History of Turkish football facts for kids
Football, also known as soccer, first came to the Ottoman Empire thanks to Englishmen living there. The very first matches were played in 1875 in Selanik, which is now called Thessaloniki.
The first football club in Turkey was F.C. Smyrna. The same English players then brought football from İzmir to Istanbul in 1895. The first official matches between clubs from İzmir and Istanbul happened in 1897, 1898, 1899, and 1904. The team from İzmir won every single one of these early games!
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How Football Started in Turkey (1875–1923)
In the late 1800s, football was played by English soldiers and sailors in the Ottoman Empire. It quickly became popular among other groups like Greeks, Armenians, and Levantines. The first teams in the Ottoman Empire were made up of Greek, Armenian, and English players.
One of the earliest recorded matches was in 1889 between two Levantine teams: Bournabat Football Club played against Constantinople FC. This information comes from historian Mehmet Yüce.
At that time, Turkish people were not allowed to play sports. It was thought to be against their culture and the rules of Islam. The first club made up of Turkish footballers was Black Stockings FC, formed in 1899. However, the police of the Ottoman Empire raided their game and arrested many players.
On January 14, 1889, a team from Smyrna, mostly English and French players, traveled to Constantinople to play against Constantinople FC, another English team. Constantinople FC won 3-0 in Moda, in front of about 1000 people.
Other clubs like Cadi Keuy FRC, Moda FC, Elpis F.C., and HMS Imogene F.C. were formed after Black Stockings. The first official league, called the "Constantinople Football League", started in 1904 in Istanbul. It included the four clubs mentioned above. Turkish players were still not allowed to compete in this league.
In the years that followed, things began to change. A group called the Committee of Union and Progress encouraged young Turkish people to play sports, just like their Greek, Armenian, and Levantine friends. Because of this, Turkish clubs like Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray were founded. These clubs are still very active today! (Even though Beşiktaş was founded in 1903, their football team started playing in 1911).
The Constantinople Football League was also known as the Sunday League because matches were played on Sundays. The first club to win this league was HMS Imogene FC.
Football at the Olympic Games
Two teams from the Ottoman Empire competed in football at the 1906 Intercalated Games. One team was from Smyrna, made up of English and French players. The other was from Thessaloniki, with Greek players. Both teams lost badly to Denmark and Athens, with scores of 5-1 and 5-0.
However, Athens then dropped out of the match for second place. This allowed Smyrna to play against Thessaloniki. Smyrna won 3-0 and earned the silver medal!
Leagues in İzmir and Istanbul
The first Turkish man to play football was a soldier in İzmir in 1898. From the 1908-09 season, an organized league started in Izmir, which was known as Smyrna back then. This league included Greek, Armenian, and Levantine teams like Apollon Smyrnis, Panionios, Bournabat Football Club, Maccabi de Foot-ball, and Wanderer.
This championship ended in 1922 due to the Burning of Smyrna and the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Apollon Smyrnis was the most successful club, winning 5 titles. A new league for Turkish teams was created in Smyrna from 1915 to 1917. It included Altay S.K., Karşıyaka S.K., Turan, and Tripoli. Altay S.K. won 3 championships.
Another league was created in Istanbul (then called Constantinople) in 1912. This league was known as The Friday League, and matches were played on Fridays. It included clubs like Darülfünun S.K., İstanbul J.K. (later Türk İdman Ocağı, which became Trabzonspor in 1967), Anadolu S.K., Sanayii F.K., Şehremini S.K., and Fenerbahçe S.K. (II).
The Sunday League remained the main league until the 1915–16 season, when both leagues joined together. In 1919, Beşiktaş created the İstanbul Türk İdman Birliği, but this league was not allowed to join the Friday League. Later, in 1922, the Türkiye İdman Cemiyetleri İttifakı was founded. This league included clubs from many different cities across Turkey.
Football After Turkey Became Independent (1923-1959)
The growth of football led to the creation of the Turkish Football Federation on April 23, 1923. It was first called Futbol Hey'et-i Müttehidesi. In the same year, the Turkey national football team played its first international match against the Romanian national team.
Football leagues also started to appear in other cities like Adana, Ankara, Eskişehir, İzmir, and Trabzon. In 1937, a competition called the Milli Küme was created. This competition brought together the best clubs from Ankara, Istanbul, and İzmir. It continued until 1950.
The first professional football leagues were set up in 1952 in the three biggest cities. The first national professional league for all of Turkey was created in 1959. It was called the Milli Lig. After second and third divisions were added, other leagues outside the national one became amateur competitions.
The Milli Lig (National League) first took place in 1959. It included clubs from Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir. A qualification round was held in 1958 to decide which sixteen clubs would play in the two-group league. Fenerbahçe became the champions of the very first Milli Lig. Metin Oktay from Galatasaray was the top scorer.
