Chelsea defender Reece James calls for aid to Türkiye’s earthquake victims

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

ANKARA (AA) - Chelsea defender Reece James called for aid for the victims of last month’s devastating earthquakes in Türkiye in a video message Thursday.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) published a video of James inviting people to donate.

“We send our love from the Premier League and Chelsea to everyone in Türkiye,” said James.

“The earthquake destroyed many cities. It is very difficult to know what to do at such a devastating time. If you are able to donate today, you will be helping those that are on the ground.”

The "Shoulder to Shoulder" aid campaign, which aims to aid quake victims and is taking place until June 15 under the leadership of the Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Turkish Football Federation, the Super League Clubs Association Foundation and beIN Media Group, hosted the video.

On Feb. 6, magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes struck 11 Turkish provinces -- Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa. The quakes claimed the lives of nearly 50,000 people.

More than 13.5 million people in Türkiye have been affected by the devastating earthquakes as well as many others in northern Syria.