Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü (, ), abbreviated as BJK, is a Turkish professional sports club founded in 1903 that is based in the Beşiktaş district, Istanbul. The club's football team is one of the Big Three in Turkey and one of the most successful teams in the country, having never been relegated to a lower division. It was the first registered sports club in the country and one of the few that acquired the right to bear the Turkish flag on its crest.
Its football team has won 21 league titles including 16 Turkish Süper Lig, three Turkish National Division and two Turkish Football Championship titles, along with 11 Turkish Cup titles. Beşiktaş is also the only team to have won the Süper Lig undefeated, in the 1991–92 campaign. The team last won the Turkish Süper Lig title during the 2020–21 season and the Turkish Cup in the 2023–24 season. The club's home ground is Beşiktaş Stadium, a 42,684-capacity all-seater stadium located by Dolmabahçe Palace. The stadium has been considered one of the best in the world for location, design, comfort, technology, atmosphere, and transportation.
The team also participates in European competitions regularly. Beşiktaş reached the quarter-finals of the 1986–87 European Cup and displayed the best Turkish team performance in the Champions League group stage by earning 14 points and progressing undefeated in the 2017–18 campaign. Beşiktaş have also reached the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals twice, in the 2002–03 and 2016–17 seasons. Based on its UEFA coefficient, Beşiktaş is currently the 4th highest ranked Turkish team and is ranked third all-time after its rivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe.
The club's fan base, Çarşı, is well known globally. They were chosen as the best fan group in voting conducted by American sports viewers due to their 132-decibel noise record at a 2007 match against Liverpool. The group is involved with sociopolitical causes and is traditionally considered to be working-class and left-wing, supporting what is known as "the people's team". The highest ever football attendance in Turkish league history was recorded in a Beşiktaş–Galatasaray derby with 76,127 spectators.
The club also competes in other sports such as women's football, basketball (men's, women's and wheelchair), volleyball (men's and women's), handball, athletics, beach football, boxing, bridge, chess, gymnastics, athletics, parasports, rowing, table tennis, wrestling and esports.
History 1902–1911: establishment of the club
According to the club's own archives, Beşiktaş traces its origins to March 1903, when local athletes in Serencebey formed a gymnastics society known as the Bereket Jimnastik Kulübü (). Activities initially focused on gymnastics, wrestling, boxing, fencing, and athletics.
Following the restoration of the constitutional monarchy in 1908 and the political turmoil surrounding the 31 March Incident (1909), prominent fencer Fuat Balkan and weightlifter/wrestler Mazhar Kazancı active in Edirne moved to Istanbul and joined the group, encouraging more organized training. Around this time the society adopted the name Beşiktaş Osmanlı Jimnastik Kulübü (), with founding member Mehmet Şamil Şhaplı elected as the first president.
On 13 January 1910, the club was formally registered with the authorities in the Ottoman Empire, becoming one of the earliest officially recognized sports clubs in the capital. Membership expanded quickly, and the headquarters moved from Ihlamur to Akaretler first to Building No. 49 and later to No. 84 where the yard behind the building was adapted for sport.
By 1911, youths from the Beşiktaş district who had formed the football sides “Valideçeşme” and “Basiret,” under the influence of Şeref Bey, were incorporated into the club. This step broadened the club beyond gymnastics to a multi-branch structure including football, rowing, and other disciplines.
Early club publications long repeated that the original colours were red and white, later changed to black and white in mourning for members lost during the Balkan Wars. Some later research and club-produced documentaries, however, doubt whether red-white was ever used in official competition, suggesting black-white predominated from an early stage. The issue remains debated in the literature.
1911–1959: initial years of football
With football rising in popularity in the Ottoman Empire by 1910, members of Beşiktaş increasingly shifted focus from gymnastics to the new code. In August 1911, Ahmed Şerafettin organized the club's first football side.
During World War I and the occupation of Istanbul, activity slowed as many athletes were mobilized; after the war Şeref Bey led the rebuilding of the squad. Beşiktaş did not participate in the Friday League or Sunday League, but in 1918 captured the Istanbul Turkish 1st Sports League title; the team repeated the success in 1921.
In 1924, Beşiktaş entered the Istanbul Football League and won the first championship of the 1923–24 season. Through the mid-1930s, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe were the dominant Istanbul sides, but Beşiktaş collected a second Istanbul League crown in 1933–34. In 1934, Beşiktaş lifted its first national title, the Turkish Football Championship, defeating Altay 3–1 in the final on 29 October 1934.
The Turkish National League (’‘Milli Küme’’) began in 1937. After finishing fourth in the 1936–37 Istanbul League to qualify, Beşiktaş placed third in the 1937–38 Istanbul League and second in the 1938 ‘‘Milli Küme’’ behind Güneş.
Beşiktaş then set a record with five consecutive Istanbul League titles from 1939 to 1943. In ‘‘Milli Küme’’, the club finished 4th (1939), 5th (1940), 1st (1941), and 3rd (1943); the 1942 edition was not held due to wartime conditions. Domestically, Beşiktaş also won the Istanbul League in 1944–45 and 1945–46, and captured national ‘‘Milli Küme’’ titles in 1944 and 1947.
In May–June 1950, Beşiktaş undertook a month-long tour of the United States, playing seven fixtures against regional all-star selections and, in the New York finale, Manchester United. The team finished the trip with 5 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat (GF 27, GA 10), with stops including New York, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia; on returning to Turkey in mid-June the squad was received by President Celâl Bayar in Ankara.
1950 United States tour (Beşiktaş results) Date Opponent Score† Away Source 21 May 1950 New York All-Stars 3–5 Beşiktaş 25 May 1950 New England All-Stars 1–1 28 May 1950 Chicago All-Stars 2–5 1 June 1950 USA All-Stars 0–5 6 June 1950 Philadelphia All-Stars 1–7 9 June 1950 American League All-Stars 1–3 11 June 1950 Manchester United 2–1 † Scores shown with Beşiktaş listed first. All matches were friendlies.
1959–2001: from Milli Lig to Süper Lig Professional football was formally adopted in Turkey on 24 September 1951, paving the way for a national league later in the decade. TFF launched the nationwide Millî Lig in 1959, played in two groups with a two-leg final; Fenerbahçe won the inaugural title, while Beşiktaş finished second in the White Group.
Beşiktaş claimed their first national league championship the very next season (1959–60), a campaign remembered for an eleven 1–0 wins record, and qualified for the 1960–61 European Cup, where they debuted versus Rapid Wien (0–4 a, 1–0 h; Rapid won 4–1 agg.).
The club added back-to-back league titles in 1965–66 and 1966–67, and lifted their first national super cup (then the Cumhurbaşkanlığı Kupası) in 1967 after beating Altay 1–0; the inaugural 1966 edition had been won by Galatasaray over Beşiktaş. The 1970s were leaner in the league—Beşiktaş's best finish was runners-up in 1973–74—but the club remained a constant in the top three and in European qualification.
A 14-season title drought ended in 1981–82 under coach Đorđe Milić. Another league crown followed in 1985–86 after a tight race with Galatasaray (level on points, superior goal difference/average to Beşiktaş). Internationally, Beşiktaş reached the 1986–87 European Cup quarter-finals, losing to Dynamo Kyiv (0–5 h in İzmir, 0–2 a).
1987–1993: Gordon Milne era
English coach Gordon Milne took charge in 1987 and imposed a disciplined 4–4–2, quick flank play and aggressive pressing. He leaned on club stalwarts such as Rıza Çalımbay and built around a young forward line that would soon define the period. Metin Tekin, Ali Gültiken and Feyyaz Uçar formed the MAF trio—supporters’ shorthand for Beşiktaş's most celebrated strikeforce. Their movement and finishing underpinned the side's goals and its identity through the early 1990s.
Milne delivered three consecutive league titles: 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92. The last of these remains the Süper Lig’s only unbeaten championship: P30 W23 D7 L0. Beşiktaş set the league's biggest winning margin by beating Adana Demirspor 10–0 on 15 October 1989 at Ali Sami Yen; the goals were shared by Ali Gültiken (4), Metin Tekin (3) and Feyyaz Uçar (3) a snapshot of the MAF era at full tilt.
Regular European qualification returned. In the 1991–92 European Cup, Beşiktaş met PSV Eindhoven in the first round (0–1 agg.: 0–0 in Istanbul, 0–1 in Eindhoven).
1993–2000: After Milne — transition, Daum's title and cup wins With Gordon Milne gone in 1993, Beşiktaş stayed competitive while reshaping the squad around senior leaders (e.g. Rıza Çalımbay) and emerging names such as Sergen Yalçın and Ertuğrul Sağlam. Under Christoph Daum, Beşiktaş won the 1994–95 1.Lig, finishing three points clear and returning to the UEFA Champions League as champions.
Beşiktaş also lifted two major domestic cups in the mid-1990s. First came the 1993–94 Turkish Cup, won over Galatasaray (0–0 away; 3–2 at İnönü). Beşiktaş then beat Galatasaray 3–1 to win the 1994 Presidential Cup at Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium, with goals from Feyyaz Uçar, Metin Tekin and Sergen Yalçın.
After Rasim Kara (1996–97), John Toshack took over (1997–99) and delivered Beşiktaş's 1997–98 Turkish Cup, defeating Galatasaray on penalties after two 1–1 legs, and then the 1998 Presidential Cup (2–1 a.e.t.). Toshack's tenure ended when Real Madrid paid compensation to appoint him in February 1999, underscoring the profile he had rebuilt in Istanbul.
On the European stage, Beşiktaş frequently qualified through the decade and returned to the UEFA Champions League group phase in 1997–98, finishing their campaign at that stage; UEFA records list the season under the club's group-stage appearances.
Brief spells followed under Karl-Heinz Feldkamp and Hans-Peter Briegel, leading into the Nevio Scala appointment for 2000–01 and the club's first multi-group Champions League era—setting the stage for Beşiktaş's modern period in the 2000s.
2000–2015: Post-centenary transition and European runs After appointing Mircea Lucescu, Beşiktaş won the Süper Lig in their centenary season (2002–03) with 85 points (26–7–1), eight clear of Galatasaray. The team conceded 21 league goals and finished the campaign unbeaten at İnönü (home: 14–3–0). Beşiktaş clinched the title on 31 May 2003 with a 4–3 away win at Samsunspor.
Derbies were decisive: Beşiktaş defeated Galatasaray 1–0 away on 8 December 2002 and 1–0 at İnönü on 25 May 2003; they also beat Fenerbahçe 1–0 in Kadıköy on 2 February 2003 and 2–0 at İnönü on 20 April 2003. In Europe, Beşiktaş eliminated Sarajevo (2–2, 5–0), Alavés (1–1, 1–0), Dynamo Kyiv (3–1 agg.) and Slavia Praha (4–3 agg.) to reach the UEFA Cup quarter-finals, where they lost to Lazio (0–1, 1–2). Goalkeeper Óscar Córdoba recorded 18 clean sheets in 31 league matches that season.