Ahmet Robenson (born Peel Harold Robinson; 1889 – 1 January 1968) was a Turkish

football player A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

and physical education teacher at

Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School ( tr, Galatasaray Lisesi, french: Lycée de Galatasaray), established in what was then Constantinople and is now Istanbul, in 1481, is the oldest high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational in ...

, who is known for his active role in the development of sports in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Biography

He was born in

Kalimpong Kalimpong (Hindi: कलिम्पोंग) is a town and the headquarters of an Kalimpong district, eponymous district in the Indian states and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of . The town i ...

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Q ...

(modern day

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

). He lived most of his life in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

and died in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Ahmet had two brothers, Yakup and Abdurrahman, who were also interested in sports, however they were killed in action in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

whilst fighting for the Ottomans against the British in the Sinai front. After graduating from

, Robenson was interested in new sports which were not recognized in his country at the time. He is known as being the first organizer of

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...

, and

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth Social movement, movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hik ...

activities in his time. He mostly introduced these new sports to his students in Galatasaray High School. Robenson was also the goalkeeper of the

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other dep ...

football team, who won the Istanbul League title in 1909. He later became Galatasaray S.K. president in 1926, and Galatasaray won the Istanbul League once again.

Scouting

The start of Scouting in Turkey is attributed to brothers Ahmet and Abdurrahman Robenson, who were

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

s at the

and

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s in

in 1912, and to Nafi Arif Kansu and

Ethem Nejat Ethem Nejat or Edhem Nejad (1883 – 28 January 1921) was a Turkish educator, revolutionary and left communist politician. Known for his contributions to the modernization of Turkish education system during his lifetime, he was one of the fou ...

, with the first units organized at Darüşşafaka, Galatasaray, and İstanbul high schools, during the late Ottoman period.B. Sami Karayel, "İzci Rehberi" (1914)

Honours

;

Galatasaray SK Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other dep ...

Istanbul Football League The Istanbul Football League ( tr, İstanbul Futbol Ligi) was founded as a regional football league under the name Constantinople Football Association League by James La Fontaine and Henry Pears in Istanbul, the capital of the former Ottoman Emp ...

: 1908–1909, 1909–1910, 1910–1911

References

* Tekil, S. (1986). ''History of Galatasaray, 1905–1985, page (24).'' Galatasaray Spor Kulübü. * Tekil, S. (1983). ''Galatasaray 1905–1982: Memories, page (303)''. Arset Matbaacılık Koll. Şti. {{DEFAULTSORT:Robenson, Ahmet Galatasaray S.K. footballers Galatasaray S.K. presidents 1880s births 1968 deaths Emigrants from British India to the Ottoman Empire Scouting pioneers Scouting and Guiding in Turkey Footballers from Liverpool Association football goalkeepers Turkish footballers

Biography

Scouting

Honours

See also

References