Hasan Kamil Sporel

Hasan Kamil Sporel — Biography

Hasan Kâmil Sporel (1894, Istanbul – 27 April 1969, Istanbul) was a Turkish footballer who played for Fenerbahçe, served as the club's 21st president, and captained Turkey's national football team in its first-ever international match. He began playing football at Galatasaray High School, appeared briefly for Galatasaray, and then moved to Fenerbahçe, where he developed as a player. In a 4-2 derby win on 4 January 1914 he scored three goals, becoming both the first player to score against Galatasaray in derby history and the first to record a hat-trick for Fenerbahçe.

While pursuing higher education in the United States from 1916, he proved an impassable defender for his university's "Phoenix" team, earning the nickname "Dardanelle" — the English equivalent of Çanakkale — while in Turkey he was known as "Dalgakıran." After returning from the United States he continued playing for Fenerbahçe, forming a strong defensive partnership with Cafer Çağatay. On 26 October 1923 he captained Turkey in its first official international match, against Romania.

After retiring as a player, Sporel served as president of Fenerbahçe Sports Club between 1960 and 1961, and died in Istanbul on 27 April 1969. He was the elder brother of fellow footballers Zeki Rıza Sporel and Arif Sporel, and a street in Istanbul's Zühtüpaşa neighborhood in Kadıköy is named after him.