Turkish premier to visit legendary Armenian football club

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to attend the 70th anniversary celebration of the legendary football club Taksimspor, the Turkish newspaper Zaman reported.

Over years, the club's management and most of the players have been ethnic Armenians.

"Thanks to Taksimspor, Turkish football has had such legendary sportsmen as Lefter Kucukandonyadis, Hrant Dink, Karbis Istanbologlu and George Papazian," the Turkish periodical says.

"Nationalism and religious discrimination have no place in sports. We admit no form of discrimination. In this sense, our club is the best example of brotherhood," the head of Taksimport FC, Karapet Hamamcioglu, has said.

Taksimspor was founded in 1940 as a result of the merging of Ates-Gunes and Nor Sisli ve Kale football clubs. The slain editor-in-chief of the Turkish Armenian publication Agos, Hrant Dink, played in the club in 1982-83.