Turkey: Yildiz Holding, major supporter of Turkish football, pulls out of football sponsorship

Yildiz Holding, a Turkish food and beverage group, has informed the TFF (Turkish Football Federation) that it will no longer be a partner of the federation, wrote Murat Ülker, the chairman of the group, to the TFF on 15/01/2015. According to Turkish media, Yildiz Holding will also seek to end its partnerships with the Instanbul-based (TUR) clubs Galatasaray SK and Fenerbahce SK (Spor Toto Süper Lig, the Turkish first division), though this has not yet been announced.

"We are apologetically withdrawing our support, including from the Turkish national team. I have declared this to the TFF in a letter. Through sponsorship, we had intended to improve Turkish football and its infrastructure, to have more good players. We wanted Turkey to be one of the best in Europe and even in the world. However, at this point, we have been disappointed," stated Murat Ülker.

• According to Turkish media, Yildiz Holding has spent $215m (€185m) in sponsorship of Turkish Football since 2005.
  • The breakdown of this sponsorship spending between the TFF, Galatasaray SK and Fenerbahce SK was not specified.
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