Turkey came together to heal its wounds after two earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş, which were effective in 10 provinces and caused great loss of life and great damage. After the joint broadcast of Tek Yürek, which reached a large donation figure, the Turkish football family came together again in the joint broadcast, this time in the “Shoulder to Shoulder” donation campaign. With the money collected, the shelter and other needs of the earthquake victims will be met. Here is the amount of donations obtained in the Shoulder to Shoulder campaign…
The historical live broadcast, of which the Ministry of Youth and Sports is a partner, was broadcast on A Spor, beIN Sports, D Smart Sports, Tivibu Spor, TRT Spor and TV 8.5. In the joint broadcast that started at 20:00 and continued until 01:20, the leading managers, coaches, football players and other members of the Turkish football family stood by the phone and collected donations for the earthquake victims.
In the broadcast, the messages of legendary names such as Ruud Gullit, Arsene Wenger, Pep Guardiola, Jürgen Klopp, Gheorghe Hagi and Alex de Souza calling for help were also published.
The Shoulder to Shoulder campaign will not be limited to this, it will continue until June 15 with special matches and various organizations. Thus, the money collected will be spent for the shelter needs of the earthquake victims.
AMOUNT COLLECTED 845.7 MILLION TL
At the end of the joint broadcast, the amount of donations obtained from the campaign was 845.7 million TL.
Here are the highlights and statements made in the joint publication “Shoulder to Shoulder”…
MBAPPE’S MESSAGE TO THE TURKISH PEOPLE
PSG’s French star Kylian Mbappe was also video-connected to the joint broadcast. Mbappe sends the following message to the Turkish people:
“Children’s dreams are very important to me. I will use all the means at my disposal to help them. Everything will be much better for Turkey. I chose to speak French. This is a great tragedy. It was too big for our imagination. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. I’m proud to be a part of this project.”
MUSTAFA DENİZLİ: 40 OF 50 CALLING PEOPLE ARE CHILDREN
“Since the day I started making money from football, I had a feeling and I always fulfilled it. When we look back, there are people who have disasters at home every day in this country. I and my children have never neglected to help them. It is not necessary to wait for a great disaster to come for help. 40 of the more than 50 people who called me were children. They donate what they save in their piggy bank.”
ABDULLAH AVCI: PEOPLE ARE FEELING
“We try to make the best use of the healing and unifying power of sports and football. We have so many children who pay school fees that one gets emotional.”
STEFAN KUNZ: WE WATCHED HOW LOVED TURKEY IS
“The fact that we went to Diyarbakir and Gaziantep in the last national matches and experienced the feelings of the people there… We saw those places personally. It really saddens us that it is like this now. It knows how difficult such a natural disaster is. Nearly 90 countries have helped. This is Turkey.” It shows how much he is loved.”
PSG PRESIDENT NASSER AL-KHELAIFI: OUR HEARTS ARE WITH YOU
“We are not in Turkey, but our hearts are with you. We share your pain. I also discussed the situation with Ali Koç, it is our duty to be with you. We know that there are great losses, but I also respectfully watch your help in the Shoulder to Shoulder campaign.”
ALI KOÇ: WE PROMISE 100 MILLION TL
“As Fenerbahçe family, we have raised money to donate 1000 containers. As Fenerbahçe Sports Club, we are committed to 100 million TL. But we have just started. We have been working for 4-5 days. Maybe this will increase a lot until June.”
AHMET NUR CEBI: WE WILL BUILD 6 SCHOOLS
“We started so that children would always laugh. In our meeting with the Minister of National Education, we are committed to 6 schools as Beşiktaş community.”
JORGE JESUS: THE GREAT TURKISH NATION RISES
“These donations are very important. They are very important for the survival of the survivors. I also believe that people will continue this donation. Today it shows that it will be a great help. I am happy to be here. We want to help, if only a little, to touch their hearts. I hope which we will do, we will lessen their suffering.
Many people lost their lives. But now we have to think about the future and what to do. I saw Turkish people in great solidarity and unity. Congratulations for that. We cannot bring back the lost, but we can do great things for the future.
I share the feelings that Turkish people share right now. Indeed, this tragedy is the disaster of the century. I saw the Great Turkish Nation stand up. It was so nice of them to be together.”
ANDREA PIRLO: TURKISH NATION SHOWED ITS STRENGTH
“It is a very nice thing to be with you. Unfortunately, this has been a terrible tragedy. We tried to do something among ourselves and collected donations. The Turkish nation showed how strong it is. We will support as much as we can.”
SENOL GÜNEŞ: WE SEE THE GREATNESS OF OUR NATION AGAIN
“I know our pain is great. We have seen the greatness of our nation once again. The most important thing is to feel this support. I think this is a long-term service race. Everyone should contribute as much as they can.”
GÖKSEL GÜMÜŞDAĞ: THERE IS NO EXAMPLE IN THE WORLD
“There is no example of this unity in the world. With the support of all of us, wounds will be healed. As Başakşehir, we always maintain our support. As Başakşehir, we donate another 2 million TL.”
MURAT SANDAK: GOD MAY LET YOU LIFE AGAIN
“We experienced a great disaster. May God not let it happen again. It is a very big event. We need to learn from them. I beg everyone who has a hand in the development. Everyone should do their part in this matter. There is another side to this.
We did not withdraw from the league. After an event like this, people need morale. We decided to continue with the idea that at least it would be a city where football is played.
It is very difficult for us too. We are building a container neighborhood so that there is no uneasiness in the club. God forbid it happens again. We’ve had so many economic crises. We love helping each and every part of us. As Turkish society, we are an Ansar society. Let’s help as much as we can. From now on, we will donate the income of the matches we will play in the home field and an additional 10 million TL.”
DURSUN ÖZBEK: WHAT WE NEED IS TOGETHER
“Our country has experienced a great disaster. We are here to heal the wounds. I have visited Maraş, Antep and Hatay in particular. The situation is very different when you see the whole. We represent the whole of Turkey. We have a duty to heal these wounds.” On behalf of myself and Galatasaray, I would like to thank everyone who donated.
As Galatasaray, I am making a call here. After seeing what happened there, we talked about what we could contribute. We multiplied, divided and came out a big number. As Galatasaray, we always say, ‘We have 30 million fans.’ If we get 10 liras from each fan, we can complete it. Here I am calling out to the Galatasaray fans. If we are 30 million, if we donate 10 lira per fan, it will make 300 million TL.
We owe this country to this country. We are going through tough tough times. What we need is togetherness. I am a person who experiences the unifying power of sports. We have to think about some things for our children in the disaster area.
FATIH TERIM: WE ARE READY TO FIGHT EVERY SECOND
“We are ready to fight for this job every second. We must use the unifying power of sports and football to the fullest. We have to fight not only today, but every day. I do not understand construction, but I understand how a young person or a child can change with sports. As a person who touches young people throughout my life, Under the presidency of the TFF, including all state institutions, academicians and Turkey’s well-established universities, I am in favor of PESYÖ and sports science students to do their internships with us in the earthquake zone.”
MINISTER KASAPOĞLU: THIS TOGETHER IS HAPPINESS
Youth and Sports Minister Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu, who was connected to the broadcast by phone, said the following about the aid night:
“In the meeting we held with BeIN Sports, the broadcaster of our leagues, it was decided to broadcast all the matches of the league in the next two weeks without code. We are going through difficult days. In such days, the only way to alleviate our pain is unity and solidarity that will bring our common feelings together. We have seen that our beloved nation has shown this unity from the first day. It is pleasing that the clubs are fighting together to heal the wounds after the earthquakes that happened one after the other. I hope tonight will be a night that will crown the same unity and solidarity. Sports are a power that gives people morale in difficult times. We are witnessing this in this period. Even though its coat of arms and color are different. We see that the clubs exhibit an example of solidarity that goes down in history.”
VOLKAN DEMIREL: I LOSE HALF OF MY KNOWLEDGES
Hatayspor Technical Director Volkan Demirel said, “First of all, I would like to express my condolences. Because if I really knew 100 people during my stay in Hatay, I lost almost half of them. Most of those left behind lost either their families, their spouses, their past or their future. I would like to express my condolences to the family of my colleague Taner Savut, to our actor Christian Atsu, to our staff Suzan, to our brother Onur. I wish we could do more so we could keep them afloat. Therefore, I would like to apologize to their families as well.
I would like to convey my best wishes to my football player friends, 4 of whom were injured in this earthquake and who were under the rubble, and 10 of them from my team. I will always try to be there for them when they need it. There is nothing more to say. After this time, words are aside, what will be done is left. I am sure that Turkey received help and hugs from everywhere, everyone wanted to do something. But it is not enough, unfortunately not enough. The problems there still continue. That’s why I ask everyone under the Turkish flag to support these campaigns as much as we can. Because during my lifetime, everyone says earthquake, disaster, but I think it was before the disaster. Those who have lived it know, I know that I am alive. That’s why I think everyone should act by putting their hand on their conscience, just knowing this,” he said.
GÖKHAN ZAN: AID SHOULD BE PLANNED AND SUSTAINABLE
Speaking on the ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ program, which he attended after the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş and affecting 11 provinces, Gökhan Zan said, “I think we need to look ahead. I want to look to the future with hope and solution-oriented in a period of 3-4 weeks. First of all, I would like to thank my brother Volkan. He is a true Hatay native. I would like to express my gratitude to him on behalf of myself, our people and our opinion leaders, who are all believers, for acting with the feelings that embrace the place, such as But can you think? You can’t suddenly say goodbye in a minute and a half. Your family, neighbors, friends, relatives, your city, your memories, your history and your soul are disappearing. We have to rebuild this.
We need to create a new Antakya for new generations. Because Hatay is not only the personal issue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, but also the personal issue of 86 million people. Antakya, with its cultural richness and all religious leaders, has always stood up and looked ahead, despite having experienced an earthquake for hundreds of years. I think that future aid should be planned and sustainable in the program. I would like to thank the Turkish people for this unity and solidarity. They showed us that humanity does not die. It happened to us today. Tomorrow, God forbid, we will not face such a disaster. We, as the whole of Hatay, will be with you. On behalf of myself and my nation, I would like to thank all our club presidents, non-governmental organizations, supporters, donors and everyone who contributed to our support. Good luck to you. We are strong together. Hopefully, we will be stronger with these aids,” he said.
