Turkey - List of Champions

The first national championship in Turkey was the Türkiye Futbol Şampiyonası (Turkish Football Championship), which was held by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) and played in knock-out format from the first edition in 1924 to 1941. Qualified for the tournament were the champions of the various regional leagues. From 1942 to 1951, which was the last season of the competition as first tier championship, it was contested in a Final Group, which consisted of the champions of the three major regional leagues (İstanbul, Ankara, and İzmir leagues), who qualified directly, and the winners of a qualification play-off, which was contested by the winners of the regional qualifying groups outside the aforementioned top three leagues. The Final Group was played in a league format on neutral venues. The championship continued until 1990, although it was no longer the first tier championship from 1952 onward since Turkish football became professional in 1951.

The Millî Küme (National League), introduced by the TFF in 1937, was the first national league in Turkish football and included the top ranked clubs of the three major regional leagues: İstanbul, Ankara, and İzmir, which at the time were far stronger than the other Turkish regional leagues. The four top ranked clubs of İstanbul, and the top two of both the Ankara and İzmir leagues made up the league roster. An exception was made in 1941, when 1940 Turkish Football Championship winners Eskişehir Demirspor (the only club from outside the three major cities to participate in the league) and a third club from Ankara were added. The league competition ended in 1950.

In the period from 1940 to 1950, both top-level championships existed at the same time, which resulted in there being two national champions in those years (though not every year). Since the Millî Küme was played in a league format, with home and away matches on a regular basis and a higher number of matches overall compared to the Türkiye Futbol Şampiyonası, it was far more popular and competitive than the latter and overshadowed it. From 1944 to 1950, there was a special super cup contested between the champions of both national competitions, called Başbakanlık Kupası (Prime Minister's Cup). It was one of the earliest football super cup tournaments in the world and in Europe.

There was no top-level national championship in Turkey between 1952 and 1955. Galatasaray represented Turkey in the 1956/57 European Cup as champions of the İstanbul League. During that season, UEFA decided that only national champions could participate in the European Cup, which prompted the TFF to launch a national championship. Thus the Federasyon Kupası (Federation Cup) was established in 1956, in order to bring forth a national champion which would represent Turkey in the European Cup. Beşiktaş won both editions in 1956/57 and 1957/58. However, since the TFF failed to register their name for the draw in time, Beşiktaş could not participate in the 1957/58 season of the European Cup after all.

In 1959 the professional nationwide league, known as Süper Lig (Super League) today, was introduced by the TFF.

Champions İstanbul League 1904-1959
Champions Ankara League 1922-1959
Champions İzmir League 1924-1959

Final Tables and more detailed info on Turkish football before 1959.

Türkiye Futbol Şampiyonası (Turkish Football Championship) 1924-1951

         Champions               Runners-up
1924     Harbiye                 Bahriye                 [*]
1925-26    not held
1927     Muhafızgücü             Altınordu
1928-31    not held
1932     İstanbulspor            Altınordu
1933     Fenerbahçe              İzmirspor
1934     Beşiktaş                Altay
1935     Fenerbahçe              Altınordu
1936-39    not held due to the introduction of the Millî Küme
1940     Eskişehir Demirspor     Fenerbahçe
1941     Gençlerbirliği          Beşiktaş
1942     Harp Okulu              Göztepe
1943       not held
1944     Fenerbahçe              Harp Okulu
1945     Harp Okulu              İzmit Harp Filosu
1946     Gençlerbirliği          Beşiktaş
1947     Ankara Demirspor        Fenerbahçe
1948       not held 
1949     Ankaragücü              Galatasaray
1950     Göztepe                 Gençlerbirliği
1951     Beşiktaş                Altay

[*] Harbiye, who represented the Turkish Military Academy, were initially based in İstanbul,
    but moved to Ankara in 1936 and eventually changed their name to Harp Okulu (champions in
    1942 and 1945); they entered the first (1924) edition as a military club, having been
    included by the TFF alongside Bahriye (representing the Turkish Naval Academy), and not
    as champions of a civilian regional league.

Millî Küme (National League) 1937-1950

         Champions               Runners-up
1937     Fenerbahçe              Galatasaray
1938     Güneş                   Beşiktaş
1939     Galatasaray             Ankara Demirspor
1940     Fenerbahçe              Galatasaray
1941     Beşiktaş                Galatasaray
1942       not held
1943     Fenerbahçe              Galatasaray
1944     Beşiktaş                Fenerbahçe
1945     Fenerbahçe              Beşiktaş
1946     Fenerbahçe              Beşiktaş
1947     Beşiktaş                Fenerbahçe
1948       not held
1949       not held
1950     Fenerbahçe              Galatasaray

Federasyon Kupası (Federation Cup) 1956-1958

         Champions               
1956/57  Beşiktaş
1957/58  Beşiktaş

Süper Lig (professional nationwide league) since 1959

         Champions             
1959     Fenerbahçe
1959/60  Beşiktaş
1960/61  Fenerbahçe
1961/62  Galatasaray
1962/63  Galatasaray
1963/64  Fenerbahçe
1964/65  Fenerbahçe
1965/66  Beşiktaş
1966/67  Beşiktaş
1967/68  Fenerbahçe
1968/69  Galatasaray
1969/70  Fenerbahçe
1970/71  Galatasaray
1971/72  Galatasaray
1972/73  Galatasaray
1973/74  Fenerbahçe
1974/75  Fenerbahçe
1975/76  Trabzonspor
1976/77  Trabzonspor
1977/78  Fenerbahçe
1978/79  Trabzonspor
1979/80  Trabzonspor
1980/81  Trabzonspor
1981/82  Beşiktaş
1982/83  Fenerbahçe
1983/84  Trabzonspor
1984/85  Fenerbahçe
1985/86  Beşiktaş
1986/87  Galatasaray
1987/88  Galatasaray
1988/89  Fenerbahçe
1989/90  Beşiktaş
1990/91  Beşiktaş
1991/92  Beşiktaş
1992/93  Galatasaray
1993/94  Galatasaray
1994/95  Beşiktaş
1995/96  Fenerbahçe
1996/97  Galatasaray
1997/98  Galatasaray
1998/99  Galatasaray
1999/00  Galatasaray
2000/01  Fenerbahçe  
2001/02  Galatasaray
2002/03  Beşiktaş
2003/04  Fenerbahçe  
2004/05  Fenerbahçe
2005/06  Galatasaray
2006/07  Fenerbahçe
2007/08  Galatasaray 
2008/09  Beşiktaş
2009/10  Bursaspor
2010/11  Fenerbahçe
2011/12  Galatasaray 
2012/13  Galatasaray 
2013/14  Fenerbahçe
2014/15  Galatasaray 
2015/16  Beşiktaş
2016/17  Beşiktaş
2017/18  Galatasaray 
2018/19  Galatasaray 
2019/20  Başakşehir
2020/21  Beşiktaş
2021/22  Trabzonspor
2022/23  Galatasaray 
2023/24  Galatasaray 
2024/25

NB: The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) currently does not count the championship titles from 1924 to
    1951 (won in the Millî Küme and Türkiye Futbol Şampiyonası), even though the championships in those
    years were officially organised by the TFF itself.

Number of titles (95; number [66] of Süper Lig championships since 1959 in square brackets)

28 [19] Fenerbahçe (İstanbul)

25 [24] Galatasaray (İstanbul)

21 [14] Beşiktaş (İstanbul)

 7 [ 7] Trabzonspor

 3      Harp Okulu (Ankara) [includes Harbiye]

 2      Gençlerbirliği (Ankara)

 1      Ankara Demirspor
 1 [ 1] Başakşehir (İstanbul)
 1 [ 1] Bursaspor
 1      Eskişehir Demirspor
 1      Göztepe (İzmir)
 1      Güneş (İstanbul)
 1      İstanbulspor
 1      MKE Ankaragücü
 1      Muhafızgücü (Ankara)

About this document

Thanks to Tamás Kárpáti, Cengiz Gürsel and Erdinç Sivritepe for earlier version of this file

Prepared and maintained by Baki Demirkıran for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

Author: Baki Demirkıran
Last updated: 12 Oct 2024