# Balıkesirspor

Balıkesirspor is a Turkish club based in Balıkesir. Established in 1966, the football team played in the Süper Lig after achieving promotion having finished as runners-up of the TFF First League in 2013–14. The team's previous promotion was 40 years before that. Their stadium, the all-seater Balıkesir Atatürk Stadium, has a capacity of 15,800.

## History

Balıkesirspor was founded on 6 June 1966 and started to compete in Turkish Second Football League in 1967–68 season. On 20 August 1967, it played its first competitive match against Malatyaspor and won 3–1. Kadir Gürsoy scored the first goal of the club in that match. The club won its first title in 1974–75 season under the management of Rıdvan Kösemihal and promoted to Turkish First Football League, the top level of Turkish Football. Despite being 4th in the first half of the season, Balıkesirspor finished its first season in the top level in the last place and was relegated to Second League.
After competing in Second League for 10 consecutive seasons, the club was relegated to Third League, the third level of Turkish football at that time. In the 1991–92 season, Balıkesirspor earned promotion after finishing first in Third League Group 7. They made the play-offs in the 1995–96 season by finishing their group first, but lost the chance for returning to the top tier after being defeated by Karabükspor. The following season, Balıkesirspor was one of the relegated sides. Another relegation came in 2001, which meant the club dropped to the amateur leagues.
The promotion back to professional football in 2006 marked the starting point of the revival of the club. Following four promotions in eight seasons, Balıkesirspor has returned to the top flight after 39 years.

## Current squad

    As of 21 November 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | TUR | Hüseyin Altıntaş |
| 2 | DF | AUT | Muhammet Araz |
| 3 | DF | TUR | Ahmet Gülay |
| 5 | DF | TUR | Kağan Kayalı |
| 6 | MF | TUR | Samet Sargın |
| 7 | FW | TUR | Celal Emir Dede |
| 8 | DF | TUR | Özer Özdemir |
| 9 | FW | TUR | Bertuğ Bayar |
| 10 | MF | TUR | Sedat Kurnaz |
| 15 | MF | TUR | Asım Hamzaçebi |
| 16 | DF | TUR | Şahin Şafakoğlu |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | FW | TUR | Artun Akçakın |
| 21 | MF | TUR | Serdar Güncü |
| 22 | DF | TUR | Tayfun Kırca |
| 26 | GK | TUR | Yiğit Berber |
| 27 | MF | TUR | Mert Tekin |
| 32 | MF | TUR | Ali Karakaya |
| 48 | GK | TUR | Doğukan Özçimen |
| 53 | FW | TUR | Güvenç Usta (on loan from Çaykur Rizespor) |
| 56 | DF | TUR | Yiğit Epözdemir |
| 68 | DF | TUR | Volkan Altınsoy |
| 80 | MF | TUR | Muhammed Demirci |

## Competitions

* 1966–75: Turkey Second League
* 1975–76: Turkey First League
* 1976–86: Turkey Second League
* 1986–92: Turkey Third League
* 1992–97: Turkey Second League
* 1997–01: Turkey Third League
* 2001–06: Amatör Futbol Ligleri
* 2006–10: TFF Third League
* 2010–13: TFF Second League
* 2013–14: TFF First League
* 2014–15: Süper Lig
* 2015–22: TFF First League
* 2022–23: TFF Second League
* 2023–present: TFF Third League

## Honours

* 1974–75: TFF Second League White Group Champion
* 1991–92: TFF Third League 9th Group Champion
* 2005–06: Turkish Regional Amateur League 8th Group Champion
* 2012–13: TFF Second League White Group Champion