Turkish quake victims watch Champions League finalists' train in Istanbul

By Berfin Kirac

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish earthquake victims watched a training session Friday of the finalists of the 2023 UEFA Champions League at Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium before the final on Saturday.

Those affected by the Feb. 6 earthquakes in Türkiye attended sessions of the teams and met players at the final's venue.

Children had their pictures taken with Manchester City and Inter Milan players and were presented with football jerseys. Players signed Champions League final mini footballs.

The "Hope In Motion" project founder and leader, Zeynep Coskun Koc, told Anadolu that she thanked Turkish health, culture and tourism, sports ministries, Turkish Football Federation, European football's governing body, UEFA, and volunteers for providing a chance to take them to the event before the final.

The quake victims also visited Istanbul's historic sites before going to the stadium.

Elif Su Cilek, 12, from the eastern province of Malatya, said she watched the training session in a stadium, and was thrilled after she was invited.

Taha Karar, also 12, from Adiyaman, another province hit by the quakes, said he came to Istanbul for the first time to watch a training session of the football clubs. He added that Manchester City is the favorite in the final.

The final between Manchester City and Inter will kick off at Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium at 1900GMT.

On Tuesday, UEFA announced fundraising activities to support quake victims in Türkiye and Syria. It collaborates with the Turkish football body in this field.

UEFA previously said it will collect donations for earthquake victims in the two countries during the week of the 2023 Champions League final in Istanbul.

More than 50,000 people were killed in two powerful earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye on Feb. 6.

The 7.7- and 7.6-magnitude quakes that were centered in Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces.

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