A basketball player Mikko Koivisto has been shocked by the earthquake in Turkey. The captain of Salon Vilppaa played nine years ago in Gaziantep, a city located in the south of Turkey and relatively close to the earthquake zone.
– As soon as I noticed where the earthquake had happened, i.e. very close to Gaziantep, I went to look at my old team’s social media accounts. My mother also sent a message asking if I noticed that it had happened right there, Koivisto said.
According to current information, more than 5,000 people have died in Turkey and Syria due to the earthquake. In addition, more than 20,000 people have been injured in Turkey and more than 1,500 people in Syria. The number of victims is feared to increase.
Gaziantep Basketbol still has at least one player, Can Ugur Ogut, who played at the same time as Koivisto. There are also people familiar to him in the background of the team and in the organization. However, Koivisto has not been in contact with them.
When Koivisto played in Gaziantep, there were no earthquakes in that area or in Turkey at that time, and there were no warnings about them. Koivisto had a great time in the city, which has a very rich history and more than 1.7 million residents in the center.
– The people I dealt with were mostly people from the club’s organization and basketball fans. They were really nice people, praised Koivisto.
Playing in Turkey was very different for Koivisto from what he was used to, because before that he had played in the USA, Finland and Germany.
– The city is located right on the Syrian border, so it was nothing like what you might think of, for example, Istanbul. It was a very different culture, but I liked it and adapted. I enjoyed that time.
In Koivisto’s opinion, the events were terrible and the extent of the destruction caused by the earthquake has surprised him too.
– That kind of thing is a terrible thing, wherever it happens. On the other hand, certain areas of Gaziantep are built very closely, side by side. There are buildings one after another, and it is not necessarily the most modern. I can only imagine what it is at its worst, Koivisto said and planned to follow the news closely even after this.
– I’m certainly now monitoring social media through these few guys to see if there’s any information about what happened there or how they’re doing.
Miettinen: The place must be safe
Finland’s under-19 girls should start camp this Sunday in Antalya, Turkey, where the team is preparing for the European Championship qualifying tournament in March. During the camp, the team was supposed to play two international matches against Austria.
The top football manager of the Swedish Football Association Marianne Miettinen said that the situation in Turkey has been monitored very closely in the union.
– Yesterday and today we have been in contact with the embassy, our opponent Austria and the organizer of our match. So far, the embassy has stated that it is safe to travel to the Antalya region, Miettinen said.
The association has issued travel notifications, so according to Miettinen, the team will receive a direct message from the authorities if it would not be safe to travel to Turkey.
– We are still monitoring the situation closely. The board of the Finnish Football Federation has recently outlined yesterday (Monday) that with this information the team can still safely go to Antalya.
According to Miettinen, the events in Turkey are terrible and they are certainly making everyone think at the moment. There have been a few contacts from the players regarding the situation and there have been discussions about it. Miettinen said, the whole team has been informed several times.
– It is quite clear that the Finnish national team will never travel to a place that would not be safe. When the authority has declared the place to be safe, the players have also been told this, Miettinen said.