Why Drogheda United is set to face Salah’s Trabzonspor
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption, Mohamed Salah joined Trabzonspor in August
- Published4 hours ago
In August, Mohamed Salah was given a hero’s welcome as he was unveiled to Trabzonspor fans at a packed 40,000-seat Papara Park.
That same weekend, Drogheda United travelled to Galway to play out a 0-0 draw in a League of Ireland tie in front of 5,000 fans.
Yet on Thursday, the two will meet in a friendly on the Black Sea coast in north east Turkey as part of a two-decade-long connection between the clubs.
“In 2006, in a Trabzonspor forum online, a couple of fans realised that there was a small Irish club that had the star and crescent, which are obviously symbols from the Turkish flag,” Drogheda chief executive Rian Wogan tells BBC Sport.
“From there they then subsequently realised that our club colours are also claret and blue and messages started going back and forward.”
The wider relationship between Ireland and Turkey goes back even further, forged during the 1800s.
The Ottoman Empire provided humanitarian aid to Ireland during the Great Famine, with the Ottoman Sultan donating Β£1,000.
The two countries also celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations this year.
Image source, Drogheda United F.C.
Image caption, Trabzonspor fans regularly visit Drogheda to support the Irish club
In 2008, Drogheda went into examinership, Ireland’s equivalent of administration, and were deducted 10 points in the league.
Trabzonspor fans heard of their plight and sent letters to the club with cash inside.
Two years later, their relationship was made official when they became sister clubs and there were plans for a ceremonial friendly in Dublin in 2013.
“They travelled over here to play and there was a freak deluge of rain that fell within an hour of kick-off,” explains Wogan.
“We had our staff in the turnstiles waiting to scan tickets in, but the game was deemed unplayable and Trabzonspor went home without playing the fixture.”
So Thursday’s match has been a long time coming.
When Drogheda announced the friendly on social media on 2 September, Trabzonspor fans reacted in their droves. The post on X has been seen well over half a million times.
About 30% of Drogheda’s social media following is from Turkey. More than their share of followers from Ireland.
And it is not just online where the crossover of fans is being seen.
Trabzonspor shirts and flags are commonly spotted at Drogheda matches and Turkish fans sometimes visit the club during the week just to see the stadium.
One Trabzonspor fan, Cafer Bektas, lives a couple of miles outside Drogheda and attends every game.
When he first moved to the area, wearing a Trabzonspor jersey caught the attention of locals and got him discounts in shops.
Image source, Drogheda United F.C.
Image caption, Trabzonspor fan Cafer Bektas (centre) lives just outside Drogheda
Drogheda fans will be hoping for similar treatment when they make the 4,700km trip to Turkey, a journey between 30 and 35 Boynesiders fans are set to make.
Some Trabzonspor fans have already offered their homes to visiting supporters.
Whether or not they will get to witness Salah face their club remains to be seen.
He was left out of Egypt’s squad that faced South Sudan in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Tuesday due to the match being played on artificial turf.
Wogan thinks even his presence would add to the weight of the game.
“He might not be in the squad, but even to have him in the stadium would be incredible,” he says.
“Trabzonspor have done amazing business in the last couple of windows and have really pushed the boundaries. The prospect of facing them is incredible.”
Salah or no Salah, the two clubs will be marking a special and unlikely relationship.
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- Published8 June
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