İstanbulspor

İstanbulspor Kulübü is a Turkish football and sports club founded by Istanbul High School students in 1926. In 2004–05 they were relegated from the Turkish Süper Lig (Super League) to TFF First League. For many decades it was the fourth most famous and well-developed professional football club from Istanbul, coming after Beşiktaş, Galatasaray, and Fenerbahçe. After being bought by the Uzan Family in 1990, it has been repossessed by the government and resold to third companies.
Their greatest success is the Turkish championship title won in 1932.
History
İstanbulspor was founded by Kemal Halim Gürgen and Istanbul High School students on 4 January 1926, being one of the first sports clubs of the Turkish Republican period. In the 1931–32 season, İstanbulspor won both the Istanbul League and Turkish Football Championship.
Until 1990, the club was managed by Istanbul High School foundation. During this period, İstanbulspor has relegated from and promoted to the top division for several times. Also, it relegated to Amateur Level in 1979 and played on amateur level for two seasons. In 1984, club was relegated to third league.
In 1990, Uzan Holding, led by Turkish businessman Cem Uzan, has bought the club and converted it into İstanbulspor A.Ş., İstanbulspor incorporation. After that, Istanbulspor was funded by Uzan Family and promoted back to first league in 1995. Istanbulspor became one of the most successful Turkish football clubs again, as they reached the fourth place in the 1997–98 season and played in the UEFA Cup.
Uzan Family withdrew its support from İstanbulspor in 2001. Because of this, İstanbulspor fell into financial crisis, and became ninth in the 2002–03 season.
Eventually, in 2003, the Turkish government took over the financially collapsed club. However, Istanbulspor were relegated to the second league in 2004–05.
In 2006, İstanbulspor have been resold by the government to former Turkish player Saffet Sancaklı's Marmara Spor Faaliyetleri San. ve Tic. A.Ş. for $3,250,000.
In 2007, Ömer Sarıalioğlu, a Turkish businessman, bought the club from Saffet Sancaklı. İstanbulspor tried to avoid relegation at the last two seasons. İstanbulspor escaped from relegation in the 2008–09 season after finishing sixth in the Third Group. However, İstanbulspor finished the Second Group of the 2nd League next season as second from last and were finally relegated to the Third League, which is the fourth level of the Turkish football system. They played in the promotion play-offs in the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons but failed to achieve success. İstanbulspor finally promoted to the Second League, after defeating Zonguldak Kömürspor and Çorum Belediyespor successively in promotion play-offs in the 2014–15 season.
Colours and crest
The colours of İstanbulspor are yellow and black, which are the colours of Istanbul High School. Also white is accepted as a third colour, but this is not official. Having represented Turkey in an international competition, İstanbulspor was granted the privilege to use the Turkish flag in its emblem, located on the top left corner. The emblem of Istanbul High School is at the middle.
League participations
Süper Lig (25): 1959–67, 1968–72, 1995–2005, 2022–
TFF First League (18): 1967–68, 1972–75, 1981–84, 1992–95, 2005–08, 2017–2022
TFF Second League (16): 1975–79, 1984–92, 2008–10, 2015–17
TFF Third League (5): 2010–15
Turkish Amateur League (35): 1926-59, 1979–81
European history
UEFA Cup:
UEFA Intertoto Cup:
Honours
European competitions
UEFA Intertoto Cup
Semi-finals (1): 1997
Domestic competitions
Turkish Football Championship
Winners (1): 1932
TFF First League
Winners (1): 1967–68
Runners-up (1): 1994–95
TFF Second League
Winners (2): 1991–92, 2016–17
TFF Third League
Winners (1): 2014–15
Regional competitions
Istanbul Football League
Winners (1): 1931–32
Istanbul Shield
Winners (1): 1931–32
Istanbul 2. Football League
Winners (1): 1926–27
Others
Spor Toto Cup
Winners (1): 1970–71
TSYD Cup
Winners (2): 1996, 2000
Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
Club Officials
Players
Current squad
Other players with contract
Out on loan
Retired numbers
Notable players
Europe
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Aldin Čajić
Fahrudin Omerović
Elvir Bolić
Elvir Baljić
Hadis Zubanović
Enes Demirović
Bulgaria
Zdravko Zdravkov
Russia
Oleg Salenko
Turkey
Zeki Çelik
Volkan Babacan
Ümit Davala
Turhan Akra
Asia
Iran
Allahyar Sayyadmanesh
List of presidents
1925–1935 Kemal Halim Gürgen
1935–1941 Fethi Tanalay
1941–1946 Murat Çelikel
1946–1968 Ali Sohtorik
1968–1970 Talha Dinçel
1970–1972 Nirun Şahingiray
1972–1973 Hayri Aydıner
1973–1977 Hüseyin Taşdelenler
1977–1978 Ural Aydıner
1978–1980 Orhan Togar
1980–1981 Dursun Öztürk
1981–1984 Fethi Erhan
1984–1987 Muhsin Sarıcı
1987–1988 Mehmet Yıldırım
1988–1992 Aziz Alturfan
1992–1998 Cem Uzan
1998–2002 Tayfun Gündoğar
2002–2004 Adnan Sezgin
2004–2006 Mehmet Akif Yaşin
2006–2008 Saffet Sancaklı
2008–2015 Ömer Sarıalioğlu
2015– Ecmel Faik Sarıalioğlu
References
External links
İstanbulspor on TFF.org
Football clubs in Turkey
Association football clubs established in 1926
1926 establishments in Turkey
Süper Lig clubs