Zekeriya Alp

Zekeriya Alp — Biography

Zekeriya Alp was born in 1948 in Istanbul and built his football career as a defender, most closely associated with Beşiktaş, where he is remembered as one of the notable players in the club's history. He also earned 22 caps for the Turkey national team at senior level, after coming through the country's youth and under-21 sides.

After retiring as a player, Alp worked as a football columnist for several newspapers and served multiple terms on Beşiktaş's board of directors. Following Yıldırım Demirören's election as president of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) at the end of 2011, Alp joined the federation's board as well. In 2019 he was appointed Head of the Central Referee Commission (MHK), a post he held for two terms before resigning in 2020; during his tenure he made public statements addressing refereeing decisions and controversial matches.

Beyond football and administration, Alp is also known as a businessman and is a member of RUYİAD, the Rumelian Executives and Businessmen Association.