Founded as a football club with the initiative of a group of students studying at Ankara Sultanisi, Gençlerbirliği joined the Ankara Football League immediately after its establishment and competed in this league for thirty-four seasons. He achieved his first serious success by becoming champion in the Ankara Football League in the 1929-30 season.
During these seasons, they became the most successful team in the league, becoming champions ten times in total. In the Turkish Football Championship in 1941, Gençlerbirliği faced the Istanbul Football League champion Beşiktaş team in the final and became the Turkish football champion for the first time by beating its opponent 4-1.
By winning the Final Group in 1946, it achieved a historical success by becoming champion for the second time.
By participating in the Super League, which was established in 1959 under the name of the National League, from Ankara, together with the teams Hacettepe, MKE Ankaragücü and Ankara Demirspor, they gained the right to compete in this organization where football became professional on a national level. Throughout its history, it has not been able to win the championship in the Super League, but by finishing the 1965-66 season in third place, it became the first team other than Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray to be in the top three in this league.
It achieved its greatest success in the Super League in the 2002-03 season by finishing the league in third place after Beşiktaş and Galatasaray. In the following season, they eliminated Blackburn Rovers, Sporting and Parma teams in the UEFA Cup, but Gençlerbirliği, which matched with Valencia in the 4th Round, was eliminated by this team, which became the champion in the organization.
It competes with another Ankara team, Ankaragücü, which was founded before the Republic. The matches they play between each other are called Ankaragücü-Gençlerbirliği derby or Ankara derby.
Gençlerbirliği also has youth teams and a women's football program in the 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 19 age categories. Apart from this, there is a pilot club called Hacettepe. Apart from football, Gençlerbirliği club is currently active in badminton, bocce, bowling, bridge, canoeing and kickboxing.
The chairman of the club was İlhan Cavcav before February 2017. Although Cavcav, the twenty-third president of the club, was elected president in 1977, he had disagreements with the managers of the period regarding principles and took a break from his duty until 1981. Cavcav, who took the presidency again in 1981, has served as the club president for thirty-eight years since then. Cavcav became the longest president in the club's history.
Date
Establishment
With the Ankara Football Union establishing the Ankara League in 1921, the first official football match in Ankara was played between Anadolu Sanatkarangücü and Talimgahgücü on 26 October 1922.
One of the first teams of Ankara is Ankara Sultanisi (also known as Ankara Boys' High School). With the encouragement of Münif Kemal (Ak), who was interested in football, an ambitious football team was formed under the management of Ankara Sultanisi physical education teacher Ekrem Bey. However, Ekrem Bey's failure to recruit some talented players paved the way for the establishment of Gençlerbirliği club.
The attempt of the students who were not included in the team to establish a separate club was completed by registering the name "Gençlerbirliği Sports Club" on 14 March 1923.
As soon as the club is established, the Sultani team is invited to the match. When Gençlerbirliği won the match 3-0, there was a tendency for the two clubs to merge. According to a rumor, the students who founded Gençlerbirliği will go to please their teacher by making a bouquet of red-black Ankara poppies, and the color of the club will be reinforced with the red-black of the poppies.
In the 1923-24 season, Ankara Sultanisi withdrew from the leagues and now only Gençlerbirliği remained. However, the tension between Sultani and the club will continue for a while.
Gençlerbirliği held its first congress in March 1925. Some time after this congress, Sultani students who were part of Gençlerbirliği visited the former director of Ankara Sultanisi, Münif Kemal, and won him over and offered him the presidency of the club. Münif Kemal Bey accepts this proposal, and with the beginning of his presidency, which will last for 9 years, the tension between Sultani and the club ends.
presidents
Gençlerbirliği presidents who have served so far according to sports seasons are listed in the table below.
Colors
There are various rumors about why Gençlerbirliği, which has red-black colors, chose these colors:
- After the club was established, the students who went to buy fabric for the needed jerseys could only find red and black fabrics in the shop they went to, due to the poverty of those years, and partly out of necessity, the first jerseys were sewn with these colors, and as a result, the club colors were determined.
- The club was founded after Physical Education teacher Ekrem Bey did not accept some students into the Sultani team, leaving Sultani. When peace was achieved and the two clubs (Teachers' Union and Young High School Students) merged, the high school students took red-black poppies, which are very common in Ankara, to Münif Kemal Ak, the Principal of Ankara High School (Boys' High School) and the President of the Teachers' Union, to appease him, and the team changed its colors from this flower as a result of this incident. has received.
Rigging
The sun on the coat of arms represents the Hittite Sun, one of the symbols of Ankara. It also represents the sun and the crescent on the Turkish flag.
football branch
History
Founded in 1923 by a group of students studying at Ankara Sultanisi, who were angry that they were not included in the school team, Gençlerbirliği was first included in the Ankara Football League. He became champion for the first time in his eighth season competing in this league. Later, he made a name for himself with consecutive championships in the 1930-31, 1931-32 and 1933-34 seasons.
In the Turkish Football Championship in 1941, Gençlerbirliği faced the Istanbul Football League champion Beşiktaş team in the final and won the national championship for the first time by beating its opponent 4-1. In 1946, he succeeded in becoming the Turkish football champion for the second time. It became the league's most successful team by becoming champion ten times in total in the Ankara Football League.
With the start of the Super League, which was established under the name of the National League in 1959, this organization was not organized again and Gençlerbirliği became one of the four football teams to represent Ankara in this newly established professional league.
League matches
- Super League: 49 Season
1959-1970, 1983-1988, 1989-2018, 2019-2021, 2025-
- 1. League: 18 Season
1970-1979, 1980-1983, 1988-1989, 2018-2019, 2021-2025
- 3. League: 1 Season
1979-1980
achievements
- Turkish Football Championship
- Championship (2): 1941, 1946
- Second place (1): 1950
- 1. League:
- Championship (2): 1982-83, 1988-89
- Second place (2): 2018-19, 2024-25
- Turkish Cup
- Championship (2): 1987, 2001
- Second place (3): 2003, 2004, 2008
- Super Cup
- Second place (1): 1987
- Prime Minister's Cup
- Second place (1): 1946
- Ankara League
- Championship (10): 1929-30, 1930-31, 1931-32, 1932-33, 1934-35, 1939-40, 1940-41, 1945-46, 1949-50, 1950-51
- Ankara Şildi
- Championship (3): 1931, 1935, 1940-41
- TSYD Cup
- Championship (16): 1969, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2019, 2021
Gençlerbirliği, which advanced to the Turkish Cup final in the 2007-08 season, lost 11-10 as a result of the penalty shootout against Kayserispor in Bursa, in the match that ended 0-0 in normal time and extra time.
European Cups
Gençlerbirliği had its first experience in European cups in the 1967-68 Balkan Cup. However, they could only draw 1 out of 6 matches in the group. By winning the Turkish Cup in 1987, it qualified to play in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in the 1987-1988 season. In this cup, they were eliminated in the first round by losing 2-0 away and 2-1 at home to Dynamo Minsk team of the Soviet Union.
In the 1994-1995 season, they finished the Turkish 1st League in 5th place and earned the right to represent Türkiye in the 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup. In the 11th group it competed in, it was eliminated by placing 3rd with 2 wins and 2 losses.
Gençlerbirliği won the Turkish Cup in 2001 and played against Sweden's Halmstad team in the first round of the UEFA Cup, which it participated in the 2001-2002 season. After drawing 1-1 in Ankara in the first match, Gençlerbirliği lost 1-0 away to its opponent and bid farewell to the cup early.
Gençlerbirliği achieved its greatest success in Europe in the 2003-2004 season. Having defeated England's Blackburn Rovers team 3-1 at home in the first round of the UEFA Cup, Gençlerbirliği drew 1-1 with its opponent in the rematch and passed to the 2nd round. Matching with Portugal's Sporting team in the 2nd round, Gençlerbirliği finished the first match at home with a 1-1 draw.
However, they managed to win the away rematch 3-0 and advance to the 3rd round. In the 3rd round, they beat Italy's Parma team 1-0 away and 3-0 in Ankara and advanced to the 4th round. In the 4th round, they were matched with Spain's Valencia team. The first match in Ankara was won 1-0, and the regular time of the rematch in Spain ended 1-0.
Gençlerbirliği, who could not respond to the goal they conceded in extra time, said goodbye to the cup in this round with a 2-0 defeat. Gençlerbirliği's rival in this round, Valencia, succeeded in winning the UEFA Cup. Gençlerbirliği was the only team that could beat Valencia, which won the UEFA Cup in the 2003-2004 season.
Gençlerbirliği played against Croatia's Rijeka team in the 2nd qualifying round of the UEFA Cup in the 2004-2005 season. Gençlerbirliği won the home match 1-0 and managed to advance to the first round despite losing the rematch 2-1. In the first round, they lost 1-0 away to Greece's Egaleo team and were eliminated with a 1-1 draw in the rematch.
European matches
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup:
- 1987-88 — 1R — Dinamo Minsk — 1-2 — 0-2 — 1-4
UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League:
- 2001-02 — 1T — Halmstad — 1-1 — 0-1 — 1-2
- 2003-04 — 1T — Blackburn Rovers — 3-1 — 1-1 — 4-2
- 2003-04 — 2T — Sporting — 1-1 — 3-0 — 4-1
- 2003-04 — 3T — Parma — 3-0 — 1-0 — 4-0
- 2003-04 — 4T — Valencia — 1-0 — 0-2 (ext) — 1-2
- 2004-05 — 2Ö — Rijeka — 1-0 — 1-2 — 2-2 (dg)
- 2004-05 — 1T — Egaleo — 1-1 — 0-1 — 1-2
UEFA Intertoto Cup:
- 1995 — GA — Hapoel Petah Tikva — 4-0
- 1995 — GA — Strasbourg — 1-4
- 1995 — GA — Floriana — 3-0
- 1995 — GA — Tirol Innsbruck — 2-3
Balkan Cup:
- 1967-68 — GA — Vllaznia — 1-1 — 0-1
- 1967-68 — GA — Beroe — 0-2 — 1-0
- 1967-68 — GA — Farul Constanta — 1-2 — 3-1
Gençlerbirliği Women's Football Team
In accordance with the decision taken by the Board of Directors in September 2021, the women's football program became operational with the infrastructure selections held in October. The program, which aims to offer football opportunities to "Ankara's women and girls" in a safe environment, competes in the Women's 2nd League with the players it trains from its own infrastructure.
Hacettepe SK
Hacettepe SK, the pilot team of Gençlerbirliği SK, was relegated to the Regional Amateur League in the 2021-22 season. By transferring the naming rights that did not enter the league to Kalecik FK in the 2022-23 season, the team ensured that the 5th name of the club was Hacettepe 1945 SK and the name Hacettepe was kept alive.
handball branch
It is the handball team of Gençlerbirliği, which was founded on 12 September 2013 and competes in the Turkish Men's Handball Super League. The team, previously known as Ankara Handball Specialization Club, was founded entirely with its own resources and started to compete in the lower leagues, and applied to Gençlerbirliği and received the club's naming rights.
Gençlerbirliği Handball Team became one of the 5th capital representatives to compete in the Turkish Men's Handball Super League in the 2013-2014 season. The team, which continued in the league for two seasons, returned to the name Ankara Handball İhtisas in the 2015-16 season after Gençlerbirliği regained the naming rights.
Other branches
Branches operating within Gençlerbirliği Sports Club, other than football, as of September 2022, are as follows:
- Badminton
- Bocce
- Bowling
- Bridge
- Canoe
- Kickboxing
Stadium and facilities
Eryaman Stadium
With the 19 Mayıs Stadium located in the center of the city out of use, Gençlerbirliği plays its matches at the Eryaman Stadium, which was built in the Eryaman district and opened on 28 January 2019.
İlhan Cavcav Facilities
Gençlerbirliği İlhan Cavcav Facilities are social and training facilities located in Beştepe district of Ankara's Yenimahalle district. In the facility built on an area of 23,000 square meters; There is an administrative building, camp building, infrastructure building, restaurant, football school and football fields.
Hasan Polat Sports Facilities
It is a sports facility belonging to Gençlerbirliği Sports Club, located in the Etlik neighborhood of Ankara's Keçiören district. The facility has a large football field and an astroturf pitch. This facility, which previously operated under the name Gençlerbirliği Etlik Facilities, was named after Hasan Polat, one of the former football players who played for Gençlerbirliği Football Team.
Şenol Güneş Sports Facility
It is the sports facility used by Gençlerbirliği Sports Club, located in Yaşamkent neighborhood of Çankaya district. There is a large football field in the facility.
Publications
Gençlerbirliği Magazine
It is the official monthly magazine of Gençlerbirliği Sports Club. Its content included news about the branches operating within the Gençlerbirliği Sports Club, especially football, interviews with athletes and various articles. Today, due to the pandemic, this magazine is published on the Gençlerbirliği website in the form of Gençlerbirliği E-Magazine.
