Süper Lig facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Süper Lig

Organising body	Turkish Football Federation (TFF)
Founded	21 February 1959; 66 years ago (1959-02-21)
Country	Turkey
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Number of teams	18 (since 2025–26)
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	1. Lig
Domestic cup(s)	Turkish Cup Turkish Super Cup
International cup(s)	UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Conference League
Current champions	Galatasaray (25th title) (2024–25)
Most championships	Galatasaray (25 titles)
Most appearances	Umut Bulut (515)
Top goalscorer	Hakan Şükür (249)
TV partners	List of broadcasters

The Süper Lig (which means Super League) is the top professional association football league in Turkey. It is also known as Trendyol Süper Lig because of its main sponsor.

In the 2024–2025 season, twenty clubs compete in the league. A champion is decided at the end of the season. Teams can also move up to the Süper Lig or down to the 1. Lig. The season usually runs from August to May. Each club plays 38 matches. Games are played from Friday to Monday.

The Turkish Football Federation runs the Süper Lig. It took over from older national competitions. The Süper Lig is currently ranked 9th among European leagues by UEFA. This ranking shows how well Turkish clubs have performed in European competitions. So far, 75 clubs have played in the Süper Lig. Only 6 clubs have won the championship: Galatasaray (25 times), Fenerbahçe (19 times), Beşiktaş (16 times), Trabzonspor (7 times), Başakşehir (1 time), and Bursaspor (1 time).

History of Turkish Football

Football in Turkey started in the late 1800s. English people living in Salonica (part of the Ottoman Empire back then) brought the game with them. The first league competition was the Istanbul Football League. It began in the 1904–05 season.

Over the years, many different regional leagues were created. These included leagues in Adana, Ankara, İzmir, and Trabzon. The first competition to crown a national champion was the Turkish Football Championship. It ran from 1924 to 1951. This championship was a knockout tournament. Winners from regional leagues played against each other.

The Turkish National Division was Turkey's first national league. It started in 1937 and ended in 1950. It included the strongest clubs from the Ankara, Istanbul, and İzmir leagues.

A match between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium. This is known as the Intercontinental Derby.

In 1952, the TFF made football professional in Turkey. Because of this, the old Turkish Football Championship was no longer the top league. For a few years, there was no top national champion. So, the TFF sent Galatasaray to the European Cup in 1956–57. Galatasaray had won the Istanbul League that year.

Some clubs from Ankara and İzmir protested this decision. Also, UEFA decided that only national champions could enter the European Cup. This led the TFF to create the Turkish Federation Cup in 1956. This was the first professional national football league in Turkey. It was a knockout tournament to decide a national champion. The winner would go to the European Cup. Beşiktaş won both editions of this cup.

The top clubs from Ankara, Istanbul, and İzmir competed in the 1959 Turkish National League. This was the first season of what is now the Süper Lig. Sixteen clubs played in this first season. Fenerbahçe were the first champions. The first "Gol Kralı" (top scorer) was Metin Oktay. No teams were moved up or down at the end of this first season.

The 2. Lig (Second League) was created in the 1963–64 season. The Millî Lig then became known as the 1.Lig (First League). In 2001, a new second division was formed, also called the 1. Lig. Because of this, the old 1. Lig was renamed the Süper Lig.

The Süper Lig is home to the Fenerbahçe–Galatasaray derby. This is the most watched football game in Turkey. Many people consider it one of the best and most exciting football rivalries in the world.

In December 2023, all league games were stopped for a short time. This happened after an incident during a match where a referee was attacked. The games started again a few days later.

How the League Works

The Süper Lig championship trophy.

The Süper Lig has 20 clubs. The season runs from August to May. Each club plays every other club twice. One game is at their home stadium, and the other is at their opponent's stadium. This means each team plays a total of 38 games.

Teams get three points for a win and one point for a draw. They get no points for a loss. Teams are ranked by their total points. If teams have the same points, their head-to-head record is used. Then, goal difference and goals scored are used to decide the rank. The club with the most points at the end of the season wins the championship.

The three teams with the lowest points are moved down to the 1. Lig. The top two teams from the 1. Lig are moved up to the Süper Lig. Also, the winner of play-off games from the 1. Lig (teams ranked 3rd to 7th) gets promoted.

The number of clubs in the league has changed over the years:

• 1959: 16 clubs
• 1959–1962: 20 clubs
• 1962–1963: 22 clubs
• 1963–1964: 18 clubs
• 1964–1966: 16 clubs
• 1966–1968: 17 clubs
• 1968–1981: 16 clubs
• 1981–1982: 17 clubs
• 1982–1985: 18 clubs
• 1985–1987: 19 clubs
• 1987–1988: 20 clubs
• 1988–1989: 19 clubs
• 1989–1990: 18 clubs
• 1990–1994: 16 clubs
• 1994–2020: 18 clubs
• 2020–2021: 21 clubs
• 2021–2022: 20 clubs
• 2022–2023: 19 clubs
• 2023–2024: 20 clubs
• 2024–2025: 19 clubs
• 2025–present: 18 clubs

How Teams Qualify for European Cups

The team that wins the Süper Lig and the team that finishes second both get to play in the UEFA Champions League. This is Europe's biggest club competition.

The team that finishes third and the winner of the Turkish Cup qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League. If the Turkish Cup winner has already qualified for a European competition by finishing high in the league, then the team that finishes fourth in the league takes their spot.

Media Coverage

Watching Games in Turkey

beIN is a Qatari media group. They have been broadcasting the Süper Lig games in Turkey for many years. In 2016, they won a 5-year deal to show the games. This was a very big deal at the time.

In 2024, beIN renewed its contract to broadcast the Süper Lig. They will continue to show the games for three more years, until 2027. This deal makes the Süper Lig one of the most valuable football leagues in Europe for TV rights.

International Broadcasts

Süper Lig matches are also shown in other countries around the world.

UEFA League Ranking

The Süper Lig is currently ranked 9th in the UEFA Country Rankings. This ranking shows how well clubs from each country perform in European competitions.

The league became much stronger in the early 1990s. In 2001, the Süper Lig reached its best ranking ever, climbing to 7th place. Its lowest ranking was 28th place in 1982.

Ranking			Member association	Coefficient
2023	2024	Mvmt		2019–20	2020–21	2021–22	2022–23	2023–24	Total
8	8	–	Belgian Pro League	7.600	6.000	6.600	14.200	14.200	48.600
12	9	+3	Turkish Süper Lig	5.000	3.100	6.700	11.800	12.000	38.600
15	10	+5	Czech First League	2.500	6.600	6.700	6.750	13.500	36.050

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	2024
11	13	20	12	9

Süper Lig Clubs

Stadiums and Locations

Süper Lig Champions

Only six clubs have won the Süper Lig title since it began. Galatasaray has won 25 times. Fenerbahçe has won 19 times. Beşiktaş has won 16 times. Trabzonspor has won 7 times. Bursaspor and Başakşehir have each won once.

Teams in bold are currently playing in the Süper Lig for the 2024–25 season.

Club	Champ­ions	Runners-up	Winning seasons	Runners-up seasons
Galatasaray	25	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, 2024–25	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	26	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, 2023–24, 2024–25
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 asked for championships won in the 1956–57 and 1957–58 Federation Cups to be counted as national championships. The Federation Cup was created to find a national champion to represent Turkey in the European Cup. This was because UEFA decided only national champions could join. The Turkish Football Federation agreed on March 25, 2002, that these wins would count as national league championships.

Golden Stars System

Football leagues often use "Golden Stars" to show how many championships a team has won. In Turkey, clubs can add a golden star above their team badge for every five national championships they win.

As of the 2024–25 season:

• Galatasaray has five golden stars.
• Fenerbahçe has three golden stars.
• Beşiktaş has three golden stars.
• Trabzonspor has one golden star.

League Participation Over the Years

As of 2025, 77 clubs have played in the Süper Lig. The numbers below include the 2024–25 season. Teams in bold are currently playing in the league.

Player Records

• Players whose names are in bold are still playing in the league.
• All players are Turkish unless noted otherwise.

League Sponsors

Official Match Balls

• 2008–2010: Nike T90 Omni
• 2010–2011: Nike T90 Tracer
• 2011–2012: Nike Seitiro
• 2012–2013: Nike Maxim
• 2013–2014: Nike Incyte
• 2014–2015: Nike Ordem 2
• 2015–2016: Nike Ordem 3
• 2016–2017: Nike Ordem 4
• 2017–2018: Nike Ordem 5
• 2018–2020: Nike Merlin
• 2020–2021: Adidas Uniforia
• 2021–2022: Adidas Conext 21 Pro
• 2022–present: Puma Orbita

See also

In Spanish: Superliga de Turquía para niños

• Turkish Football Championship
• Turkish National Division
• List of foreign Süper Lig players
• List of Süper Lig top scorers
• List of Turkish football champions
• Süper Lig all-time table