Surviving earthquakes, Canadian left-back Adekugbe joins Galatasaray

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Canadian football player Sam Adekugbe joined Galatasaray on loan from Hatayspor on Thursday after the 28-year-old left-back survived the major earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye last week.

In a statement, Galatasaray said that both clubs agreed to Adekugbe's temporary move to the Istanbul club and the Canada defender will play for Galatasaray for the rest of the 2022-23 season.

Galatasaray can make the deal permanent for a €1 million ($1.06 million) transfer fee.

In an emotional video on Galatasaray's Twitter page, Adekugbe, who seemed upset, thanked both clubs and called on people to provide more help for those affected by the disaster.

"I'm thankful to Hatay and Galatasaray for giving me this opportunity. But of course, we understand the situation that has occurred in the last week or so," he said.

"Many lives have been affected -- many people that I know and many people that we all know. And I think it's important at this time to highlight the fact that people need our help."

"It's amazing to see how the country can come together in different ways," he said.

"We have players from different teams combining together to help support what's going on, and I think it shows the solidarity this country has. And it's important to understand the fact that people need our help in any way that they can. We can help with money. We can help with donations. We can help in any way. But it's important that we help and stick together because ultimately, we know that when we are together, we are stronger. At this moment, it's not about teams. It's not about competitions. It's about coming together," he added.

At least 38,044 people were killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, the country's disaster agency said early Friday.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.

Adekugbe, who was born in London but raised in Calgary, Canada, previously played for Major League Soccer (MLS) club the Vancouver Whitecaps, where he helped them win the Canadian Cup in 2015.

He moved to Norwegian club Valerenga on a permanent deal in 2018 after loan spells with English club Brighton FC and Swedish club Goteborg.

Adekugbe amassed 36 international caps for his native Canada and represented his nation in the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar.