Barcelona football club in solidarity with Türkiye, Syria after devastating earthquakes

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Barcelona football club voiced their solidarity with Türkiye and Syria following massive earthquakes that collapsed buildings and killed thousands.

"From FC Barcelona and the Foundation we wish to offer our support to all the victims and persons affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. We send our solidarity and we stand with you in such difficult times," Barcelona President Joan Laporta said in a statement on Wednesday.

"At FC Barcelona we are encouraging people to make donations to the humanitarian organisations with which we regularly work, and whose teams are currently operating in the affected area," Laporta added.

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

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who visited the quake-affected regions on Wednesday and Thursday, has pledged to rebuild the region within a year as search and rescue efforts continue uninterruptedly.