Mehmet Ali Aydınlar has been elected as the 39th president of the Turkish Football Association (TFF) during a congress in Ankara today.

The 54-year-old Aydınlar, a successful businessman in the healthcare sector, steps up from the board member status he has held since 2008 and will be in charge until June 2015. Aydınlar entered the elections as the single presidential candidate and won the approval of participating delegates.

"We have taken on a hard task," he said, after being confirmed as the TFF's 39th president in its 88-year history. "There are key issues on the agenda and we need to discuss these with board members. We'll always be together with the football family. I hope they support us in our work."

Born in 1956 in Malatya, Aydınlar has served as a board member at Fenerbahçe SK and also as the president of Turkey's Private Hospitals Association.