The Süper Lig (, Super League), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. Eighteen teams compete, where a champion is decided and three clubs are promoted from, and another three relegated to the 1. Lig. The season runs from August to May, with each club playing 34 matches. Matches are played Friday through Monday.
Run by the Turkish Football Federation, the league succeeded the Turkish Football Championship and the National Division, both being former top-level national competitions. The Süper Lig is currently 9th in the UEFA coefficient ranking of leagues based on club performances in European competitions over the last five years. A total of 78 clubs have competed in the Süper Lig, but only 6 have won the title to date: Galatasaray (26), Fenerbahçe (19), Beşiktaş (16), Trabzonspor (7), Bursaspor (1) and Başakşehir (1).
History Football in Turkey stems back to the late 19th century, when Englishmen brought the game with them while living in Salonica (then part of the Ottoman Empire). 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 (Süper Lig) in 1959. Between the creation of the Istanbul League and Millî Lig, several other regional leagues took place: Adana (1924), Ankara (1922), Eskişehir (1924), İzmir (1924), Bursa (1924), and Trabzon (1922), 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 (Turkish: Millî Küme) 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.
In 1952 the TFF introduced professionalism in Turkish football. As a result, the former Turkish Football Championship lost its first level status. Since there was no top-level national champion in the period from 1952 to 1955, the Turkish federation sent Galatasaray, winners of the 1955–56 Istanbul League, to the European Cup in the 1956–57 season.
Protests of some Ankara and İzmir clubs regarding this decision, as well as UEFA deciding to only accept national champions to the European Cup from that season on induced the TFF to establish the Federation Cup in 1956. It is the first professional national football league in Turkey and the predecessor to the Super League (Millî Lig). The competition took place as a knock-out tournament 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.Sivritepe, Erdinç Federation Cup 56/57 turkish-soccer.com, accessed 22 July 2010Sivritepe, Erdinç Federation Cup 57/58 turkish-soccer.com, accessed 22 July 2010
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 to 1959, since the qualifying stages took place in 1958. The 16 clubs who competed in the first season were: Adalet (Istanbul), Altay (İzmir), Ankaragücü (Ankara), Ankara Demirspor (Ankara), Beşiktaş (Istanbul), Beykoz (Istanbul), Karagümrük (Istanbul), Fenerbahçe (Istanbul), Galatasaray (Istanbul), Gençlerbirliği (Ankara), Göztepe (İzmir), Hacettepe Gençlik (Ankara), İstanbulspor, İzmirspor, Karşıyaka (İzmir), and Vefa (Istanbul). The first champions were Fenerbahçe and the first "Gol Kralı" (top scorer) was Metin Oktay. No clubs were promoted or relegated at the end of the first season.Sivritepe, Erdinç 1959 Milli Lig turkish-soccer.com, accessed 22 July 2010
The 2. Lig (Second League) was created at the start of the 1963–64 season and the Millî Lig became known as the 1.Lig (First League). 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.Sivritepe, Erdinç 1963-1964 1. Lig turkish-soccer.com, accessed 22 July 2010 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.
On 12 December 2023, the Turkish Football Federation suspended all league games indefinitely following an incident during a match between MKE Ankaragücü and Caykur Rizespor which involved fans being able to successfully invade the pitch and people, including recent MKE Ankaragücü president Faruk Koca, being arrested after attacking referee Halil Umut Meler. Koca would resign from MKE Ankaragücü as well. However, on 13 December, the same day Meler was discharged from the hospital it was soon agreed that Super Lig matches would resume on 19 December.
Format
There were 18 clubs in the Süper Lig until 2020. 20 Clubs are competing in the Süper Lig starting from 2020. 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 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 seventh placed 1. Lig clubs are promoted in their place.Official TFF competition rules 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: 2023–2024 19 clubs: 2024–2025 18 clubs: 2025–present
Qualification for European competitions The champions and runners-up qualify for the second qualifying round of the Champions League. The 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.
Media coverage Domestic 2016–2021: Record deal with beIN Sports On 28 November 2016 Qatari media group beIN (owner of Digiturk since 2015) won a 5-year deal to become the TV tender of the Süper Lig. They won the rights with a record offer worth $500M per season. Digiturk continued to offer the sports content with beIN's support.
Before the start of the 2019–20 season, due to the wild fluctuations in value of the Turkish lira, beIN seek to renegotiate the fees for the upcoming season. The broadcaster settled on a $410 million agreement with the TFF.
On 18 November 2020, after originally signing a deal (in 2016) where the annual fees were split evenly between Turkish lira and US dollars, the wild fluctuations in value of the Turkish lira saw beIN seek to renegotiate the fees for the Süper Lig. The new reduced fee (₺2.65 billion/$340 million) had to be paid exclusively in Turkish lira, and took into account the financial realities of the COVID-19 crisis. Despite a drop in overall value, the Süper Lig's TV rights income remained the sixth highest in Europe.
Due to the several negotiations and currency fluctuations, the 2021–22 season's deal was decreased to $215 million.
2022–2024: new two year deal with beIN On 24 June 2022 TFF and beIN agreed a new two-year deal of the TV rights for an annual deal of ₺2.2 billion.
2024–2027: contract renewal On 2 March 2024 Turkish Football Federation stated that Qatari media group beIN has renewed its rights to broadcast Turkey's top flight matches for three more years, until 2027. beIN will pay $182 million-a-year to broadcast Turkey's Süper Lig and TFF First League. As such, Süper Lig becomes the 6th most valuable football league after the Big Five leagues in Europe.
International
UEFA ranking
Süper Lig ranks 9th in UEFA Country Rankings 2026. The league made a big breakthrough in the early 90s and became one of the most valuable leagues in Europe. Süper Lig achieved the best ranking in its history in 2001 by rising to 7th place. In 1982, the league dropped to 28th place, achieving the worst ranking in its history. Ranking Member associationCoefficient 2025 2026 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26 Total88– Royal Belgian Football Association6.60014.20014.20015.65011.40062.250109 +1 Turkish Football Federation6.70011.80012.00010.30011.07551.875910 -1 Football Association of the Czech Republic6.7006.75013.50010.55011.02548.525 +Süper Lig UEFA ranking by years1960196119621963196419651966196719681969 18 19 20 19 15 18 19 21 21 221970197119721973197419751976197719781979 18 19 17 18 19 23 23 23 22 231980198119821983198419851986198719881989 25 25 28 27 26 27 26 24 26 241990199119921993199419951996199719981999 24 23 18 13 12 10 11 8 14 142000200120022003200420052006200720082009 11 7 8 10 10 11 15 14 11 112010201120122013201420152016201720182019 11 10 11 10 11 12 11 10 10 102020202120222023202420252026202720282029 11 13 20 12 9 10 9
Clubs
Stadiums and locations
Team Home city/borough Home province Stadium Capacity Alanyaspor Alanya Antalya Alanya Oba Stadium 9,789 Amedspor Diyarbakır Diyarbakır Diyarbakır Stadium 30,480 Başakşehir Başakşehir Istanbul Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium 17,067 Beşiktaş Beşiktaş Tüpraş Stadium 42,684 Çorum Çorum ÇorumÇorum City Stadium 13,119 Erzurumspor ErzurumErzurum Kazım Karabekir Stadium 20,347 Eyüpspor EyüpsultanIstanbul Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium 13,797 Fenerbahçe Kadıköy Chobani Stadium 47,911 Galatasaray Sarıyer Rams Park 53,387 Gaziantep Gaziantep Gaziantep Gaziantep Stadium 30,320 Gençlerbirliği Yenimahalle Ankara Eryaman Stadium 20,672 Göztepe Göztepe İzmir Gürsel Aksel Stadium 23,376 Kasımpaşa Kasımpaşa Istanbul Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium 13,797 Kocaelispor İzmit Kocaeli Kocaeli Stadium 34,829 Konyaspor Konya Konya Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium 41,135 Rizespor Rize Rize Rize City Stadium 14,879 Samsunspor Samsun Samsun Samsun 19 Mayıs Stadium 34,346 Trabzonspor Trabzon Trabzon Papara Park 41,061
Champions
Only six clubs have been champions since the introduction of the Super League: Galatasaray 26 times, Fenerbahçe 19 times, Beşiktaş 16 times (see note below), Trabzonspor 7 times, and Bursaspor and Başakşehir once each.
Teams in bold compete in the Süper Lig as of the 2026–27 season.