Islamic Cooperation Youth Capital Konya hosted a memorable night of solidarity that will go down in history.

Organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Konya Metropolitan Municipality and the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum, the event brought TÜMOSAN Konyaspor and the Palestine national football team together on the same pitch under the motto “Our Home Is Your Home,” sending a message of friendship and solidarity.

The people of Konya filled the 42,000-seat Konya Metropolitan Stadium and warmly welcomed the Palestinian national team. Thousands of hearts united around the same emotions as Turkish and Palestinian flags waved side by side throughout the stadium.

Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak, Necmeddin Bilal Erdoğan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the İlim Yayma Foundation, Konya Governor İbrahim Akın, Konya MPs, Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay, Jibril Rajoub, President of the Palestine Higher Council for Youth and Sports, and other protocol members watched the match from the stands.

Necmeddin Bilal Erdoğan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the İlim Yayma Foundation, said: “We want to deliver a message here. We are saying, ‘This is your home too.’ We are telling our Palestinian brothers and sisters, ‘You are not alone.’ After everything they have been through, we are sending them a message of solidarity, friendship and brotherhood to remind them that they are not alone. Even if everyone else remains silent, Türkiye will not remain silent in the face of this genocide. We want genocidal and oppressive Israel to be stopped so that children can go to school and peace can prevail in the region. We want the oppressed Palestinian people to live freely in their own homeland. We will not remain silent until Jerusalem is free and Palestine is free. We will continue to work, remember, remind others, and make the world a difficult place for the oppressors.”

Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay said the people of Konya had never missed an opportunity to show their support for Palestine.

“Whenever we invited you to a program, you never left us alone. I thank you all. We can never thank and praise God enough for granting us the opportunity to serve this city. As we are doing today, we will continue to stand by our Palestinian brothers and sisters, speak out against oppression, stand up to the oppressor and raise the strongest voice from Konya. May God bless you all,” he said.

Scenes before kickoff became some of the most memorable moments of the night. A large dove, a symbol of peace, was unveiled at the center of the pitch, while 42 doves symbolizing freedom were released into the sky just before the match began.

In the east stand, a choreography featured 12-year-old Mohammed al-Durrah, who was killed in 2000 during the Second Intifada in front of the eyes of the world; Handala, a symbol of Palestinian resistance and the struggle for freedom; and Palestinian grandfather Khaled Nabhan, who was photographed holding his granddaughter Reem, killed in the attacks in Gaza, in his arms and calling her “the soul of my soul.”

Another choreography depicted Palestinian children, journalists and athletes killed by Israel, moving spectators emotionally.

One of the most striking moments of the night came in the 10th minute and 14th second of the match.

All the stadium lights were briefly switched off to draw attention to the 1,014 Palestinian athletes killed by Israel since October 7, 2023. As the stadium was plunged into darkness, tens of thousands of spectators switched on their phone flashlights. When the lights came back on, toys were thrown from the stands onto the pitch.

MATCH SYMBOLICALLY ENDED AT 89:59

The historic match between Konyaspor and the Palestine national team in Konya was symbolically brought to an end when the scoreboard showed 89:59. An announcement declared, “This match has been postponed until Palestine is free,” drawing attention to the lives left unfinished in Palestine.

After the match, Minister Bak, Mayor Altay and other protocol members went onto the pitch to congratulate the players and coaching staff. Konyaspor players also presented flowers to the Palestinian players.