Super League, Turkey's highest level football league, although it is known by its current name due to sponsorship agreements, is essentially the heart of domestic football. In this league, where 18 teams compete throughout the season, teams meet twice and collect points in a double-circuit system. The team with the most points at the end of the season becomes the champion, while the teams in the last three places are relegated to the 1st League, a lower league.
Likewise, the three best teams of the 1st League are promoted to the Super League. The season usually starts in August and lasts until May; For example, in the 2025-26 season, a total of 306 matches were played over 34 weeks.
The league's representation power in the international arena is also very important. Completing the 2024-25 season in 10th place in the UEFA country rankings, the Super League gained the right to participate in the Champions League with 2 teams, 2 teams in the Europa League and 1 team in the Conference League the following season.
If the Turkish Cup champion cannot be among the top four teams, they participate in the Europa League play-offs. If both the Super League and Turkish Cup champions are the same team, then the team that comes third will qualify for this play-off.
The foundations of the Super League were laid in 1959 under the name of the National League. The first season, which was organized with the participation of 16 teams from the regional leagues of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir at that time, was completed with the champion determined as a result of the matches between the teams divided into two groups.
The league began to be known as the Turkish 1st Football League in the 1963-64 season and was then renamed the Super League in the 2001-02 season. With the spread of sponsorship agreements, the name of the league began to be used as the names of different brands. During these changes, the league's format and number of participants also underwent various revisions.
The most successful team in the history of the Super League, which has 79 different teams to date, is Galatasaray. Following the yellow-red team that won the championship 26 times, Fenerbahรงe was at the top 19 times, Beลiktaล 16 times, Trabzonspor 7 times, while Bursaspor and Istanbul Baลakลehir experienced the joy of championship once each. The last completed 2025-26 season also resulted in the victory of Galatasaray.
