UPDATE - Joel Embiid, James Harden's signed jerseys auctioned for earthquake-hit Türkiye

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By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Furkan Korkmaz of the Philadelphia 76ers confirmed Thursday that he put signed jerseys from Joel Embiid and James Harden up for auction to fund earthquake relief efforts in Türkiye.

Korkmaz, 25, wrote on Twitter that all proceeds would be donated to the Turkish non-governmental organization (NGO) Ahbap.

Turkish footballer Merih Demiral previously held a charity auction of former teammates Cristiano Ronaldo, Leonardo Bonucci and Paulo Dybala’s shirts which raised 5 million Turkish liras, or $265,500.

Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane and Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne joined Demiral to raise funds for quake victims.

The 24-year-old Atalanta defender also auctioned Haaland, De Bruyne and Kane's jerseys for the Türkiye relief effort, saying "they conveyed their deepest sympathies and expressed their sadness" on Twitter.

"All proceeds from the auction will be donated to NGO @ahbap to help victims of the earthquake in Türkiye," Demiral added.

Famous Turkish rock singer Haluk Levent, 54, founded the Ahbap voluntary network in 2017 to help those in need.

Anadolu Efes' Shane Larkin announced Thursday that former Fenerbahce Beko player Jan Vesely donated 500,000 liras ($26,541) to the Shane Larkin Foundation to help quake victims.

All sports activities in Türkiye have been suspended until further notice as the country observes seven days of national mourning.

-UEFA makes donation to support quake victims

The Turkish Football Federation, in cooperation with the Turkish Union of Clubs, will establish a neighborhood of 1,000 containers in the earthquake region.

Super Lig fixtures are expected to resume on March 3 and 4, Turkish Football Federation President Mehmet Buyukeksi said Thursday.

Buyukeksi added that UEFA and the football federations in Europe will help victims of the earthquake.

He said the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan made a $26,000 donation through their bank account and European football's governing body, UEFA, will send $322,000 to support people affected by the earthquakes.

At least 17,674 people were killed and 72,879 others injured by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye earlier this week, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said Thursday.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in Kahramanmaras province, were felt Monday by 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.