Sports
Juve secure Turkish star Yıldız’s services with deal till 2030
Juventus moved to secure one of their brightest young talents by extending Turkish midfielder Kenan Yıldız’s contract through June 2030, the club announced Saturday.
“Kenan embodies leadership, sacrifice and the constant pursuit of improvement. He is the personification of Juventus’ values, and he carries them onto the pitch in every game he plays,” the club said in a statement announcing the extension.
The 20-year-old, since joining the Old Lady from Bayern Munich’s youth system in 2022, has rapidly risen from the club’s under-19 team to become a first-team regular and a symbol of the club’s next generation.
He scored on his senior debut against Frosinone in December 2023, later inherited Juventus’ iconic No. 10 jersey and last year became the youngest player to captain the team.
The German-born winger has delivered consistently since breaking into the senior squad. Across two and a half seasons, Yıldız has scored 25 goals and provided 19 assists in 115 appearances in all competitions.
This season, he has eight goals and five assists in Serie A, underlining his growing influence in the attack.
Juventus emphasized the symbolic importance of the deal in a separate announcement, saying: “Kenan Yıldız’s story with Juventus is continuing – the No. 10 has renewed his contract to keep him in bianconero until June 30, 2030.”
Media reports in Italy suggested the new agreement makes Yıldız one of the highest-paid players in the squad, reflecting both his performances and the club’s determination to fend off interest from abroad.
Several European clubs had been monitoring his progress as Juventus worked to finalize the extension.
Yıldız, who represents Türkiye at the international level, expressed his attachment to the club after signing the new deal.
“I’m very happy to renew here, as this club is a family to me,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll do great things together. I love Juventus. I’m sure that I will always have the fans and my family behind me.”
Last season, Yıldız scored nine goals in 31 matches across competitions and played a role in Juventus’ 2023-24 Italian Cup triumph, further cementing his status as a key contributor despite his age.
Turkish center Alperen Şengün of the Houston Rockets on Sunday was named an NBA All-Star for the second time in his career.
“Houston Rockets center Alperen Şengün has been named by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to replace injured Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Team World for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game (Sunday, 2/15 on NBC & Peacock),” the NBA said in a statement on Sunday.
Canadian star Gilgeous-Alexander has been sidelined by an abdominal strain but was voted a starter in taking his fourth All-Star selection in a row.
The 75th NBA All-Star Game will be played next Sunday at Intuit Dome, home of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Şengün was named an All-Star for the first time last year. In his fifth NBA campaign, Şengün is averaging 20.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 6.3 assists over 44 games.
Şengün has helped the Rockets to a 32-19 record, sharing fourth place in the Western Conference.
In a revamped All-Star format, the World squad will face two teams of American players, USA Stars and USA Stripes, in a round-robin mini-tournament with three 12-minute games deciding which two sides advance to the 12-minute final.
England survived a major scare to beat Nepal in its T20 World Cup Group C opener in Mumbai on Sunday, despite Lokesh Bam’s blistering 39 not out off 20 balls.
Sam Curran held his nerve at the iconic Wankhede Stadium and defended just 10 off the last six balls as Nepal was restricted to 180-6 in 20 overs, replying to England’s 184-7 (20 overs).
Bam hit two sixes and four fours to raise the possibility of an improbable and stunning upset, but Curran bowled an exceptional final over to get England across the finish line.
Earlier, England had won the toss and opted to bat. Jacob Bethell hit 55 off 35 balls, including four sixes. Skipper Harry Brook added 53 off 32 balls with three sixes.
Will Jacks provided the finishing touch with 39 not out off 18 balls, hitting four sixes, and took England to a more defendable target from a precarious 137-5 in 15.3 overs.
In the morning game at Chennai, Tim Seifert’s 65 off 42 balls helped New Zealand get off to a winning start in the tournament and beat Afghanistan by five wickets in Group D.
It is expected to be the toughest group that also includes 2024 finalists South Africa.
New Zealand cruised to 183-5 – its highest ever chase at the T20 World Cup – with two overs to spare. Afghanistan scored 182-6 after winning the toss.
Curran took 1-27 in four overs, while left-arm spinner Liam Dawson picked up 2-21. For Nepal, skipper Rohit Paudel hit 39 off 34 balls, and Dipendra Singh top-scored with 44 off 29 balls.
Group C also includes West Indies, Italy and Scotland. Two-time champions West Indies beat Scotland by 35 runs Saturday.
England were 57-3 after 6.1 overs, when Bethell and Brook came together. They added 71 off 45 balls for the fourth wicket.
Bethell scored 50 off 28 balls, while Brook hit 50 off 31. Bethell fell in the 14th over and England slipped further before Jacks came to the rescue.
Jacks was named player of the match for his all-round showing. He helped England to reach a par score, and then picked up 1-17 in two overs.
He dismissed opener Kushal Bhurtel, who hit 29 off 17 balls and provided Nepal with a quick start as England searched for a breakthrough.
Dawson picked up two wickets as slower deliveries hit Nepal batters. Paudel and Singh added 82 off 54 balls for the third wicket, setting up a base for the finish.
Adil Rasheed proved expensive – 0-42 in three overs – but Curran dismissed Singh in the 15th over, in what was a crucial moment for the game. Bam’s heroics fell short in the end.
Gulbadin Naib, batting at No. 3 for the first time in T20s since the 2024 World Cup when Afghanistan knocked out the Black Caps from the race to the semis with an 84-run win at Guyana, smashed 63 off 35 balls.
But opening batter Seifert (65) raised his maiden T20 World Cup half-century to overcome Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s twin strike that had rattled New Zealand to 2-14 inside the first two overs.
Mujeeb clean bowled Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra off successive balls before Glenn Phillips (42) dealt with the hat-trick ball and then put the chase back on track by putting on an aggressive 74-run partnership with Seifert.
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan (1-36) also couldn’t stem the flow of runs as New Zealand continued to accelerate in the middle overs against the experienced leg-spinner.
Rashid broke the stand in the 10th over when Phillips dragged it back onto his stumps.
Seifert completed his fifty in style by smacking off-spinner Mohammad Nabi for two successive sixes and followed it with a boundary before he was caught at deep square leg.
Mark Chapman (28 off 17 balls) and Daryl Mitchell (25 not out) then accelerated to get Black Caps home in the team’s first game of the tournament.
Earlier, Naib struck four sixes and three boundaries and laid a platform for Afghanistan’s strong finish with a 79-run partnership with Sediqullah Atal (29).
Naib took his time, scoring 14 off 16 balls but needed only another 13 deliveries to raise his half-century as New Zealand struggled with their fifth bowler.
Express bowler Lockie Ferguson (2-40) had struck twice when he was introduced in the last over of the power play and removed both openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (27) and Ibrahim Zadran (10).
World champion Breezy Johnson won the women’s downhill at the Milano Cortina Olympics on Sunday in a race overshadowed by U.S. teammate Lindsey Vonn’s heavy crash that halted the event and sent her to the hospital.
Vonn lost control over the opening traverse after cutting the line too tight and was spun around in the air.
She was heard screaming out after the crash as she was surrounded by medical personnel before she was strapped to a gurney and flown away by a helicopter, possibly ending the skier’s storied career.
Her condition was not immediately known, with the U.S. Ski Team saying simply she would be evaluated.
Johnson, Vonn’s teammate, with her win, became only the second American woman to clinch the Olympic downhill title after Vonn did it 16 years ago. The 30-year-old Johnson held off Emma Aicher of Germany and Italy’s Sofia Goggia on a bittersweet day for Team USA.
Vonn had family in the stands, including her father, Alan Kildow, who stared down at the ground while his daughter was being treated after just 13 seconds on the course.
Others in the crowd, including rapper Snoop Dogg, watched quietly as the star skier was finally taken off the course she knows so well and holds a record 12 World Cup wins.
Vonn’s crash was “tragic, but it’s ski racing,” said Johan Eliasch, president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation.
“I can only say thank you for what she has done for our sport,” he said, “because this race has been the talk of the games and it’s put our sport in the best possible light.”
All eyes had been on Vonn, the feel-good story heading into the Olympics. She had returned to elite ski racing last season after nearly six years, a remarkable decision given her age, but she also had a partial titanium knee replacement in her right knee, too. Many wondered how she would fare as she sought a gold medal to join the one she won in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
The four-time overall World Cup champion stunned everyone by being a contender almost immediately. She came to the Olympics as the leader in the World Cup downhill standings and was a gold-medal favorite before her crash in Switzerland nine days ago, when she suffered her latest knee injury. In addition to a ruptured ACL, she also had a bone bruise and meniscus damage.
Still, no one counted her out even then. In truth, she has skied through injuries for three decades at the top of the sport. In 2006, ahead of the Turin Olympics, Vonn took a bad fall during downhill training and went to the hospital. She competed less than 48 hours later, racing in all four events she’d planned, with a top result of seventh in the super-G.
“It’s definitely weird,” she said then, “going from the hospital bed to the start gate.”
Cortina has always had many treasured memories for Vonn beyond the record wins. She is called the queen of Cortina, and the Olympia delle Tofana is a course that had always suited Vonn.
She tested out the knee twice in downhill training runs over the past three days before the awful crash on Sunday in clear, sunny conditions.
“This would be the best comeback I’ve done so far,” Vonn said before the race. “Definitely the most dramatic.”
After the crash, the celebration for the medalists was held and fellow skiers thought about Vonn’s legacy.
“She has been my idol since I started watching ski racing,” said Kajsa Vickhoff Lie of Norway. “We still have a World Cup to do after Olympics … I wouldn’t be surprised if she suddenly shows up on the start gate, but the crash didn’t look good.”
N’Golo Kante’s return to European football on Wednesday was supposed to be a moment of unfiltered celebration for Fenerbahçe.
Instead, the French midfielder’s arrival in Istanbul exposed how quickly transfer euphoria can curdle in a global game that no longer tolerates cultural blind spots.
Thousands of supporters gathered at Sabiha Gökçen International Airport to welcome the World Cup-winning midfielder following his free transfer from Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad.
Chants, flares and club colors filled the terminal in a familiar scene of Turkish football excess.
Amid the crowd, however, a small group of fans painted their faces entirely black, a gesture that instantly went viral and sparked international condemnation.
What many of those involved appeared to see as admiration for Kante quickly became the defining image of his arrival.
From transfer fever to backlash
Images circulated rapidly across X, Instagram and Reddit, drawing criticism from anti-racism advocates and football figures outside Türkiye.
The act was widely labeled as blackface, a practice historically tied to racist caricature and mockery and now considered unacceptable in modern sport, regardless of intent.
The backlash shifted attention away from the significance of Kante’s signing, a major coup for the Süper Lig and toward a familiar debate over intent versus impact.
Critics argued that reducing a player to skin color, even in celebration, strips away dignity and echoes a history football has repeatedly vowed to leave behind.
Cultural disconnect
Within Türkiye, reaction was more fragmented.
Some fans defended the display as a misguided but harmless expression of passion, rooted in a local supporter culture that prizes extreme identification with players.
In that context, painting one’s face was framed as inclusion, becoming “one of us.”
International observers rejected that framing.
In a sport consumed across borders, they argued, symbols do not belong to one culture alone. What feels like devotion locally can read as dehumanizing globally.
This tension is not new to Turkish football.
The league has faced repeated scrutiny over racism-related incidents, even as clubs and supporters have also mobilized strongly against explicit discrimination, most notably following the 2020 Champions League incident involving Başakşehir assistant coach Pierre Webo.
Club and player response
Fenerbahçe did not issue an immediate public statement addressing the face-painting and no disciplinary measures were announced against the individuals involved.
The club instead emphasized the footballing value of Kante, who signed a 2.5-year deal as part of its push for domestic and European success.
Kante, known for his reserved demeanor, did not comment on the controversy.
He marked his arrival with a brief, upbeat message on social media welcoming “a new challenge” in Fenerbahçe colors.
Turkish football paused in collective remembrance on Thursday, as the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) and clubs across the country marked the third anniversary of the Feb. 6, 2023, earthquakes, a catastrophe that reshaped lives, cities and the nation’s sporting conscience.
In a message published on its official website, the TFF recalled the devastation unleashed by the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes, which tore through 11 provinces and left an indelible scar on the country.
The federation offered prayers for those who lost their lives and condolences to grieving families, reaffirming that the scale of the tragedy, and the responsibility to remember it, has not faded with time.
Often described as the “Disaster of the Century,” the twin earthquakes struck in the early hours of Feb. 6, 2023.
The first, a magnitude 7.7 quake centered in Pazarcık, hit at 4:17 a.m., followed hours later by a second magnitude 7.6 tremor in Elbistan.
Entire neighborhoods collapsed, thousands were trapped under rubble, and rescue efforts unfolded amid freezing winter conditions.
More than 53,500 people were killed in Türkiye, over 107,000 were injured, and nearly 14 million were affected across Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Adıyaman, Gaziantep, Malatya, Diyarbakır, Adana, Osmaniye, Şanlıurfa, Kilis and Elazığ.
Three years on, reconstruction continues, but the anniversary remains a moment of reflection rather than closure.
Beşiktaş delivered one of the starkest tributes, choosing brevity over flourish. “Unutmadık, unutmayacağız (We have not forgotten. We will not forget),” the club said, honoring those who died and expressing hope that such suffering is never repeated, words that have become a moral refrain across Turkish sport.
Fenerbahçe echoed that resolve, remembering the victims “with mercy and longing” while offering patience and strength to bereaved families. The club’s message reinforced the idea that remembrance is not confined to ceremonies, but lives on in collective memory.
Galatasaray struck a more reflective tone, recalling the night “when our hearts burned,” and acknowledging the emotional weight that still lingers three years later. The club emphasized solidarity with survivors, pledging continued support and presence beyond symbolic gestures.
Trabzonspor focused on both loss and resilience, honoring those who died while extending renewed wishes of strength to families and survivors still rebuilding their lives. The club also voiced a shared hope heard across the football community, that such devastation is never experienced again.
Beyond the country’s traditional giants, dozens of professional and amateur clubs, federations and athletes joined the commemoration, filling social media with prayers, black ribbons and messages of solidarity.
The repetition of the phrase “Unutmadık, unutmayacağız” was not coincidental; it reflected a collective determination to resist the fading of memory as years pass.
When I came to Türkiye, I was already a football enthusiast. I had followed leagues, players and tournaments across continents, but nothing quite prepared me for how deeply the game lives here, not just in stadiums, but in the streets.
In my early days, walking through Kadıköy or crossing Taksim, I would hear voices behind me: “Okocha!” “Uche!” “Demba Ba!” “Aboubakar!” The first few times, I froze. I didn’t know how to take it. Was this a mockery of my skin color? Stereotyping? Something hostile?
Only later did the meaning settle in. These weren’t insults. They were references to heroes.
In Turkish football culture, African names are a language of admiration, shorthand for flair, strength, resilience and honesty in the game. Being called “Osimhen” isn’t about where you’re from. It’s about what you represent.
As one passionate Turkish fan pointed out, “If you sweat for the jersey, then you are one of us.”
That realization unlocked something bigger for me: Türkiye’s love affair with African football has always been loud, emotional and deeply misunderstood from the outside.
What once sounded like an obsession now looks increasingly like a strategy.
And as the UEFA Europa League final approaches on May 20, 2026, in Istanbul, that long-running relationship stands on the brink of its greatest validation yet.
A night that could redefine perception
If Fenerbahçe take the field at Tüpraş Stadium that night and deliver on their promise, the image is already easy to imagine.
Imagine a stadium glowing above the Bosporus, flares cutting through the night sky and who else but N’Golo Kante at the center of it all, calm, tireless, authoritative.
Some will point out that Kante is French.
That’s true. His heritage is Malian, too and football history has always made room for both.
Kante’s February 2026 move from Al-Ittihad was not just another high-profile signing. It was a statement. At 34, the World Cup winner did not return to Europe for nostalgia or comfort, but for competition.
His arrival signaled that Turkish clubs are no longer content to borrow relevance. They want to create it.
Kante has brought structure to Fenerbahçe’s midfield, and most certainly, he will sharpen their European edge and reinforce the belief that this team is built for more than domestic dominance.
If silverware follows, it will not be an accident. It will be the product of a philosophy that has matured quietly but relentlessly.
The pioneers who changed everything
African influence in Turkish football did not begin with inflated transfer fees or social media hype. It began with trust.
Jay-Jay Okocha’s arrival at Fenerbahçe in the late 1990s altered expectations overnight.
His joy, confidence and creativity reshaped how Turkish fans understood African football artistry.
Stephen Appiah followed with authority and leadership, anchoring Fenerbahçe’s centenary title run.
Uche Okechukwu provided defensive excellence over nearly a decade, becoming a benchmark for professionalism.
Back in 1994, my fellow Zimbabwean Norman Mapeza had donned the Galatasaray colors before taking Southern African brilliance across six more Turkish clubs.
Later generations carried the torch.
Didier Drogba brought Champions League pedigree to the Lions.
Samuel Eto’o proved that global icons could still dominate in Türkiye. Vincent Aboubakar’s goals delivered titles and moments that still echo through Beşiktaş’s stands.
These players were never short-term solutions. They became cultural reference points, names shouted in admiration long after their final matches.
Reputation to recruitment strategy
By 2026, the Süper Lig is no longer framed as a “retirement league.” It has evolved into a competitive market where African and African-linked players arrive in their prime or with clear ambition.
Victor Osimhen’s permanent move to Galatasaray for a record fee marked a turning point.
This was not recovery football. It was elite performance.
Around him, the league has filled with substance: Youssef En-Nesyri’s physical dominance at Fenerbahçe, Andre Onana’s authority at Trabzonspor, Wilfried Singo’s defensive value at Galatasaray and emerging talents like Dorgeles Nene using Türkiye as a launchpad rather than a fallback.
At AFCON 2025, more than 20 players from Süper Lig clubs represented their nations, a quiet but powerful indicator of how the league now functions as a serious international platform.
Why the bond works
The connection between Turkish football and African players is rooted in more than recruitment.
The Süper Lig is physical, emotional and unforgiving. Pressure is constant. Expectation is relentless. For many African players raised in environments where football is communal, intense and identity-defining, the transition feels natural.
Add modern stadiums, improving infrastructure, European visibility and financial clarity and Türkiye offers something few leagues can: a bridge between elite competition and emotional belonging.
Kante as the symbol of a finished idea
Born in Paris to Malian parents and shaped by a modest upbringing, Kante arrives to embody what Turkish football has long been striving to achieve.
He represents humility over hype, work rate over spectacle, impact over image, values Turkish fans have always prized.
Whether or not the Europa League trophy is lifted in May, his presence already confirms something important: Türkiye can attract players who still define the highest levels of the game.
But if that night in Istanbul ends with silverware, the conclusion will be unavoidable.
Turkish football’s embrace of African excellence was never a coincidence.
It was patience.
And now, it stands one match away from proof.
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