Meet Hull City's Acun Ilıcalı - The Premier League’s most UNUSUAL owner! - The Sports Agents
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Who is Acun Ilıcalı and why is he called the Premier League’s most unusual owner?
This is a global production. I can guarantee you that there are 19 richer owners in Premier League than me. Who buys English clubs? Billionaires of America, billionaires of America. I'm not the billionaire on billionaire. And why I did it is the passion and to go to success. Only being successful makes me happy.
Hello and welcome to the Sports Agents. We've got a very special conversation today, haven't we, Mark? Yeah. Because we have just recorded an interview with Hull City owner Ajan Ilajali, who is a force. He's a TV star, a media mogul who has taken his passion for football and turned it into, well, you'll hear in the interview, I think, a way of running a football club like I've never heard before.
I mean, not to sort of preempt everything that you're about to hear, but if you go right to the end of the interview, the feeling that we both have is that we want to work for him.
Yeah, I'm actually going to LinkedIn later and sending my CV to him.
If you're a media officer at Hull City, we're coming for your job. Oh,
I want to go work for his TV company in Istanbul.
Look, there are some sad moments in this interview and some difficult moments, but I defy you to not have a smile on your face through an awful lot of his answers, whether it's about Hull the place, whether it's about... His staff, whether it's about the players.
His passion for volleyball. His
passion for volleyball. He just has an energy and a vibrancy that it's impossible not to be swept along by him.
Here he is joining us from Istanbul. Adrian, great to chat to you. It feels like Hull are the story of the early part of the season so far. Results, the feel-good factor, the way you have taken to life in the Premier League has been something of a joy to behold. Are you just beaming constantly?
Yeah, thank you very much for your kind words. Actually, I'm so happy, of course. I had a dream and actually it was my slogan, you know. I have a dream and my dream came true. So in my four years, a little more than four years, my biggest dream was to go to Premier League. And I pushed everything to do it. And I think by the help of God, we managed
it. Were you surprised that you went up last season? And have you been surprised by the start you've had? No,
I was not surprised because I believed in my players. But I was shocked. I mean, surprise is, you know, you have a surprise, what a good surprise. It's like a big shock for me and I was expecting four points for us, maybe a little more than five because our opponents, Manchester United. Aston Villa, Cup winners of Europe. And Chelsea. So how many points you can expect from a new promoted team? So I was expecting four would be good, five fantastic. Now we are already at eight. This is for me a miracle.
Let's go back a little bit, shall we, to your story, which is just fascinating. The transition from somebody who had a passion for football and did a similar job to us in the very beginning on the... I don't know what we've done wrong in the last 30 years because
we don't own
a Premier League club. You can tell us. reporting on football, having a passion for football. And obviously, let's not overstate it, being the equivalent of a Simon Cowell, Anton Deck
type
character for Turkish television. You know, you're huge in Turkey in terms of your onscreen persona to where you are now. And one of the things that strikes me about you is incredible belief, but also A desire and a passion to prove people wrong and to kind of buck the trend of what's expected.
Again, thank you so much for your kind words. And actually, yes, I'm from your side in life, started the business. But don't forget, I'm still in your side. I'm still making TV shows. So your side is fantastic. Yeah, this is one part of my life that I enjoy very much. I make reality television still on television. I'm still on screen. I enjoy it. I have good connection with people. But apart from that, of course, I have a business side. Like, for example, in television, there are two sides. on screen and off screen i'm playing both sides like number eight in football you know number eight goes to box to box so i can defend and i can attack so um my style is uh i'm crazy football fan um you cannot imagine
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who is Acun Ilıcalı and why is he called the Premier League’s most unusual owner?
0:02–5:52
2
How did Acun turn his childhood dream into a Premier League promotion for Hull City?
5:52–10:48
3
What personal tragedies shaped Acun’s ‘survivor’ mindset and business philosophy?
10:48–16:09
4
Why did Acun choose Hull City over other English clubs and what did he see in the city’s energy?
16:09–21:42
5
How does Acun rebuild the relationship between Hull City and its supporters?
21:42–26:00
6
What is Acun’s ‘brain‑team’ approach to squad building and coaching decisions?
26:00–31:03
7
How does Acun balance passion‑driven football with the financial realities of the Premier League?
31:03–36:35
8
Which of Acun’s TV productions does he consider his favourite and why?
36:35–41:44