Süper Lig

Süper Lig
Organising body	Turkish Football Federation (TFF)
Founded	21 February 1959; 65 years ago
Country	Turkey
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Number of teams	20 (since 2023–24)
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	TFF First League
Domestic cup(s)	Turkish Cup; Turkish Super Cup;
International cup(s)	UEFA Champions League; UEFA Europa League; UEFA Conference League
Current champions	Galatasaray (23rd title) ; (2022–23)
Most championships	Galatasaray (23 titles)
Most appearances	Umut Bulut (515)
Top goalscorer	Hakan Şükür (249)
TV partners	List of broadcasters
Website	tff.org
	Current: 2023–24 Süper Lig

It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the Turkish Football Federation. In the 2023 to 2024 season, twenty clubs compete, where a champion is decided and three clubs are promoted from, and another three relegated to the 1. Lig. The season runs from August to May, with each club playing 38 matches. Matches are played Friday through Monday.

The league succeeded the Turkish Football Championship and the National Division, both being former top-level national competitions. The Süper Lig is currently 9th in the UEFA coefficient ranking of leagues based on club performances in European competitions over the last five years. A total of 75 clubs have competed in the Süper Lig, but only six have won the title to date: Galatasaray (23), Fenerbahçe (19), Beşiktaş (16), Trabzonspor (7), Başakşehir (1) and Bursaspor (1).

History

Football in Turkey stems back to the late 19th century, when Englishmen brought the game with them while living in Salonica (then part of the Ottoman Empire). The first league competition was the Istanbul Football League, which took place in the 1904–05 season. The league went through several variations until the creation of the Millî Lig (Süper Lig) in 1959. Between the creation of the Istanbul League and Millî Lig, several other regional leagues took place: Adana (1924), Ankara (1922), Eskişehir (1924), İzmir (1924), Bursa (1924), and Trabzon (1922), to name a few. The first competition to bring forth a national champion was the former Turkish Football Championship, which began in 1924 and continued until 1951. The championship format was based on a knockout competition, contested between the winners of each of the country's top regional leagues. The National Division (Turkish: Millî Küme) was the first national league competition in Turkey. Started in 1937, the National Division consisted of the strongest clubs from the Ankara, Istanbul, and İzmir leagues. The championship lasted until 1950.

The Federation Cup was established in 1956 to decide a national champion. This champion would go on to participate in the European Cup. The competition was held for two seasons until it was replaced by the Millî Lig. Beşiktaş won both editions and qualified for the European Cup during the two-year span. However, since the TFF failed to register their name for the draw in time, Beşiktaş could not participate in the 1957–58 season after all.

The top clubs of Ankara, Istanbul, and İzmir competed in the 1959 Turkish National League. The first season took place in the calendar year of 1959, instead of 1958 to 1959, since the qualifying stages took place in 1958. The 16 clubs who competed in the first season were: Adalet (Istanbul), Altay (İzmir), Ankaragücü (Ankara), Ankara Demirspor (Ankara), Beşiktaş (Istanbul), Beykoz (Istanbul), Karagümrük (Istanbul), Fenerbahçe (Istanbul), Galatasaray (Istanbul), Gençlerbirliği (Ankara), Göztepe (İzmir), Hacettepe Gençlik (Ankara), İstanbulspor, İzmirspor, Karşıyaka (İzmir), and Vefa (Istanbul). The first champions were Fenerbahçe and the first "Gol Kralı" (top scorer) was Metin Oktay. No clubs were promoted or relegated at the end of the first season.

The 2. Lig (Second League) was created at the start of the 1963–64 season and the Millî Lig became known as the 1.Lig (First League). Before the foundation of a second division, the bottom three clubs competed with regional league winners in a competition called the Baraj Games. The top three teams of the group were promoted to the Süper Lig. After the foundation of a new second division in 2001, known as the 1. Lig, the formerly titled 1. Lig was rebranded as Süper Lig. The Süper Lig is home of the Fenerbahçe–Galatasaray derby, the most watched football game in Turkey. It is considered to be one of the best and most intense in the world, being ranked among the greatest football rivalries of all time by various international sources.

On 12 December 2023, the Turkish Football Federation suspended all league games indefinitely following an incident during a match between MKE Ankaragucu and Caykur Rizespor which involved fans being able to successfully invade the pitch and people, including recent MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca, being arrested after attacking referee Halil Umut Meler. Koca would resign from MKE Ankaragucu as well. However, on 13 December, the same day Meler was discharged from the hospital it was soon agreed that Super Lig matches would resume on 19 December.

Format

There were 18 clubs in the Süper Lig until 2020. 20 Clubs are competing in the Süper Lig starting from 2020. During the course of the season (from August to May) each club plays the others twice (a double round robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 38 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then head-to-head record, then goal difference, and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion. If points are equal, the head-to-head record and then goal difference determine the winner. The three lowest placed teams are relegated to the 1. Lig and the top two teams from the 1. Lig, together with the winner of play-offs involving the third to seventh placed 1. Lig clubs are promoted in their place.

16 clubs: 1959
20 clubs: 1959–1962
22 clubs: 1962–1963
18 clubs: 1963–1964
16 clubs: 1964–1966
17 clubs: 1966–1968
16 clubs: 1968–1981
17 clubs: 1981–1982
18 clubs: 1982–1985
19 clubs: 1985–1987
20 clubs: 1987–1988
19 clubs: 1988–1989
18 clubs: 1989–1990
16 clubs: 1990–1994
18 clubs: 1994–2020^{[citation needed]}
21 clubs: 2020–2021^{[citation needed]}
20 clubs: 2021–2022
19 clubs: 2022–2023
20 clubs: 2023–present^{[citation needed]}

Qualification for European competitions

The champions qualify for the second qualifying round of the Champions League. The runners-up, third place and the Turkish Cup winners qualify for the second qualifying round of the Europa Conference League. If the Turkish Cup winner has already qualified for European competition through their league finish, then the team that finishes fourth in the league takes their place.

Media coverage

Domestic

On March 2, 2024, Turkish Football Federation stated that Qatari media group BeIN has renewed its rights to broadcast Turkey's top flight matches for three more years, until 2027. BeIN will pay $182 million-a-year to broadcast Turkey's Süper Lig and TFF First League. As such, Süper Lig will become the 6th most valuable football league after the Big Five leagues in Europe.

International

UEFA ranking

As of March 1, 2024^[update]

Süper Lig ranks 9th in UEFA Country Rankings 2024. The league made a big breakthrough in the early 90s and became one of the most valuable leagues in Europe. Süper Lig achieved the best ranking in its history in 2001 by rising to 7th place. In 1982, the league dropped to 28th place, achieving the worst ranking in its history.

Ranking			Member association	Coefficient
2022	2023	Mvmt	Member association	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21	2021–22	2022–23	Total
11	11	–	Serbian SuperLiga	6.000	6.000	5.500	9.500	5.375	32.375
20	12	+8	Turkish Süper Lig	5.500	5.000	3.100	6.700	11.800	32.100
14	13	+1	Swiss Super League	3.900	6.400	5.125	7.750	8.500	31.675

Süper Lig UEFA ranking by years
1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
18	19	20	19	15	18	19	21	21	22
1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
18	19	17	18	19	23	23	23	22	23
1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
25	25	28	27	26	27	26	24	26	24
1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
24	23	18	13	12	10	11	8	14	14
2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
11	7	8	10	10	11	15	14	11	11
2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
11	10	11	10	11	12	11	10	10	10
2020	2021	2022	2023
11	13	20	12

Clubs

Stadiums and locations

Istanbul

Location of teams in 2023–24 Süper Lig

Istanbul Province clubs

Team	Home city/borough	Home province	Stadium	Capacity
Adana Demirspor	Adana	Adana	New Adana Stadium	33,543
Alanyaspor	Alanya	Antalya	Alanya Oba Stadium	10,130
Ankaragücü	Ankara	Ankara	Eryaman Stadium	20,560
Antalyaspor	Antalya	Antalya	Corendon Airlines Park	32,537
Başakşehir	Başakşehir	Istanbul	Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium	17,156
Beşiktaş	Beşiktaş		Tüpraş Stadium	42,590
Fatih Karagümrük	Fatih		Atatürk Olympic Stadium	76,761
Fenerbahçe	Kadıköy		Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium	47,834
Galatasaray	Sarıyer		Rams Park	52,280
Gaziantep	Gaziantep	Gaziantep	Kalyon Stadium	33,502
Hatayspor	Antakya	Hatay	Mersin Stadium	25,497
İstanbulspor	Büyükçekmece	Istanbul	Esenyurt Necmi Kadıoğlu Stadium	7,500
Kasımpaşa	Kasımpaşa	Istanbul	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium	14,234
Kayserispor	Kayseri	Kayseri	RHG Enertürk Enerji Stadium	32,864
Konyaspor	Konya	Konya	Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium	42,000
Pendikspor	Pendik	Istanbul	Pendik Stadium [tr]	2,500
Rizespor	Rize	Rize	Rize City Stadium	15,332
Samsunspor	Samsun	Samsun	Samsun 19 Mayıs Stadium	33,919
Sivasspor	Sivas	Sivas	New Sivas 4 Eylül Stadium	27,532
Trabzonspor	Trabzon	Trabzon	Şenol Güneş Sports Complex	40,782

Champions

Only six clubs have been champions since the introduction of the Super League: Galatasaray 23 times, Fenerbahçe 19 times, Beşiktaş 16 times (see note below), Trabzonspor 7 times, and Bursaspor and Başakşehir once each.

Teams in bold compete in the Süper Lig as of the 2023–24 season.

Club	Champions	Runners-up	Winning seasons	Runners-up seasons
Galatasaray	23	13	1961–62, 1962–63, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2001–02, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2022–23	1956–57¹, 1957–58¹, 1959, 1960–61, 1965–66, 1974–75, 1978–79, 1985–86, 1990–91, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2013–14, 2020–21
Fenerbahçe	19	24	1959, 1960–61, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1977–78, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1988–89, 1995–96, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2010–11, 2013–14	1959–60, 1961–62, 1966–67, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1983–84, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2021–22, 2022–23
Beşiktaş	16	14	1956–57¹, 1957–58¹, 1959–60, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1981–82, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1994–95, 2002–03, 2008–09, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2020–21	1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1967–68, 1973–74, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1992–93, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2006–07
Trabzonspor	7	9	1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1983–84, 2021–22	1977–78, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2010–11, 2019–20
Başakşehir	1	2	2019–20	2016–17, 2018–19
Bursaspor	1	—	2009–10

¹ Beşiktaş formally requested that championships won in the 1956–57 and 1957–58 editions of the Turkish Federation Cup be counted as Turkish Professional First Division championships to the Turkish Football Federation. The Cup was established in 1956 to find a national champion to represent Turkey, after UEFA decided that only national champions could participate in the European Cup. Beşiktaş had therefore earned the right to represent Turkey in the European Cup in the 1957–58 and 1958–59 seasons. The ruling on this matter was announced in a press release on March 25, 2002, which indicated that the championships won by Beşiktaş in the Federation Cup would be counted as national league championships.

Star rating system

The honor of Golden Stars was introduced in football to recognize sides that have won multiple championships or other honours by the display of gold stars on their team badges and jerseys. In Turkey, clubs are permitted to place a golden star above their crest for every five national championships won. As of the 2023–24 season season Galatasaray are permitted four golden stars, Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş are permitted three golden stars, and Trabzonspor are permitted one golden star to be placed above their crest on their jerseys.

League participation

As of 2024, 75 clubs have participated. Note: The tallies below include up to the 2023–24 season. Teams denoted in bold are current participants.

66 seasons: Galatasaray, Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe
54 seasons: MKE Ankaragücü
50 seasons: Bursaspor, Trabzonspor
48 seasons: Gençlerbirliği
42 seasons: Altay
31 seasons: Gaziantepspor, Samsunspor
30 seasons: Eskişehirspor, Göztepe
28 seasons: Antalyaspor
25 seasons: İstanbulspor
23 seasons: Konyaspor
22 seasons: Adanaspor, Çaykur Rizespor
21 seasons: Denizlispor
20 seasons: Boluspor, Kocaelispor, Adana Demirspor, Kasımpaşa
19 seasons: Kayserispor
18 seasons: Sivasspor
16 seasons: Karşıyaka, İstanbul Başakşehir
15 seasons:Mersin İdmanyurdu
14 seasons: Vefa, Zonguldakspor
13 seasons: Ankara Demirspor, Kayseri Erciyesspor, Sarıyer
12 seasons: PTT
11 seasons: Diyarbakırspor, Malatyaspor, Orduspor, Sakaryaspor
10 seasons: Altınordu, İzmirspor, Kardemir Karabükspor, Şekerspor, Fatih Karagümrük
09 seasons: Ankaraspor, Feriköy
08 seasons: Beykozspor, Giresunspor, Hacettepe Gençlik, Alanyaspor
07 seasons: Akhisarspor
06 seasons: Manisaspor
05 seasons: Vanspor, Yeni Malatyaspor, Zeytinburnuspor , Gaziantep FK
04 seasons: Elazığspor, Hatayspor
03 seasons: Aydınspor, Bakırköyspor, Çanakkale Dardanelspor, Erzurumspor,
02 seasons: Yozgatspor, Adalet, Akçaabat Sebatspor, Balıkesirspor, Beyoğluspor, Büyükşehir Belediye Erzurumspor, Hacettepe, Yeşildirek
01 season: Bucaspor, Kahramanmaraşspor, MKE Kırıkkalespor, Petrolofisi, Siirtspor, Ümraniyespor, Pendikspor

Player records

Most goals

Rank	Player	Goals	Apps	Rate
1	Hakan Şükür	249	489	0.51
2	Tanju Çolak	240	282	0.85
3	Hami Mandıralı	219	476	0.46
4	Metin Oktay	217	258	0.84
5	Aykut Kocaman	200	360	0.58
6	Feyyaz Uçar	191	376	0.51
7	Burak Yılmaz	188	327	0.57
8	Serkan Aykut	188	336	0.56
9	Umut Bulut	163	515	0.31
10	Fevzi Zemzem	146	305	0.48

As of 15 May 2021

Most appearances

Rank	Player	Apps	Years
1	Umut Bulut	515	1999–2011, 2012–2021
2	Oğuz Çetin	503	1981–2000
3	Rıza Çalımbay	494	1980–1996
4	Hakan Şükür	489	1987–2000, 2003–2008
5	Hami Mandıralı	476	1984–1998, 1999–2003
6	Kemal Yıldırım	475	1976–1995
7	Mehmet Nas	447	1997–2014
8	Recep Çetin	437	1984–2001
9	Müjdat Yetkiner	429	1979–1995
10	Bülent Korkmaz	428	1988–2005