fenerbahçe's stadium were sold for 90 million dollars. It was discounted to 72 million dollars in one year. We did not work with a focus on elections. We could have brought a very good name for the number 8 position. It had a cost of 47 million Euros. As we transitioned from the repair period to the growth period, we did not think with an election focus. May it be the best for Fenerbahçe.
Question: "Hakan Bilal Kutlualp withdrew from the election in favor of Sadettin Saran. Saran offered the Vice Presidency of Sportif AŞ to Kutlualp."
Ali Koç: We knew about the withdrawal from candidacy. It happens in elections; it is neither the first nor the last. We need to respect that. The second side would be our problem. My position regarding Mr. Hakan's candidacy is clear and straightforward. Everyone has the right to run for candidacy; it is a democratic right. There is also a moral right. He has been completely against our community since July 3. At the press conference, he invited Mr. Aziz and us to resign. When the late Yüksel Günay said, 'This is a community issue,' he replied, 'What community? This is paranoia.' July 3 is a red line as long as Fenerbahçe exists. His candidacy until yesterday is an element that our community needs to reflect on. The actions and statements of people on July 3 are very, very important. Fenerbahçe was alone. The organization in question had infiltrated the state's capillaries, taken the wind at its back, and came at us. Fenerbahçe created a yellow and blue wall all by itself. The media was completely against us. The solidarity, struggle, and fight of Fenerbahçeliler that day prevented the risks and troubles that could come to Turkey in the future. At that time, we were alone. How the presidential candidates positioned themselves that day, our congress members should look at that. This is very important. Everything we have is Fenerbahçe, our sacred value. Our young congress members do not remember those days. As someone who lived through those days, I can never forget them. We must respect his transition there. Therefore, we will have things to say.
Question: "Were you able to stand in the right place during the 7 years of failure in football?"
Ali Koç: The presidency is a completely different responsibility. There is no training for this. You receive training while in office. Most presidents make their mistakes in the first years. The distance we have come in 7 years has gained serious experience; I am in the management of the European Clubs Association, which has a network in Europe. You see the benefits of this in transfers. It solves a lot of problems. You also see the dignity of experience. No one comes to this position 100% ready. Our other candidates also have management experience, but the experience of being a president is something else. There is a significant difference between the football experience they gained during their term and today. The biggest difference is the economy of the job. While we used to talk about 300-500 thousand dollars, now we are talking about completely different figures. We are more experienced than ever. Our resources have strengthened like never before. We have come from Kameniler to Edersons. While we could not acquire a left-back due to limits, today we have reached Asensios. We are on the right track.
"I PROMISE A CHAMPIONSHIP"
Our squad value has increased from 70 to 300 million. Player selection is also an element that requires experience. We have started to implement our plan to pay off our biggest debt, the debt of championship. I wholeheartedly believe that Fenerbahçe will be the champion at the end of this year, and I promise that.
Question: "They say that without Ali Koç, the club would not function, and salaries would not be paid. Does Fenerbahçe still need a strong economic figure?"
Ali Koç: I would never say such a thing in my life. I did this, I said that. I am not that kind of person. While Fenerbahçe is gaining financial independence, this was the silent struggle we fought. We reduced our credit debt from 347 million to 69 million. Our obligations, excluding credit institutions, which were over 383 million euros, have decreased to 220 million. There will always be debt. You make a 3-5 year contract; it will happen. Financial independence means that the club makes its own financial decisions. People perceive this as zero debt. When we build the stadium tomorrow, a 100 million dollar project, the income generated by the additional 15 thousand capacity makes it 'credible.' Financial freedom is not zero debt. It is a point where you can make your own financial decisions. The ability to use 100% of your income. For 2 years, we have been using 50% of it. Even if Ali Koç is not there, Fenerbahçe will somehow continue. What I am trying to explain is that the dimensions have changed. In the past, our most successful branch, men's basketball, had deficits of 15-16 million euros. Mr. Sertaç reduced the deficit to 6 million euros. We are going door to door like beggars. We are asking for support from Fenerbahçe businessmen. They also know that we are making a lot of sacrifices. Fenerbahçe Sports Club is a perfectly functioning club. It has reached the best point in history when no president or manager has transferred resources. Right now, we are far from that point. Fenerbahçe currently needs the support of the management. Football is a profitable branch even with interest. There is interest, there are other branches, and there is a need for resources for new projects. I am proud of my team; our income has increased from 175 to 300 million. We also paid off some of the debts of the lands, which were purchased with credit. In the short term, financial independence, in the medium to long term, not only Fenerbahçe but all clubs must be able to sustain themselves with their own revenues. We are not there right now.
"MY PERSONAL SUPPORT WILL NOT CONTINUE, BUT SPONSORSHIPS WILL"
The reason we did not hold elections in June and postponed them to September has two reasons. One is season planning. The struggle we have been fighting for 7 years, which has exhausted us, was to finish this process. That’s how we spent our entire summer. At this point, what we have done, the process we have designed, is to exit from the Banks Association. Mr. Sadettin and his team do not see a resource problem regarding financial matters. My personal support may not continue, but our sponsorship support, there are agreements.
As long as it continues, we would always be a sponsor even when I am not in management. It wouldn't be right to provide for our children at this point. I don't like to talk about this.
Question: "Your new list has been announced. What caught my attention is that AŞ is strong. Abdullah Kiğılı will be there."
Ali Koç: Last term, we started to use AŞ more actively in football matters. In this term, we aim to manage football more through AŞ. The people coming there will probably be stronger. They might even be stronger than the association. It seems a bit like that. What our congress members need to do is compare the candidates' lists. Fenerbahçe is a giant institution, more than just a sports club. There are many aspects. The strength of the squads is more important than in the past.
"OUR NUMBER ONE FOOTBALL MIND IS DEVİN ÖZEK"
There is something called football mind that has been developed, but if you ask, no one can say what it is. The football mind is like this. Beşiktaş brought in two former players as their football minds, and you saw what happened. Our number one football mind is Devin Özek. We have also talked to our former players. I believe in the saying that two minds are better than one. I am a person who consults and talks. The atmosphere he wants to create is that Ali Koç makes decisions on his own without consulting anyone. While developing our football mind this year, I am talking about the period when Mr. Mourinho was here, Mourinho was influenced by Devin. He liked his approach. We built the squad with a different method and system. There are no players we picked randomly. The sale of Yusuf Akçiçek was also important for the limit. We have made nearly 100 million Euros in sales from 4 young players. There is no such return in any trade. We bought Arda for 250,000 and sold him for 20 million. We sold Yusuf for 22 million. The money we received is from the investment we made in Yusuf. He played 19 matches. He was in the starting eleven 19 times and went for 22 million. At this age, I wouldn't want him to go to Saudi Arabia. I wouldn't want him to go at all. We had no choice.
"WE ARE NOT LIKE FEYENOORD"
Fenerbahçe is certainly not a Feyenoord. It will always deal with young players. There will be 4-5 stars. It must have 5-6 players coming from below like Feyenoord. I asked Feyenoord, there is only one person who earns over 1 million. We have one player who earns below 1 million. On the day we played the match, they had made 110 million Euros in sales, and they said they would finish with 140.
"I WOULD HAVE RUN"
Question: "If there was one championship in 7-8 years, would you have run? If you become champions, would you consider continuing?"
Ali Koç: I would have, the financial processes needed to be completed. This election is an unnecessary election. We listened to the voice of our community. We said let's hold the election as soon as 200 signatures came in. Then we will announce the date when the fixture is revealed. When the fixture was announced, it was set for September 20-21. Mr. Sadettin also said it was an 'unnecessary election.' This situation was forced.
We couldn't become champions, what else did we do wrong? Did we commit a disgraceful crime? Did we engage in activities that would tarnish our club? Did we make a sponsorship that the community would not accept? Were we associated with betting and black market? Did someone target us because we lured one of their players? I did nothing that would tarnish my club.
At least 2 championships were stolen from us during our term. Look at the referee assigned to our match today. Dzeko's statement is very important, 'Even if we got 102 points, we couldn't be champions.' That is a very important statement. Therefore, look at Fenerbahçe's points and goals in the last 10 years, always at the top. We achieved an unprecedented number in our history, yet it still didn't happen. Look at the matches of the club in question, it tells a lot. In football, we keep adding every year, but they cut us off. Even with Ersun Yanal, in the second season, we were 2 points behind in the 22nd week, we were the biggest candidate. We lost 18 out of 21 points in 7 matches. It's unbelievable. Referee mistakes happen, they should happen at an equal level for everyone, but that's not the case. It's not with Trabzonspor, you say 'there was no foul in my goal,' but my ball that crossed the line was not counted as a goal.
Question: "Your statement that if I become, they won't let Fenerbahçe be champions, doesn't that undermine the community?"
Ali Koç: In what context was that statement made? Remember the history. Two presidents, Fenerbahçe - Galatasaray, had a meeting with the TFF President and Vice President with 6 people in Riyadh, deciding that the match would not be played for 4 hours, and then that statement was made after all the contracts were written to me.
"WITH THIS SQUAD, EVERYONE PROMISES CHAMPIONSHIP"
We have 1.5 priorities, I am not saying 2. 1 championship, but more importantly in the long term, the unity and solidarity of the community. When Fenerbahçe is a whole, no one can take its rights, Fenerbahçe protects its rights. They couldn't destroy us from the outside, they are about to destroy us from the inside. We are facing something that reflects even to the stands. Everyone wants the players to give their all, to have a sense of belonging, to fight, to die for Fenerbahçe. En-Nesyri scored 30 goals in a season without penalties. He scores goals but gets booed. How am I going to motivate that guy? Dzeko and Tadic are legendary captains. Their leadership is magnificent. They didn't come to their last matches, they stopped playing. They didn't want to leave with bad memories of Fenerbahçe. One of our defenders didn't want to go out for the second half due to the reactions. We didn't learn this way. The biggest transfer for the championship is the unity of our community. The stands should be like the Feyenoord match. The away games are our home. May God bless the away fans. We know what they have gone through. We make a sound in every away game we go to. The same will be built in the stands. The squad that will make us champions is here. With this squad, everyone promises a championship. Is a championship achieved just by promising?
"WE ARE THE INSURANCE OF FENERBAHÇE"
Mr. Sadettin is a civilized person. He said it based on my words. Mr. Sadettin is conducting his campaign within the framework of respect. Both his side and my side are probably angry, asking why you are not being tougher. We are laying the foundations for the future. We have completed the repairs, and we are moving on to the leap. We are being asked to hand over the suffering we have endured on a golden platter to someone else. The insurance and guarantee of Fenerbahçe's future is us. I would be ashamed to speak boldly. Mr. Vehbi used to say, 'The good deeds done cannot be described.' We grew up like that. In the last 3 years, we have done very good things. We have done things related to the entire club. If the club were managed like Koç Holding, would there even be ease of cash flow? There were no documents before 2014. Will the members prefer to choose this to take the last steps of the seeds sown and the struggle given? Will we enter a new adventure with someone who says, 'I promise a championship, if not, I will leave,' without knowing how to fill in the details, and without knowing the other branches and projects? As long as there is no disrespect, lack of level, or slander, we are open to everything.
"APPLIED LATE"
It is clear that those involved in betting should not be part of the football family, there are articles in TFF and FIFA. If you become president, you enter the football family. To enter the football family, you will have to transfer your company, you cannot be president. You will have to give up both the company and the presidency, but the law is very clear, it is wrongly structured but very clear. Fenerbahçe is fighting against betting. Think about how competitors will treat a Fenerbahçe president who has not been able to transfer the betting business one day.
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TFF says, 3 months - 1 year of deprivation of rights. This is not the same as the penalty you received from PFDK. However, Mr. Sadettin has applied to Spor Toto, he has done what he needs to do but applied late, he applied on August 22. A person who understands the seriousness of the matter applies before setting out. Mr. Sadettin cannot help it; the ministry needs to give approval. There is also an ongoing lawsuit between the ministry and the company. Last year, the license was revoked because the quotas could not be met, and the license holder went to court. The first court ruled against, and it was taken to a higher court. As far as I understand, the ministry's thought is that if we grant the transfer permission, the case will drop. Matches will be played and bets will be made until you transfer. For the president of a club that is so focused on betting and fighting, being deprived of rights for 3 months to 1 year because he owns a betting site does not suit Fenerbahçe. With Mr. Sadettin's permission, I requested permission from the Ministry for the transfer. Today, Mr. Sadettin, when he was elected, we have been left to the whims of TFF. If nothing is done for a while, FIFA will intervene. We are facing such a situation. They say nothing will happen to Fenerbahçe, but Fenerbahçe's reputation is in a difficult situation within the framework of the values and principles it fights for. Another troubling situation is that the company in question is 99.8% owned by Saran Holding. Then there are small individuals. He says he will directly transfer his share to a person who is already a partner in the company. He will transfer the shares from Saran Holding to his daughter. His daughter falls under the relevant person's rule. As the president of Fenerbahçe, I need to bring up the possible chaos. On the other hand, it is injustice. Transfer, be a presidential candidate, if you cannot be a presidential candidate, the company is gone. For a while, I say, the lawyers are not even a matter, they say. I don't know how we will handle it.
"IS JULY 3 BEING BROUGHT UP AGAIN!"
We had dinner together with Mr. Ertuğrul an hour before the match. Are we going to July 3, is that issue being revived? The senseless statement of the shameless mayor ignited the fuse. This is not his first statement. He is a lawyer. It is worth looking into July 3 and his lawyer's FETÖ partnership. Fenerbahçe has straightened its back, reached a point financially, improved its squad, is it July 3 again! Before July 3, Fenerbahçe's value was 1 billion dollars, we achieved 5 out of 5 in all branches. The rest is known. One of them is a candidate who signed what the prosecutor put in front of him, praised the police, and insulted us. Unfortunately, because he said he would make him the vice president, Mr. Sadettin's stance was not good at that time either. I am not talking about the radio; an interview came from Zaman newspaper. He says the same thing, there was a conspiracy, and there was match-fixing. I couldn't believe he said that. Other images have also surfaced. If Hakan Bilal Kutlualp is going to walk with him, I am so fixated on this. I lived through the depths of July 3. There were 5-6 of us left in the club. Every day I would put out jeans, t-shirts, socks, and rubber shoes. I would prepare in case they came. The children's lives were ruined at school. We faced tear gas on the streets, we were injured for the sake of the struggle. These guys did nothing. Suddenly, I see, is something being revived again? Who is the mayor of the big city, talking. Look at your own partner before you speak. Our interlocutor is the AK Party, they have to do something. If you are confronting a community of 25 million with cheap heroism, that is the party's business. You are praising the criminal, the organization. Are you on the side of our President, the letter from our President is in our museum, he speaks with admiration about our struggle, or are you with a terrorist organization? Which side are you on, mayor, on July 15!"
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