ANNZC Day - Turkey Match

Football Federation Australia (FFA) today announced a new annual event to emphasise the strong links between Australia and Turkey.

The annual event will see football matches played between the two countries in either Turkey or Australia in alternating years starting with two Men's Under 16 matches to be held next month in Canakkale and Gelibolu (Gallipoli), Turkey, on 24 and 26 April.

"We are delighted to announce this initiative," said FFA CEO, Ben Buckley.

"Australia and Turkey have built a relationship of peace and friendship based on a shared history.

"This annual football event will help develop that relationship further," Buckley said.

"Importantly, as individuals, one of the things we enjoy in common is football and we want to use this opportunity to forge the friendship between our nations at all levels."

Buckley said that the date of the annual football event was selected to coincide with ANZAC Day (25 April) for Australia and National Sovereignty and Children's Day (23 April) for Turkey.

The annual football event has the strong support of both the Australian and Turkish governments with Australia's Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, and Defence Minister, Joel Fitzgibbon, expected to attend one of the matches.

Speaking alongside Buckley, the Consul-General of the Republic of Turkey, Mr Renan Sekeroglu said the Turkish Government and the Turkish Football Federation were also proud to announce the annual event.

"We also look forward to being inaugural hosts of the event with the two matches on 24 and 26 April," Mr Sekeroglu said.

�I am sure that those two matches will be encountered with a great enthusiasm by the two nations and pave the way for the further enhancement of the strong interaction and mutual affection between our two peoples,� Mr Sekeroglu said.

Buckley added that the teams to participate in the annual event will be agreed to coincide with the programs of both country's international teams.

Australian visitors to Gallipoli in 2009 wanting to support the Australian team can do so on:

24 April: Canakkale Stadium, Ataturk Cad, Canakkale. Kick-off 2.00pm local.
26 April: Gelibolu Stadium, Gelibolu. Kick-off 2.00pm local.

The Qantas Joeys Coach Jan Versleijen has selected a squad of 25 players to represent Australia at the inaugural Australia-Turkey Friendly Football matches to be played in in Canakkale and Gelibolu (Gallipoli), Turkey, on 24 and 26 April 2009.

The Qantas Joeys have been selected entirely from the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) scholarship players with this tour to be fully funded by the AIS.

The Qantas Joeys will prepare for the matches at the AIS European Training Centre in Varese, Italy and will play matches against youth teams from Italian clubs including AC Milan and Inter Milan.

These historic matches against Turkey are the first of what will be an annual event between the two countries which will see friendly football matches played in either Turkey or Australia in alternating years between designated men's and women's national teams.

The dates for this new annual football event were specifically selected to coincide with ANZAC Day (25 April) for Australia and National Sovereignty and Children�s Day (23 April) for Turkey.

The annual football event has the strong support of both the Australian and Turkish governments with Australia's Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, Defence Minister, Joel Fitzgibbon, and NSW Premier, Nathan Rees, all expected to attend one of the matches.

Match Details

Friday 24 April 2009
Turkey U-16 v Qantas Joeys
Canakkale Stadium, Canakkale
2:00pm local (9:00pm AEST)

Sunday 26 April 2009
Turkey U-16 v Qantas Joeys
Gelibolu Stadium, Gelibolu
2:00pm local (9:00pm AEST)

Qantas Joeys Squad

Christophe Bush (ACT/AIS), Stephen Domenici (ACT/AIS), Jason Geria (ACT/AIS), Alexander Meibusch (ACT/AIS), Mustafa (Amini (NSW/AIS), Kerem Bulut (NSW/AIS), Kevin Davison (NSW/AIS), Patrick Dixon (NSW/AIS), Samuel Gallaway (NSW/AIS), Brendan Hamill (NSW/AIS), Robert Kolak (NSW/AIS), Aaron Lennox (NSW/AIS), Jared Lum (NSW/AIS), John Martinoski (NSW/AIS), Aaron Peterson (NSW/AIS), Daniel Petkovski (NSW/AIS), Nikola Stanojevic (NSW/AIS), Lawrence Thomas (NSW/AIS), Marc Warren (NSW/AIS), Curtis Good (VIC/AIS), Ersin Kaya (VIC/AIS), Damir Lokvancic (VIC/AIS), Eli Babalj (WA/AIS), Scott Mellish (WA/AIS), Trent Sainsbury (WA/AIS)