page_title: Adana
section_title: Sports
hierarchical_section_title: Adana / Arts and entertainment / Sports
caption_attribution_description: English: Adana'nın Ermeni futbol takımlarından Shant.
context_page_description: Adana is a Cilician city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan river, 35 km inland from north-east corner of the Mediterranean. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province and has a population of 1.77 million.
  Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, a distinct geo-cultural region, at a time, was one of the most important regions of the classical world by being crossroads for religions and civilizations. Home to six million people, Cilicia is one of the largest population concentrations in the Near East, as well an agriculturally productive area, owing to its large fertile plain of Çukurova. Adding the large population centers surrounding Cilicia, almost 10 million people reside within 2-hours drive from the Adana city center.
  One of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements of the world and with a name unchanged for at least 4-millennia, Adana were a market town at the Cilicia plain and one of the gateways from Europe to the Middle East. The city turned into a powerhouse of Cilicia with the Turkic takeover in 1359.
context_section_description: Athletic sport life progressed in Cilicia in the early 20th century with the coaches that were invited to Adana from Istanbul. Varag Pogharian and Mateos Zarifian played an important role in the organization of the athletic movement and the first sports clubs in the city were founded by the Armenian community. Adana Türkgücü were founded in 1913 by Ahmet Remzi Bey and İsmail Sefa Bey in alliance with the Istanbul Türkgücü club that is initiated by the Committee of Union and Progress. Athletic clubs of Adana joined the Cilician Olympic Games that were held in April 1914 at a venue north of Dörtyol, first of its kind in the region. Adana İdman Yurdu, Adana Türk Ocağı, Seyhanspor and Milli Mensucat clubs were founded in the city in the 1920s, all joining the Adana Football League that was established in 1924 with the clubs from other Cilician provinces. Adanaspor that were founded in 1932 and Adana Demirspor that were founded in 1940, later on joined the Çukurova League.
  Football is the most popular sport in Adana; basketball, volleyball and handball are also played widely at professional and amateur levels. Warm weather make the city a haven for sports like rowing, sailing, swimming and water polo. Horse racing and horse riding are also popular. Bi-annual Men's European Wheelchair Basketball Championship took place in Adana on 5–15 October 2009. Twelve countries competed at the event and Italy won the title after a final game against Turkey. Adana also hosted the 2013 IWBF Men's U23 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship. 1967 Women's European Volleyball Championship was organized in Turkey and Adana was a host city together with Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir. Group C games are played in Adana at the Menderes Sports Hall.
  Adanaspor and Adana Demirspor are the two clubs of Adana that appear in Turkish Professional Football League. After 12 years, Adanaspor returned to Super Lig, in which they had competed for 21 years and were the runner up in 1980–81 season. Adanaspor also performed at the UEFA Cup for three years. Adana Demirspor, currently performing at the TFF First League, was the runner up at the Turkish Cup in 1977–1978 season and performed at the SuperLig for 17 years. Both teams share 5 Ocak Stadium as their venue, and the matches between them are known as the Adana derby, an archrival atmosphere that is found in only three cities in Turkey. Kiremithanespor of the Yüreğir district, compete at the Turkish Regional Amateur League. In women's football, Adana İdmanyurduspor competes in the First Football League, and plays their home games at the Gençlik Stadium.
  Adana ASKİ are the major clubs in Women's Pro-Basketball—both performing in the Turkish Women's Basketball League (TKBL). Adana ASKİ was founded in Ceyhan in 2000, under the name 'Ceyhan Belediyespor', and renamed and moved to Adana in 2014. After the move, the club performed the best season ever (2014–15), playing in the final at the Turkish Women's Cup and semi-final at the TKBL First Division. Adana ASKİ also play their home games at Menderes Sports Hall. Adanaspor, relegated to the third tier of the Turkish Men's Basketball League in 2016, playing their home games at the Menderes Sports Hall. Wheelchair basketball clubs, Adana Engelliler and Martı Engelliler appear in the first division of the Turkish Wheelchair Basketball League, both playing their home games at the Serinevler Sports Hall.
  Professional volleyball club Adana Toros was promoted to the top flight of the Turkish Men's Volleyball League on 12 April 2016 at the play-off finals in Bursa. Adana Toros play their homes games at the Menderes Sports Hall. The city's handball club, Şakirpaşa HEM, promoted to the Turkish Women's Handball Super League on 21 April 2016, at the play-off finals in Ankara. The venue of Şakirpaşa is Yüreğir Serinevler Arena.
  Water sports have been recreationally and competitively the traditional sports of Adana. Water polo team of Adana Demirspor is a legend in the community, joining the Turkish Waterpolo League in 1942 after the first modern water sport venue of Turkey, Atatü
caption: Armenian club Shant, one of the first football clubs of the city
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