Süper Lig

	Süper Lig
Country	Turkey
Confederation	UEFA
Founded	1956
Number of teams	20
Relegation to	TFF First League
Level on pyramid	1
Domestic cup(s)	Türkiye Kupası; Süper Kupa
UEFA cup(s)	UEFA Champions League; UEFA Europa League; UEFA Europa Conference League
Current champions	Galatasaray (24th title) (2023–24)
TV	beIN Sports 1; TRT (Highlights only); MP & Silva (Global highlights)
Website	Official website
	2024-25

This article is about the league in Turkey. For the league in Northern Cyprus, see Süper Lig (Northern Cyprus).

The Süper Lig (ˈsypæɾ liɟ, Super League), officially known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system. Twenty clubs compete annually, where a champion is decided and three clubs are promoted and relegated to and from the 1. Lig. The season runs from August to May, with each club playing 34 matches. Matches are played Friday through Monday.

The competition formed as the Milli Lig in 1958. It was the first national league competition held in Turkey. Previously, league competitions took place in a few cities, including Adana, Ankara, Eskişehir, Istanbul, Izmir, Kayseri, and Trabzon. As of the 2022–23 season, Turkish Süper Lig is ranked 12th in the UEFA coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the last five years. A total of 75 clubs have competed in the Süper Lig, but just 5 have won the title: Galatasaray (23), Fenerbahçe (19), Beşiktaş (16), Trabzonspor (7), İstanbul 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 Thessaloníki. The first league competition was the Istanbul Football League, which took place in 1904–05. The first champions were Imogene FC. The league went through several variations until the creation of the Milli Lig in 1959. Between the creation of the Istanbul Football League and Milli Lig, several other city leagues took place: Adana (1923), Ankara (1923), Eskişehir (1920), Izmir (1923), Kayseri (1936), and Trabzon (1923). The Milli Küme was the first step towards a national league competition.

Started in 1937, the Milli Küme was an inter-city competition between clubs in Ankara, Istanbul, and İzmir. The competition lasted until 1950. The Federation Cup was created in 1956 and used as a cup competition to decide a champion. This champion would go on to participate in the European Cup. The cup competition was held for two years until it was replaced by the Milli Lig. Beşiktaş won both times, and represented twice Turkey in the European Cup during the two-year span.

The top clubs from Ankara, Istanbul, and İzmir competed in the 1959 Milli Lig. The first season took place in the calendar year of 1959, instead of 1958-59, because the qualifying stages took place in 1958. The 16 clubs who competed in the first season were: Adalet (İstanbul), Altay (İzmir), Ankaragücü, Ankara Demirspor, Beşiktaş (İstanbul), Beykoz (İstanbul), Fatih Karagümrük (İstanbul), Fenerbahçe (İstanbul), Galatasaray (İstanbul), Gençlerbirliği (Ankara), Göztepe (İzmir), Hacettepe (Ankara), İstanbulspor, İzmirspor, Karşıyaka (İzmir Province) and Vefa (Istanbul). Just 4 of those clubs are competing in the most recent 2012–13 Süper Lig: Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Gençlerbirliği. The first champions were Fenerbahçe and the first Gol Kralı (Goal King) 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 Milli Lig or Turkish National League became known as the 1.Lig (First League). Before the creation of a second league, the bottom three clubs competed with regional league winners in a competition called the Baraj Games. The top three teams of the seven team group were promoted to the Milli Lig. After the creation of a new second division in 2001, known as the 1.Lig, the formerly titled 1.Lig became the Süper Lig.

Competition format[]

There are 20 clubs in the Süper Lig. 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 four 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.

History of number of the clubs in Süper Lig:

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
21 clubs: 2020–2021
20 clubs: 2021–2022
19 clubs: 2022–2023
20 clubs: 2023–present

Qualification for European competitions[]

The number of teams, and which league and particular stage will each teams participate in, are determined by the UEFA association ranking. Usually, the champions will qualify to the UEFA Champions League (may directly or through qualification stages), the cup winners may qualify to the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference League, and the remaining top teams may qualify to the UEFA Europa Conference League (or UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League if the Turkish league's ranking is high enough).

Two seasons ago (2021–22), Süper Lig was ranked 20th according to the UEFA association ranking. Here are the allocation slots for European competitions this season:

The champions from last season (2022–23) 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.

Last season (2022–23), Süper Lig was ranked 12th according to the UEFA association ranking. Here are the allocation slots for European competitions this season:

The champions from this season (2023–24) will qualify for the play-off round of the Champions League, while the runners-up will qualify for the second qualifying round of the Champions League. The Turkish Cup winners and third-placed team in the league qualify for the Europa League, on play-off stage and second qualifying round respectively. The next highest placed club in the league will qualify for the second qualifying round of the Conference League. If the Turkish Cup winner has already qualified for the Champions League through their league finish, then the team that finishes third in the league will their place, and in turn the fourth-placed team will take the next vacated spot, and so on.

2023–24 Teams[]

Main article:2023–24 Süper Lig

Club	Province	Position in 2022–23	First season in top division	Seasons in top division	First season of current spell	Top division titles	Last title
Adana Demirspor	Adana	4th	1960-61	20	2021-22	—
Alanyaspor^b	Antalya	15th	2016–17	8	2016–17	—
Ankaragücü^a	Ankara	11th	1959	54	2022–23	—
Antalyaspor	Antalya	13th	1982–83	28	2015–16	—
Beşiktaş^a^b	Istanbul	3rd	1959	66	1959	16	2020–21
Çaykur Rizespor	Rize	2nd (First League)	1979-80	22	2023-24	—
Fatih Karagümrük^a	Istanbul	7th	1959	10	2020–21	—
Fenerbahçe^a^b	Istanbul	2nd	1959	66	1959	19	2013–14
Galatasaray^a^b	Istanbul	1st	1959	66	1959	23	2022–23
Gaziantep^b	Gaziantep	18th (not dropped)	2019–20	5	2019–20	—
Hatayspor^b	Hatay	19th (not dropped)	2020–21	4	2020–21	—
İstanbul Başakşehir	Istanbul	5th	2007–08	16	2019–20	1	2019-20
İstanbulspor	Istanbul	12th	1959	25	2022–23	—
Kasımpaşa	Istanbul	10th	1959–60	20	2012–13	—
Kayserispor	Kayseri	9th	2004–05	19	2015–16	—
Konyaspor	Konya	8th	1988–89	23	2013–14	—
Pendikspor^b	Istanbul	3rd (First League)	2023–24	1	2023–24	—
Samsunspor	Samsun	1st (First League)	1969–70	31	2023–24	—
Sivasspor	Sivas	14th	2005–06	18	2017–18	—
Trabzonspor^b	Trabzon	6th	1974–75	50	1974–75	7	2021–22

^a Founding member of the Süper Lig
^b Never been relegated from the Süper Lig

Champions[]

Only 5 clubs have been champions since the beginning of the Super League in 1959: Galatasaray 23 times, Fenerbahçe 19 times, Beşiktaş 16 (see note below), Trabzonspor 7, and Bursaspor and İstanbul Başakşehir once each.

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

Team/stars	Winners	Runners-up	Years won
Galatasaray	24	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, 2023–24
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
Beşiktaş	16	14	1956–57, 1957–58, 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
Trabzonspor	7	9	1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1983–84, 2021–22
İstanbul Başakşehir	1	2	2019–20
Bursaspor	1	—	2009–10

Notes[]

Beşiktaş formally requested that championships won in the 1956/57 and 1957/58 versions of the Turkish Federation Cup be counted as Turkish Professional First Division championships to the Turkish Football Federation. 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 Turkish Federation Cup will be considered as national championships but the Turkish Federation Cup can not be considered as the precursor to the Turkish Professional First Division (later named Süper Lig) and as such these titles can not be categorized as a Turkish Professional First Division (or Süper Lig) titles. Based on this ruling, the Turkish Federation Cup wins by Beşiktaş count towards the star rating system, giving Beşiktaş two more championships for the purposes of the star rating system than the number of Süper Lig titles won by the club.

Star rating system[]

Clubs are permitted to place a golden star above their crest on their uniforms for every five national championships won. For the 2023/24 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.

All-time top scorers[]

For more details on this topic, see Süper Lig Top Scorers.

Rank	Player	Goals	Apps	Rate
1	Hakan Şükür	249	489	0.51
2	Tanju Çolak	240	282	0.85
3	Hami Mandirali	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 May 2021 (Bold denotes players still playing in the league).

All-time most appearances[]

For more details on this topic, see Football records in Turkey.

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