Football is the most popular sport in Turkey, followed by basketball, tracing its roots to the Ottoman Empire. Approximately three-quarters of the Turkish people are interested in football.
The first matches were played in Ottoman Salonica in 1875. The sport was introduced by English residents. The Turkish football league system comprises five professional leagues, one of which is dedicated to female athletes.
History
League system
Süper Lig
The Süper Lig (Super League) is the top division in Turkey since 1959. There are 18 clubs in the league (as of 2025–26 season). The league ushered in clubs from all over Turkey to compete with each other. Currently, clubs finishing in the top four places in the league enter qualifying rounds of European competitions, and the winners of the Turkish Cup, if not one of the top four, are also given a spot. Each season, the four teams with the least points are relegated to the TFF First League. A total of 75 clubs have competed in the Süper Lig, but only six clubs have been champions so far: Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş, Trabzonspor, Başakşehir and Bursaspor. Galatasaray has won the most Süper Lig trophies with 25 trophies (the club has also won more Turkish Cups and Turkish Super Cups than any other team).
The most popular Süper Lig clubs on X as of 6 May 2025:
Reserve leagues Clubs in the Turkish football league system do not have reserve teams with the exception of Genclerbirligi and Altinordu. Hacettepe SK is the reserve side of Genclerbirligi, and Nigde Anadolu FK is of Altinordu. Other clubs have U21 and U18 teams which compete outside the main league system.
Amateur football Below the four professional leagues in Turkish football are amateur leagues. Amateur football clubs include: Seniors’ First Amateur League: 2145 clubs Seniors’ Second Amateur League: 1743 clubs Seniors’ Third Amateur League: 1 club Women's League: 9 clubs Juniors’ First Amateur League: 27 clubs Juniors’ Second Amateur League: 100 clubs Juniorsclubs Antalya: 10 clubs Bursa: 16 clubs Istanbul: 18 clubs İzmir: 12 clubs Diyarbakır: 7 clubs Trabzon: 13 clubs Samsun: 10 clubs
Amateur clubs are put into leagues included in the Amateur League system and are eligible for promotion to the Turkish Third League.
Largest football stadiums in Turkey
#ImageStadiumCapacityCityHome team(s)Opened1 Atatürk Olympic Stadium 74,753 Istanbul Turkey 20022 Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi 53,978 Galatasaray SK 20113 İzmir Atatürk Stadium 51,337 İzmir Karşıyaka SK 19714 Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium 47,430 Istanbul Fenerbahçe SK 19085 Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Stadium 43,361 Bursa Bursaspor 20156Beşiktaş Stadium42,590IstanbulBeşiktaş JK20167 Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium 42,000 Konya Konyaspor 20148 Şenol Güneş Sports Complex 40,782 Trabzon Trabzonspor 2017 9 Kocaeli Stadium 34,829 İzmit Kocaelispor 201810 Samsun 19 Mayıs Stadium 33,919 Samsun Samsunspor 2017
Cup competitions The two major cup competitions are the Turkish Cup and Turkish Super Cup. The Turkish Cup includes clubs from every division. The Super Cup is an annual match held between the winners of the Süper Lig and Turkish Cup.
Now-defunct Turkish cup competitions include the Prime Minister's Cup, Atatürk Cup, Istanbul Football Cup and Spor Toto Cup.
Qualification for European competitions
CompetitionWho QualifiesNotesUEFA Champions League league phaseClub finishing 1st in the Süper LigUEFA Champions League play-off roundClub finishing 2nd in the Süper LigUEFA Europa League second qualifying roundClub finishing 3rd in the Süper LigUEFA Europa Conference League second qualifying roundClub finishing 4th in the Süper LigUEFA Europa League play-off roundWinner of the Turkish CupIf the winner is already guaranteed a place in Europe, the highest ranked club in Süper Lig which did not qualify to UEFA Champions League will replace them.
In addition, once in a European competition, it becomes possible to qualify for others: All the losers of the Champions League third qualifying round go forward to the UEFA Europa League Play-off round All the losers of the Champions League play-off round go forward to the UEFA Europa League group stage
European competition records
The following teams have made the last eight of European competitions:
UEFA Super Cup Galatasaray (2000 – Champions)
European Cup / UEFA Champions League Galatasaray (1988–89 – Semi-finals) Galatasaray (1962–63 – Quarter-finals) Galatasaray (1969–70 – Quarter-finals) Besiktaş (1986–87 – Quarter-finals) Galatasaray (1993–94 – Group stage)‡ Galatasaray (2000–01 – Quarter-finals) Fenerbahçe (2007–08 – Quarter-finals)
Galatasaray (2012–13 – Quarter-finals)
‡ Galatasaray was one of the eight teams in the group stage of the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League, however, UEFA does not consider this a quarter-final participation.
UEFA Cup / Europa League Galatasaray (1999–00 – Champions) Fenerbahçe (2012–13 – Semi-finals) Besiktaş (2002–03 – Quarter-finals) Besiktaş (2016–17 – Quarter-finals)
UEFA Europa Conference League
Fenerbahçe ( 2023-24 – Quarter-finals)
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Göztepe (1968–69 – Semi-finals)
Balkans Cup Fenerbahçe (1966–67 – Champions) Sarıyerspor (1991–92 – Champions) Samsunspor (1993–94 – Champions) Eskişehirspor (1975 – Runners-up)
UEFA Cup Winners Cup Fenerbahçe (1963–64 – Quarter-finals) Göztepe (1969–70 – Quarter-finals) Bursaspor (1974–75 – Quarter-finals) Galatasaray (1991–92 – Quarter-finals)
UEFA Intertoto Cup Kayserispor (2006 – Joint Winners) Trabzonspor (2007 – Runners-up) Sivasspor (2008 – Runners-up) İstanbulspor (1997 – Semi-finals) Samsunspor (1998 – Semi-finals) Trabzonspor (1999 – Semi-finals) Bursaspor (1995 – Quarter-finals)
Turkey national team
The Turkey national team made its debut on October 26, 1923. The match ended in a 2–2 draw against the Romania. Turkey have qualified for the FIFA World Cup twice: 1954 and 2002. Their longest duration of competing for the Cup was coming third in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Turkey also finished third in the 2003 Confederations Cup, reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008 and played in the quarter-finals of Euro 2000. Turkey will host the UEFA Euro 2032 alongside Italy.
Women's football
Records
Seasons 1900s:1904–051905–061906–071907–081908–091909–101910s:1910–111911–121912–131913–141914–151915–161916–171917–181918–191919–201920s:1920–211921–221922–231923–241924–251925–261926–271927–281928–291929–301930s:1930–311931–321932–331933–341934–351935–361936–371937–381938–391939–401940s:1940–411941–421942–431943–441944–451945–461946–471947–481948–491949–501950s:1950–511951–521952–531953–541954–551955–561956–571957–581958–591959–601960s:1960–611961–621962–631963–641964–651965–661966–671967–681968–691969–701970s:1970–711971–721972–731973–741974–751975–761976–771977–781978–791979–801980s:1980–811981–821982–831983–841984–851985–861986–871987–881988–891989–901990s:1990–911991–921992–931993–941994–951995–961996–971997–981998–991999–002000s:2000–012001–022002–032003–042004–052005–062006–072007–082008–092009–102010s:2010–112011–122012–132013–142014–152015–162016–172017–182018–192019–202020s:2020–212021–222022–232023–242024–252025–262026–272027–282028–292029–30
Attendances
The average attendance per top-flight football league season and the club with the highest average attendance:
Season League average Best club Best club average 2024-25 11,840 Galatasaray 43,039 2023-24 11,026 Galatasaray 43,133 2022-23 12,426 Galatasaray 45,186 2021-22 — — — 2020-21 — — — 2019-20 13,930 Fenerbahçe 39,352 2018-19 14,088 Galatasaray 36,160 2017-18 12,874 Galatasaray 40,778 2016-17 10,313 Beşiktaş 30,448 2015-16 8,427 Fenerbahçe 28,589 2014-15 7,989 Galatasaray 23,812 2013-14 12,131 Fenerbahçe 34,811 2012-13 12,984 Fenerbahçe 42,585
Source:
See also List of Turkish football champions List of football clubs in Turkey Amputee football in Turkey Big Three (Turkey) Sport in Turkey
Notes
External links TurkishFootballNews.com - your source for the latest in Turkish football Turkish soccer live scores and news and blog by Ahmet Bob Turgut All of results in Turkish Football