Former club chief Aziz Yıldırım completed a historic return to the leadership of Turkish sports giant Fenerbahçe on June 7, winning an extraordinary presidential election by a wide margin.
The 73-year-old businessman defeated Hakan Safi to reclaim a post he previously held for two consecutive decades.
According to official results announced by the club, Yıldırım received 17,245 votes compared to 9,927 for Safi, a rival businessman. The vote drew the highest voter participation in the club’s history, with more than 27,000 ballots cast.
“The winner is Fenerbahçe,” Yıldırım told a roaring crowd of supporters at the club’s stadium after the results were confirmed. “Fenerbahçe needs unity and solidarity. We will not allow divisions to damage this great club.”
Yıldırım’s victory marks a dramatic comeback eight years after his previous tenure ended. He ran the multi-sport club from 1998 to 2018, a period that saw Fenerbahçe win five Süper Lig titles but also weather a high-profile 2011 sports corruption investigation from which Yıldırım and other club officials were eventually acquitted. Yıldırım lost the presidency to billionaire Ali Koç in 2018 and failed in a 2024 bid to unseat him before launching his successful 2026 campaign.
The immediate priority for Yıldırım is ending a grueling 13-year domestic league title drought for Fenerbahçe.
Yıldırım said his focus will be entirely on delivering a championship in the upcoming season, which marks the club’s 120th anniversary, before paving the way for a new generation of leadership.
