Fenerbahçe will play Sheffield United in a pre-season friendly at Bramall Lane on Thursday 31 July to mark the Blades 125th anniversary and the start of a new friendship between the two clubs.
Blades Board member and Fenerbahçe fan, Selahattin Baki, played a key role in organising the game and revealed that some of the money raised from the gate receipts will be sent to the Soma Turkish Mining Disaster Fund.
“This is going to be an epic friendly. Two great Clubs with long, storied traditions and hugely passionate fans coming together to show solidarity with families whose loved ones lost their lives in last May’s mine tragedy in Soma, Turkey," Baki said.
"A significant contribution from the gate receipts will be sent to the Turkish Mining Disaster Fund.
“Sheffield United, as the team of working people, Sheffield, as the city of working people, can relate to the tragedy in Soma, I can’t be more grateful for the support.
“On a personal level this is by far the top moment in my life as someone who comes from the terraces of Fenerbahçe, being a member of congress of the Club and finally getting selected as a Blades Board member and now bringing two Clubs together as the Blades celebrate their 125th anniversary.”
Three hundred and one people were killed after an explosion ripped through a coal mine in the town of Soma on May 13 2014.
The mining disaster was the worst-ever industrial accident to have occurred in Turkey.
