Süper Lig


The Süper Lig is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the Turkish Football Federation. Eighteen clubs compete annually, where a champion is decided and three clubs are promoted and relegated from, and to, the 1. Lig. The season runs from August to May, with each club playing 34 matches. Matches are played Friday through Monday.
The competition was initially established as the Millî Lig in 1959 - the first professional nationwide league competition held in Turkey. The league succeeded the Turkish Football Championship and the National Division, both being former top-level national competitions. The Süper Lig is currently 11th in the UEFA coefficient ranking of leagues based on club performances in European competitions over the last five years. A total of 68 clubs have competed in the Süper Lig, but only six have won the title to date: Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş, Trabzonspor, Bursaspor and İstanbul Başakşehir.

History

stems back to the late 19th century, when Englishmen brought the game with them while living in Salonica. 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 in 1959. Between the creation of the Istanbul League and Millî Lig, several other regional leagues took place: Adana, Ankara, Eskişehir, İzmir, Bursa, and Trabzon, 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 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 1958-59, since the qualifying stages took place in 1958. The 16 clubs who competed in the first season were: Adalet, Altay, Ankaragücü, Ankara Demirspor, Beşiktaş, Beykoz, Karagümrük, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, Gençlerbirliği, Göztepe, Hacettepe Gençlik, İstanbulspor, İzmirspor, Karşıyaka, and Vefa. The first champions were Fenerbahçe and the first "Gol Kralı" was Metin Oktay. No clubs were promoted or relegated at the end of the first season.
The 2. Lig was created at the start of the 1963–64 season and the Millî Lig became known as the 1.Lig. 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.

Competition format

There are 18 clubs in the Süper Lig. During the course of the season each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 34 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 sixth placed 1. Lig clubs are promoted in their place.

Qualification for European competitions

Qualification for European competitions is as follows: champions qualify for the group stage of the Champions League, runners-up qualify for the second qualifying round of the Champions League, third place qualifies for the third qualifying round of the Europa League, and fourth place qualifies for the second qualifying round of the same competition. A fifth spot is given to the winner of the Turkish Cup, who qualify for the play-off round of the Europa League. If the Turkish Cup winner has already qualified for European competition through their league finish, the next highest placed club in the league takes their place.

UEFA ranking

Teams

a Founding member of the Süper Lig

b Never been relegated from the Süper Lig

Champions

In total, 15 clubs have won the Turkish championship title, including titles won before the Süper Lig's inception, namely in the former Turkish Football Championship and Turkish National Division, which are denied and not counted by the Turkish Football Federation, even though they were official championships by the TFF itself.
Only six clubs have been champions since the beginning of the Süper Lig era in 1959: Galatasaray 22 times, Fenerbahçe 19 times, Beşiktaş 15 times, Trabzonspor 6 times, Bursaspor and İstanbul Başakşehir once.
Fenerbahçe defended the title three times, Trabzonspor three times, Beşiktaş five times, and Galatasaray ten times.
ClubChampionsRunners-upWinning yearsRunners-up years
Galatasaray
22121962, 1963, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1987, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 201919571, 19581, 1959, 1961, 1966, 1975, 1979, 1986, 1991, 2001, 2003, 2014
Fenerbahçe
19221959, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1996, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2011, 20141960, 1962, 1967, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1984, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018
Beşiktaş
151419571, 19581, 1960, 1966, 1967, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 2003, 2009, 2016, 20171963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1974, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2007
Trabzonspor
691976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 19841978, 1982, 1983, 1995, 1996, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2020
İstanbul Başakşehir1220202017, 2019
Bursaspor1—2010
Eskişehirspor—31969, 1970, 1972
Adanaspor—11981
Sivasspor—12009

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. For the 2018–19 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 2019, 72 clubs have participated.
Note: The tallies below include up to the 2019-20 season. Teams denoted in bold are current participants.

Player records

Top scorers

RankPlayerGoalsAppsRate
1Hakan Şükür2494890.51
2Tanju Çolak2402820.85
3Hami Mandıralı2194760.46
4Metin Oktay2172580.84
5Aykut Kocaman2003600.58
6Feyyaz Uçar1913760.51
7Burak Yılmaz1883270.57
8Serkan Aykut1883360.56
9Umut Bulut1614840.33
10Fevzi Zemzem1463050.48

As of 27 July 2020

Most appearances

RankPlayerAppsYears
1Oğuz Çetin5031981–2000
2Rıza Çalımbay4941980–1996
3Hakan Şükür4891987–2000, 2003–2008
4Umut Bulut4841999–2011, 2012–
5Hami Mandıralı4761984–1998, 1999–2003
6Kemal Yıldırım4751976–1995
7Mehmet Nas4471997–2014
8Recep Çetin4371984–2001
9Müjdat Yetkiner4291979–1995
10Bülent Korkmaz4281988–2005

As of 27 July 2020
‡ Galatasaray was one of the final eight teams of the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League group stage, however, UEFA does not consider this a quarter-final participation.

Media coverage

through 2023