Turkish football club Fenerbahçe will elect a president on Sunday in its third leadership vote in three years, with former chairman Aziz Yıldırım facing businessman Hakan Safi.
The extraordinary general assembly began Saturday near the club’s stadium in İstanbul, where the candidates were scheduled to address members. Only registered congress members can vote.
The winner will serve for one year because under its bylaws the club must hold its next regular election in May or June 2027.
The election comes as Fenerbahçe faces growing pressure over its failure to win Turkey’s top-flight title since the 2013-2014 season.
Yıldırım, 74, led the club from 1998 to 2018. During his presidency Fenerbahçe won six league titles, reached the Champions League quarterfinals and the Europa League semifinals and expanded its stadium and training facilities.
He has promised to put former Fenerbahçe player Oğuz Çetin in charge of football operations, recruit two leading strikers and increase the stadium’s capacity to 64,000.
Yıldırım also said he had prepared a $300 million financial plan and would seek to end the club’s debt restructuring agreement with a group of Turkish banks.
Safi, 53, is the chairman of Safi Holding, which operates in ports, logistics, mining and other sectors. He served on Fenerbahçe’s board during former president Ali Koç’s tenure and has sponsored several of the club’s teams.
Safi has promised to sign major international players, expand the stadium to 65,000 seats and develop property and sponsorship projects to increase revenue.
He said agreements had been reached with Colombian striker Luis Suárez and Turkish defender Merih Demiral, although no deals have been completed with their clubs.
Fenerbahçe last held an extraordinary election in September 2025, when Sadettin Saran defeated Koç. Saran later called another election and announced that he would not seek another term.