Women's football in Turkey is the women's branch of football in Turkey and is governed by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF).
History Friendship matches Although Turkey is one of the first countries to adapt women's rights, its practical realization in every part of the society took time. Due to differentiation in the society between men's and women's sports, Turkish women fell behind men in sports. The slogan "football is a men's sport" caused that women were not interested in football in the early days. This incorrect assessment and approach hindered that the number of participants in women's football, like women audience, women footballers, women coaches, women managers and women referees, did not reach the desired level.
The first recorded involvement of women in football took place when six women played in a mixed-gender match in İzmir on 24 May 1954. The first ever football match of only women was played between the İzmir Women's Football team and Istanbul Women's Football team at Mithatpaşa Stadium in Istanbul, today Vodafone Park, on 4 July 1954. During a sports festival on 10 July 1955, one more football match was played between women's teams. There is no indication of women's football event between 1955 and 1969. On 22 August 1969, the first international women's football game in Turkey was played between Italy Girls' and the Joint-Europe Girls' teams at Mithatpaşa Stadium. The match ended with a draw of 1–1 while the Turkish player Afitap scored the only goal of the Joint-Europe team. In 1969, Kınalıada Sports Club in Istanbul formed a girls' football team, which played miniature football in the gym. The team later continued their activities competing against boys' football teams.
In 1971, Haluk Hekimoğlu formed a women's team named "Istanbul Kız Futbol Takımı" (Istanbul Girls' Football Team) with 13 young women on his own personal efforts. This team pioneered the foundation of the country's first women's football club Dostluk Spor (Turkish for "Friendship"), which was officially registered as an association on 19 April 1973 at Moda neighborhood of Kadıköy district in Istanbul. Due to lack of any other women's football teams, Dostluk Spor played demonstration games with men's teams of retired or junior players before some jubilee matches, derbies and season's opening games between 1973 and 1978. The team contributed much to the women's football in Turkey playing in many cities of the country. Their fundraising matches after the 1976 Çaldıran–Muradiye earthquake in Van, eastern Turkey helped growing of social responsibility in the society. The team's advertisement in the newspapers to recruit women players found positive response.
Dostluk Spor's success led soon to the establishment of other women's football teams such as Filizspor in İzmir formed in 1978 by the female students of the Namık Kemal High School, and İncirlispor, Nazende Spor in Ankara the same year. A friendly match played between Filizspor and Dostluk Spor at İzmir Alsancak Stadium ended with the Dostluk Spor's victory of 14–0. Foundation of women's teams in Kocaeli and Samsun followed later. In 1979, Dostluk Spor played a friendly match with the German team SC 07 Bad Neuenahr losing 0–4. This was Dostluk Spor team's first ever international match, and also the first ever international women's football match at clubs' level played in Turkey. On 17 August 1980, Dostluk Spor met Filizspor from İzmir again at Vefa Stadium, Istanbul. An outpoint like in the first match in 1978 was not possible this time, the team from İzmir was defeated only by 2–1. With the foundation of Atılımspor and Deryaspor in 1980, the number of women's football teams in Istanbul reached three.
Establishment of leagues With the formation of Dinarsu Women's Football Team in 1982, women's football in Turkey rose to higher levels. Finally, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) decided at its board meeting on 22 December 1993, to officially establish a league for women's football. Later on, the TFF published the format and the rules for the Turkish Women's Football League. On 1 March 1994, the schedule of the league matches was determined for a total of 16 teams in four groups to meet each other in turn. The beginning of the first women's league season was planned for 20 March 1994. However, the start was postponed to 2–3 April due to the 1994 local elections held on 27 March.
Ten years later, there were ten teams active, and the Women's League was dissolved. According to Adnan Ersan, deputy secretary general of the TFF, the league based on a wrong system. The clubs paid barely attention to the provision of experience and training for young players. They did not look ahead for the future, and deployed players older than twenty years of age. Moreover, the women's national team played no matches from Mai 2000 on. A great many of factors, which sent women's football in Turkey into offside.
In 2006, the Turkish Women's League was re-established with seven teams, and the Turkish women participated again at international competitions. In the meantime, the government supported the development. The Turkish Ministry of National Education coined a concept in cooperation with the Football Federation that envisaged the establishment of girls' football teams in primary and secondary schools. The women's football in Turkey revived, however the national team was composed of young players of amateur-level experience only. National teams of girls' U-17 and U-15 were established in order to feed the women's national team. Young women's footballers in Germany with Turkish-background were seen as a fill-in to strengthen the national team qualitatively, and were called up.
In order to contribute to the development of women's football, the Board of Directors of the Turkish Football Federation decided on 27 October 2021 to establish the Türkcell Women's Super Football League as the top-flight of the Turkish women's football league system beginning in the 2021–22 season. The 2021–22 Türkcell Women's Football Super League consisted of 24 teams.
In the 2022–23 season, the number of leagues increased to four.
The number of women's clubs was seven with 130 licensed footballers in the 2005–06 season. As of the 2010–11 season, there were 72 clubs with 1,500 players.
Pyramid LevelLeague(s)/division(s)1Women's Süper Lig(16 clubs)2Women's 1. LigGroup A(9 clubs)Women's 1. LigGroup B(8 clubs)3Women's 2. LigGroup A(8 clubs)Women's 2. LigGroup B(7 clubs)Women's 2. LigGroup C(8 clubs)Women's 2. LigGroup D(8 clubs)4Women's 3. Lig(74 clubs across 16 groups)
Competitions
Until the 2021–22 season, the following competition categories existed for women's football:
Women's football leagues
From the 2022–23 season on, the women's league system was extended to four leagues.
Top level league
Women's Football League (1993–2003, 2006–2008) The Women's First League () is the top national competition for women's football in Turkey. The league was established in 1993 starting with the 1993–94 season. The 2000–01 season was apparently the first official competition. Three consecutive seasons between 2003 and 2005 were not played.
Women's Football First League (2008–2020) The number of clubs competing in the First League varied from season to season, and dropped from ten in the 2012–13 season to eight in the 2013–14 season. The last standing clubs are relegated to the lower Second League. The number of clubs competing in the First League increased from 10 to 12 in the 2019–20 First League season.
Women's Football League (2020–21) With the sponsorship of the mobile phone operator Türkcell, the league was named 2020–21 Turkcell Women's Football League as other sub-level leagues were not played dure to the pandemic. The number of clubs increased from 12 to 16 with promoting of four clubs from the 2019–20 Women's Second League to the existing 12 clubs.
Women's Football Super League (2021– ) By October 2021, the Turkish Football federation (TFF) established the Türkish Women's Football Super League (), which is called Turkcell Women's Football Super League for sponsorship reasons. Eight clubs of the Süper Lig founded women's football teams and joined the newly established league, which consists of 24 clubs. The 2021–22 Turkcell Women's Football Super League is played in two groups of 12 teams. The first standing four teams compete in the play-offs, and the last standing four teams of each group will in the play-outs. Four unsuccessful team relegate to the second-level league.
The following teams played once in the top-level league: Club HometownAltay S.K. İzmirAmasya Eğitim Spor AmasyaAntalya Yenikapıspor AntalyaBeden Eğitimispor Bucaspor İzmir Bursa Sağlıkgücü Gençlikspor BursaÇamlıcaspor IstanbulDerince Belediyespor KocaeliDinarsuspor IstanbulDostluk Spor IstanbulDudullu Spor IstanbulElitspor İzmirEskişehirspor EskişehirEskişehir Lisesi Spor EskişehirGazi Üniversitesispor AnkaraGazikentspor GaziantepGölcükspor KocaeliHatay Dumlupınarspor HatayHatayspor Hatayİlkadım Belediyesi Samsunİzmit Çenesuyu Plajyoluspor Kocaeliİzmit Belediyespor KocaeliKarşıyaka BESEM Spor İzmirKartalspor IstanbulKayseri Kadın FK KayseriKireçburnu Spor IstanbulKocaeli Bayan F.K. KocaeliLüleburgaz 39 Spor KırklareliMalatya Gençlikspor MalatyaMaltepe Yalıspor IstanbulMarmara Üniversitesi Spor IstanbulMarshall Boyaspor IstanbulMersin Camspor MersinMersin Gençlerbirliği MersinMersingücü Cengiz Topelspor MersinSakarya Yenikent Güneşspor SakaryaSivasspor SivasSoyaspor Gençlik OrduZeytinburnuspor Istanbul
Champions League champion team represents Turkey at the UEFA Women's Champions League.
Season Club City No. of clubs1994 Dinarsuspor Istanbul 201994–95 Dinarsuspor (2) Istanbul 201995–96 Dinarsuspor (3) Istanbul 281996–97 Dinarsuspor (4) Istanbul 191997–98 Zara Ekinlispor Istanbul 191998–99 Marshall Boyaspor Istanbul 141999-00 Delta Mobilyaspor Istanbul 112000–01 Kuzeyspor Istanbul 122001–02 Zeytinburnuspor Istanbul 2002–03 Samsungücü Samsun 102003–04 no league played2004–05 no league played2005–06 no league played2006–07 Gazi Üniversitesispor Ankara 152007–08 Gazi Üniversitesispor (2) Ankara 152008–09 Trabzonspor Trabzon 102009–10 Gazi Üniversitesispor (3) Ankara 102010–11 Ataşehir BelediyesporIstanbul 122011–12 Ataşehir Belediyespor (2)Istanbul 122012–13 Konak Belediyesporİzmir 102013–14 Konak Belediyespor (2) İzmir 82014–15 Konak Belediyespor (3) İzmir 102015–16 Konak Belediyespor (4) İzmir 102016–17 Konak Belediyespor (5) İzmir 102017–18 Ataşehir Belediyespor (3) Istanbul 102018–19 Beşiktaş J.K. Istanbul 102019–20 ALG Spor Gaziantep 122020–21 Beşiktaş J.K. (2) Istanbul 162021–22 ALG Spor Gaziantep 242022–23 Ankara BB Fomget GSK Ankara 192023–24 Galatasaray Istanbul 162024–25 Ankara BB Fomget GSK (2) Ankara 142025–26 16
Notes: 1) declared league first by the Turkish Football Federation after the season discontinued due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey.
Second level league
Women's Football Second League (2008–2020) The Women's Second League () is the regional organization for all the clubs, which do not take part in the Women's First League. At the end of each league season, last placed teams of the First League are relegated to the Second League. The top standing teams of the Second League are promoted to the First League. Since there exist no lower-level league than the Second League, no relegation takes place from this league.
In the 2013–14 season, a total of 69 teams competed in eight divisions as following: With the 2015–16 season, the number of teams competing in the Second League was set to twelve. In the 2020–21 season no second league was played due to COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey.
Women's Football First League (2022– )