When and how did football come to Turkey?
Football is one of the most loved sports in Turkey and has become the passion of millions of people. However, many people wonder how football came to Turkey and where the passion for this sport comes from. In this article, we explain the process of football’s arrival in Turkey and how it became popular. By taking a historical journey, we shed light on the rise of football in Turkey.
How did football come to Turkey?
The origin of football in our country goes back to the last quarter of the 19th century. However, the oppressive regime of the Ottoman period brought prohibitions that limited the development of football. Because these bans prevented the formation of teams, the popularization and development of football was also significantly hindered.
Because of the idea that football is incompatible with Islamic traditions, the first football clubs were founded among non-Muslim minorities. Mainly Greeks, Armenians, English and Italians living in Izmir and Thessaloniki started to play football by forming teams and clubs among themselves. For this reason, the first football club was founded in Izmir by the British.
What is the first Turkish football team?
The first Turkish football team was founded by Fuad Hüsnü Bey and Reşat Danyal Bey. The team’s name was “Black Stocking” and it was founded with an English name. The reason why Reşat Danyal Bey gave his team an English name is because of the regime at the time. The match played by this team in Papazın Çayırı in 1901 was recorded as the first football match of Turkish teams.
The love of football, led by the British living in Istanbul, later expanded with the participation of the Greeks and led to the creation of many football clubs. With the participation of these clubs, the Istanbul Football League was founded in 1903.
What is Turkey’s first official football team?
The establishment of a football league in Istanbul was the first sign that football would become more widespread. Over time, the interest of Turkish youth in these newly established teams led to the emergence of Turkey’s first official football team. In 1905, students of the 10th class of Mekteb-i Sultani founded Galatasaray under the leadership of their friend Ali Sami Yen. Galatasaray joined the Istanbul League in the 1905–06 season and with the first championship it won in the 1907–08 season, it ushered in a new era in Turkish football history. After this, clubs such as Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş emerged and Turkish football took on a new dimension.
As a result of the disagreements and conflicts between the clubs, the Istanbul Football Union was reorganized in 1910 and the Istanbul Football Clubs League was established, which would last for 4 years.
When did football spread in Turkey?
The period when football started to flourish in Turkey is between 1908-1923. II. After the constitutional monarchy, new teams were created and Turkish teams seriously showed their presence. Besides Istanbul, football is starting to spread rapidly in Izmir, Ankara, Eskişehir, Bursa, Adana and Trabzon.
With the participation of the Turkish national football team in the 1954 FIFA World Cup, the Turkish Football Federation decided to create a professional league and a national league was established. Since this period, football has reached a size that has gradually developed and become a larger industry.
Today, Türkiye is considered one of the most important football countries. The Turkish Super League is the highest football league in our country and includes world-famous clubs. In addition, the Turkish national football team participates in important tournaments and achieves many successes.
The development of Turkish football has continued unabated, especially in recent years. While our clubs recruit world-famous stars, young talents are often mentioned in the world arena. For this reason, Turkish football will be on the rise in the future and the love of football in our country will continue to increase day by day.
When was the Turkish Football Federation founded?
After the establishment of the Turkish Alliance of Sports Associations, the first organization in Turkish sports history, the first Turkish Football Association was founded in 1923, under the leadership of Yusuf Ziya Öniş, in Letafet Apartment in Şehzadebaşı, under the name “Football Heyet-i Müttehidesi” . Turkey then applied to FIFA and became the 26th member of FIFA on May 21, 1923.
Shortly after Turkey joined FIFA, Turkey played its first international match against Romania at Taksim Stadium in Istanbul on October 26, 1923, three days before the proclamation of the Republic. The match ended in a 2-2 draw. Billy Hunter was brought from Scotland to prepare the national team for the 1924 Paris Olympics. Hunter was the first coach to introduce contemporary football to Turkish football players and train them systematically.
The match against Czechoslovakia at the 1924 Paris Olympics, which was lost 5–2, was recorded as the national team’s first match abroad. This period lasted until 1936 and the first Turkish championship was held in Ankara. The champion team became Harbiye. Also, at the request of FIFA, Hamdi Emin Çap officiated the match between the Soviet Union and Turkey in 1924, marking the first time a Turkish referee has served in a national match. The first referee and coaching courses were also opened in this period and the National Division matches were organized in the context of the first away competition.
With the abolition of the Turkish Sports Institution in 1938 and the General Directorate of Physical Education that dominated Turkish sports, football was also transferred to the state administration.
When and how did football come to Turkey?
It is thought that football was first brought to Turkey by the British. At the end of the 19th century, the British living in Istanbul started playing football among themselves, and so football began to spread to Turkey.
How was Ottoman football?
During the Ottoman period, football could not develop due to government bans. The first football clubs were founded among non-Muslim minorities because of the idea that football was incompatible with Islamic traditions.
What is the first Turkish football team?
The first Turkish football team was the “Black Stocking” team founded by Fuad Hüsnü Bey and Reşat Danyal Bey. The match played by this team in Papazın Çayırı in 1901 was recorded as the first football match of Turkish teams.