Ali Sami Yen, born Ali Sami Frashëri (20 May 1886 – 29 July 1951) was an Albanian-Turkish sports official best known as the founder of the Galatasaray Sports Club. After the enactment of law on family names in 1934, he took the surname Yen, which literally means "win" in the Turkish language.

Life

Ali Sami Yen was born in Üsküdar (Istanbul),

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

.İbrahim Aksu, ''The story of Turkish surnames: an onomastic study of Turkish family names, their origins, and related matters'', Vol: 1, Olay Gazete Press, 2005,
p. 128.
/ref> He was the son of

Sami Frashëri Sami bey Frashëri ( tr, Şemseddin Sami Bey; June 1, 1850 – June 18, 1904) or Şemseddin Sâmi was an Ottoman Albanian writer, philosopher, playwright and a p ...

, one of the most famous Albanian writers, philosophers and playwrights. Galatasaray SK 1908-1909

He was a student at the prestigious

Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School ( tr, Galatasaray Lisesi, french: Lycée de Galatasaray), established in what was then Constantinople and is now Istanbul, in 1481, is the oldest high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational in ...

in Istanbul. In October 1905, he decided with some of his fellow students to create a football club. At the beginning, the stated goal was "To play together like Englishmen, to have a color and a name, and to beat the other non-Turkish teams" according to him. Ali Sami Yen founded the colours of Galatasaray, stating, "We were imagining brightness of yellow-red fire over our team and thinking that it would carry us from one victory to another." In 1905, during the era of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, there were no laws for associations so the club could not be registered officially, but, after the 1912 Law of Association, the club registered legally. Yen was the club's first president for 13 years, between 1905 and 1918, and again for a brief spell in 1925. Besides founding Galatasaray SK, he made numerous other contributions to Turkish sports. He was president of the

Turkish Olympic Committee Turkish National Olympic Committee (TNOC) ( tr, Türkiye Milli Olimpiyat Komitesi (TMOK)) is the governing Olympic body of Turkey. It is based in Istanbul. History As one of the oldest National Olympic Committees in the world, TNOC was founded o ...

between 1926 and 1931. He coached the Turkish national team in its first international match, in 1923 against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. Ali Sami Yen died in 1951. He was laid to rest at the Feriköy Cemetery in Istanbul. As founder and first president of Galatasaray SK, Ali Sami Yen's name was given to the Galatasaray's long time

Ali Sami Yen Stadium Ali Sami Yen Stadium ( tr, Ali Sami Yen Stadyumu) was the home of the football club Galatasaray S.K. in Istanbul, Turkey, from 1964 to 2010. It is named after the founder of the club, Ali Sami Yen. The stadium had a capacity of 23,477 (all-seater) ...

which was built in 1964 and situated in the center of Istanbul in

Mecidiyeköy Mecidiyeköy is a heavily built-up residential and business neighbourhood in the Şişli district of Istanbul, Turkey squeezed in between the Fulya, Kuştepe, Gültepe, Esentepe, and Gülbahar neighbourhoods. In 2021 its estimated population was ...

. However, in January 2011, the club moved to its new home in the

Türk Telekom Stadium Nef Stadium (officially known as the Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi – Nef Stadyumu) is a football stadium serving as the home ground of the Süper Lig club Galatasaray It is located in the Seyrantepe quarter of the Sarıyer district, on the Europ ...

in the

Kâğıthane Kâğıthane (), formerly Sadâbad ( ota, سعدآباد, translit=Sa‘dābād) and Glykà Nerà (Greek: Γλυκά Νερά, , 'sweet waters') is a neighbourhood at the far northern end of the Golden Horn on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey ...

district while the old stadium was demolished to make way for the construction of a new commercial development.

Honours

As player

;Galatasaray SK *

Istanbul Football League The Istanbul Football League ( tr, İstanbul Futbol Ligi) was founded as a regional football league under the name Constantinople Football Association League by James La Fontaine and Henry Pears in Istanbul, the capital of the former Ottoman Emp ...

: 1908–1909, 1909–1910, 1910–1911

Personal life

He was married to Fahriye Yen (born November 1900 and died 6 October 2002).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yen, Ali Sami 1886 births People from Üsküdar Turkish people of Albanian descent Albanians from the Ottoman Empire Galatasaray S.K. (football) managers Galatasaray S.K. presidents Turkish football managers Galatasaray High School alumni Turkey national football team managers Turkish referees and umpires Footballers from Istanbul 1951 deaths Burials at Feriköy Cemetery Frashëri family Turkish footballers Galatasaray S.K. footballers Association footballers not categorized by position

Life

Honours

As player

Personal life

See also

References