Mete Adanır

Mete Adanır — Biography

Mete Adanır was born on 14 November 1961 in Limassol, Cyprus, and played as a forward for the Turkish Cypriot national team as well as for clubs in England and Turkey. His career came to a tragic end on 20 January 1989, when the team bus carrying Samsunspor's squad crashed near Havza while travelling to an away match, killing several players and staff members along with Adanır himself.

Remembered as a 'football ambassador,' Adanır had a sports hall in the İlkadım district named after him on the 33rd anniversary of his death. He continues to be honored decades later: in 2026, the 37th anniversary of the crash was marked with memorial ceremonies, and Samsunspor played a friendship match against Northern Cyprus's U12 national team in his memory.