Amed Sportif Faaliyetler Kulübü (, 'Amed Sports Activities Club'), commonly known as Amedspor, is a sports club based in Diyarbakır, Turkey. The club is widely supported by Kurds in Turkey and abroad for its embrace of Kurdish identity. Its football section plays in the Süper Lig in the 2026–27 season after having been promoted from the TFF 1. Lig in 2025–26.
The club also has a women's team and a women's volleyball team.
Name The club's name is derived from the Kurdish name for its home city of Diyarbakır – Amed – a historical and culturally significant designation used widely by the Kurdish community, and which the club adopted when it changed its name in 2014 to reflect this local identity.
History The club was established in 1972 and competed in the amateur leagues for many years as Melikahmet Turanspor, because of a sponsorship with Turan Gazozlar. The club colours were red and white. In 1985 the club name changed into Melikahmetspor after the naming rights/sponsorship had ended.History amedspor.com.tr , accessed 6 February 2022.
The Diyarbakır municipality bought the club in 1990 and changed its name to Diyarbakır Belediyespor (English: Diyarbakır Municipality Sports Club). In 1993 the club changed its name into Diyarbakır Büyükşehir Belediyespor (English: Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Sports Club), after the city became a metropolitan municipality.
In the 1993–94 season, the club won the Super Amateur League and was promoted to the TFF 3. League, marking the club’s entry into Turkey’s professional football leagues.
In 1999, Mayor Feridun Çelik of the pro-Kurdish Democratic People’s Party (DEHAP) oversaw a name change for the club to Diyarbakır Büyükşehir Belediyesi DİSKİspor (English: Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Diskispor). The change was intended to generate revenue through sponsorship from the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality's Water and Sewerage Administration (DİSKİ).
At the beginning of the 2010–11 season the club's general assembly decided to alter the name once again into Diyarbakır Büyükşehir Belediyespor.
In the 2012–2013 season the club was promoted to the TFF 2. League, Turkey's third tier of professional football, in which they remained for the next 11 years.
In October 2014, shortly after the club officially changed its name to Amedspor, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) imposed a fine on the club, citing that the name change had been made "without official approval." The objection of the TFF was because of the existence of another club named Amedspor, which later on changed its name into Amidaspor.Amidaspor tff.org, accessed 6 February 2022Amedspor'a TFF'den kötü haber Yenisafak.com , accessed 6 February 2022. However, in the club's final name change to Amed Sportif Faaliyetler Kulübü (English: Amed Sports Activities Club), the TFF announced that it would accept this new name. The club’s adoption of the Kurdish name for the city of Diyarbakır, Amed, led to increased support among Kurds, while also drawing racist attacks from Turkish nationalists and problems with Turkish authorities.
In the 2015–16 season, the club reached the quarterfinals of the Turkish Cup for the first time. In the first leg of the quarterfinal, Amedspor hosted Fenerbahçe.
Amedspor became the champions of the 2023–24 TFF 2. League Red Group and were promoted to the TFF 1. League, the second tier of Turkish football, for the 2024–25 season.
During the 2025–26 TFF 1. League, Amedspor finished second and were promoted for the first time in the club's history to the Süper Lig, the highest level of football in Turkey. The promotion was widely celebrated not only in Diyarbakır but also in major Turkish cities with significant Kurdish populations, including Istanbul, Ankara, Mersin, and Adana, as well as across Kurdish-majority regions in southeastern Turkey, including Van, Şırnak, Batman, Mardin, Muş, Bitlis, Urfa, Siirt, Tunceli, Yüksekova, and Ağrı. Several politicians congratulated the club on its promotion, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani, and members of the DEM party.
Identity As a club based in one of the largest cities in the predominantly Kurdish southeast of Turkey (Turkish Kurdistan), Amedspor openly embraces a Kurdish identity. In 2015, former club president İhsan Avcı stated that Amedspor viewed itself as "a team of Kurdistan," noting that approximately 80 percent of the squad at the time consisted of Kurdish players and that Kurdish footballers from all leagues had been invited to join the club. Football commentator and sports writer Ali Fikri Işık compared the relationship between Amedspor and its Kurdish fans to the bond between Catalans and FC Barcelona in Spain. Işık further states that Amedspor represents a nation, "thus, the success of Amedspor resonates as a triumph for all Kurds," while other commentators describe Amedspor as becoming "an unofficial Kurdish national team."
Amedspor’s leadership emphasizes democratic and participatory principles, including women’s participation at all levels. In this context, human rights lawyer Metin stated that "Amedspor is a novel (in Turkish football)."
Amedspor understands itself as a "team of the others," referring to groups that have historically faced discrimination in Turkey, including Kurds as well as LGBTQ people, Black communities, and Armenians.
Crest When the club changed its name in 2014, it also adopted a new crest featuring a double-headed eagle, a figure found on the ancient city walls of Diyarbakır.
Colours
The club's jerseys typically feature colors associated with the Kurdistan flag, such as red, white, and green. The club also attempted to use green-red-yellow, but it was prohibited on several occasions due to political challenges. SeasonManufactureKit Colours –2013UmbroRed-Green2013–2016LottoRed-Green, White, Black2016–2017NikeWhite, Red, Black2018–2019NikeRed-Green, White, Green, Red2021–2022NikeRed-Green, White, Black2022–2023NikeRed, Black-Gold, White-Red
Fan chants
After victories, Amedspor players and supporters often sing the song "Diren Ha Diyarbakır" ("Resist Diyarbakır") together, which has become the club’s unofficial anthem.
A popular chant among the club's supporters is "Amed! Amed!".
In games, fans chanted in Kurdish "Her der Sur, her der berxwedan" (English: Everywhere is Sur, everywhere is resistance) in reference to Diyarbakır's historic walled quarter, which faced curfews and military operations following the 2014 Kobanî protests and the collapse of the 2013–2015 PKK–Turkey peace process. Similar chants in Kurdish, criticizing Turkish military actions, used by fans include "Children should not die, they should come to our matches" and "Berxwedan Amed, Berxwedan Diyarbakır" ("Resist Amed, Resist Diyarbakır").
During their 2024–25 TFF First League fixture against fellow Kurdish club Vanspor F.K., with which they maintain a friendly relationship, fans of both teams chanted the Kurdish slogan "Kîne em? Kurd in em!" ("Who are we? We are Kurds!").
During their 2024–25 TFF First League match against Gençlerbirliği supporters chanted "Jin, Jiyan, Azadî" ("Women, Life, Freedom"). The slogan was also chanted during matches of Amedspor's women team.
Other chants include: "What gives you life is resisting"; "Stop and listen this song is for you", "Trust the love of the mountains (mountains is sometimes substituted with "fans")."
The fan group Amedspor Barikat also have their own rendition of "Bella Ciao," the old Italian anti-fascist partisan song.
Tifos
Supporters, rivalries and controversies
Supporters
Domestic support The club is the most popular among Kurds in Turkey and the most widely supported football club in Diyarbakır. In January 2024, the Diyarbakır-based Kurdish Studies Center estimated that Amedspor has more than 250,000 supporters in Diyarbakır and over 1 million supporters across Turkey. While competing in the TFF 2. League in 2023, the club averaged 20,000 spectators per match–more than 17 of the 20 teams in the one-tier higher TFF 1. League managed to attract.
Following the club's promotion to the TFF 1. League, Amedspor president Aziz Elaldı stated that children in the Kurdish regions were increasingly supporting Amedspor rather than major Turkish clubs such as Galatasaray or Fenerbahçe.
Fan groups The most important supporter group is Amedspor Barikat ("Amedspor Barricade"). It was founded in late 2014 and describes itself as an anti-fascist, patriotic fan group of Amedspor that opposes racist and sexist views. They are known for their pro-Kurdish chants. During a match against İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. at the Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium, approximately 30 persons of the fan group were detained for chanting slogans such as "Everywhere is Sur, everywhere is resistance," and "Children shouldn't die, they should be able to go to the match." Mor Barikat ("Purple Barricade") is the parallel women’s fan group. Both supporter groups emphasize Kurdish women’s rights and equal participation, a practice more common in Kurdish culture than in many neighboring Muslim societies. They have also worked to create a safe and welcoming environment for women fans. Barikat's logo features the anti-fascist phrase "No pasaran," a reference to the defense of Madrid against Francisco Franco's fascist forces during the Spanish Civil War.
Another supporter group is known as Direniş ("Resistance"). The name Direniş was eventually approved for the group by the TFF, after approximately twenty previous applications had been rejected. Tîma Gel ("People's Team") is also a popular fan group of Amedspor.
International support The supporter group Amedspor Barikat says that it has received international visitors and support from fans in Cyprus and Galicia.
The Hamburg-based club FC St. Pauli expressed solidarity with its former player, Amedspor midfielder Deniz Naki, who had been banned for life by Turkish authorities. Fan groups of Amedspor have reportedly built connections with the fan scene of FC St. Pauli.
On 8 November 2023, during a UEFA Champions League match between Bayern Munich and Galatasaray, members of Bayern’s Schickeria München fan group displayed a banner reading "Lift Amedspor’s Away Bans!" Amedspor expressed its gratitude for the show of solidarity in a statement on its X account.
During the 2025–26 promotion campaign to the Süper Lig, some supporters from outside Turkey, particularly Kurds from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, attended matches to support the club.
Rivalries and controversies Conflict with authorities
Clubs from the Kurdish city of Diyarbakır had previously faced racist abuse and other difficulties when playing, and these incidents reportedly increased for Amedspor following the club's name change.
According to an interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit, the club stated that it faced difficulties due to being perceived by the TFF and Turkish authorities as a symbol of Kurdish nationalist identity. Turkish authorities have banned the display of the Kurdistan flag in stadiums, and in December 2015 Amedspor supporters were prohibited from attending away matches for a period of time. Following the ban, supporters attempted to attend matches without displaying club colors but were on several occasions forced to leave early after celebrating goals and clashing with opposing supporters and police.
Merchandise belonging to Amedspor supporters has also been regularly seized by police, and supporters have been prohibited from displaying banners in the Kurdish language. During away matches, the team has reportedly been denied hotel accommodations. In addition, some stadium announcers have refused to pronounce the club’s Kurdish name. Some Amedspor supporters have reportedly been detaiend by the Turkish police for not standing during the Turkish national anthem at matches.