Fuat Hüsnü Kayacan

Fuat Hüsnü Kayacan — Biography

Fuat Hüsnü Kayacan (1879, Constantinople – 16 November 1963, Istanbul) was a Turkish soldier, footballer, referee and coach, and one of the pioneering figures of football in Turkey. Only the year of his birth is recorded. He first encountered the game in 1898 while serving as an officer stationed in İzmir. He was the younger brother of the educator Hamit Hüsnü Kayacan.

A native of the Kadıköy district on the Asian side of Istanbul, Kayacan was part of the founding line-up of Black Stockings FC, a club that shaped the early development of Turkish football, and he also turned out for the Kadıköy and Moda sides as well as for Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe. He is recorded among Fenerbahçe's founding players and as the third head coach in the club's history.

He is remembered as the first Turkish footballer, the first Turk to play abroad and the first Turkish referee. Kayacan died in Istanbul on 16 November 1963 and remains a fixture of accounts of the earliest years of the Turkish game.