The Turkish Football Championship ( tr, Türkiye Futbol Şampiyonası) was a top-level football competition in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. It was the first nationwide championship in Turkish football history. The championship was organised by the

Turkish Football Federation The Turkish Football Federation (; TFF) is the governing body of association football in Turkey. It was formed on 23 April 1923, and joined FIFA the same year and UEFA in 1962. It organizes the Turkey national football team, the Turkish Footba ...

(then called ''Futbol Hey'et-i Müttehidesi''). The tournament system was based on a knockout competition, contested between the winners of each of the country's regional leagues. After 1951 and the professionalization of Turkish football, the competition continued under the name Turkish Amateur Football Championship (Turkish: ''Türkiye Amatör Futbol Şampiyonası'') with a completely different status. It was no longer the top-flight championship in Turkey, leaving only amateur teams as participants. Fenerbahçe and Harp Okulu are the most successful clubs with three titles.

History

The first competition was held in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

. Qualified for the tournament were the champions of the various Turkish regional leagues. The only exceptions were Harbiye and Bahriye, the clubs of the

Turkish Military Academy The Turkish Military Academy ( tr, Kara Harp Okulu) is a four-year co-educational military academy and part of the National Defence University. It is located in the center of Ankara, Turkey. Its mission is to develop cadets mentally and ph ...

and

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...

respectively. Both clubs were included by the

(TFF) as military clubs, and not as champions of a civilian regional league. Then the competition was not held for the following two years due to insufficient funds. In

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

the Turkish government funded the championship and the expenses of the clubs, so that they could afford the trip to the capital

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

, where all matches took place in the first two editions. The third edition was started in

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hiro ...

and the series continued until the end of the season in 1935. The competition was not held for the following four years. In this period the

Turkish National Division The National Division or National League ( tr, Millî Küme) was a top-level football competition organised by the Turkish Football Federation, including the most successful teams from Istanbul, Ankara, and İzmir in Turkey. It was the first nat ...

, the first national football league in Turkey, was introduced by the TFF. From 1940 to 1950, both national championships were held at the same time. The difference between both tournaments was the competition system and the qualification criteria. In 1944 a special super cup, the

Prime Minister's Cup The Prime Minister's Cup ( tr, Başbakanlık Kupası) was a association football, football competition organised by the Turkish Football Federation in Turkey. It began in 1944 and continued until 1950 as a unique kind of super cup competition bet ...

, was launched by the TFF, which was competed by the winners of both championships. It was one of the earliest football super cups in the world. The cup was held in that format until 1950, when the National Division was concluded. The championship was resumed again in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...

and was played every year (except for 1943 and 1948) until

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

. In

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...

a new format was introduced. From this year on the champions were decided in the so-called ''Final Group'', which consisted of the champions of the three major regional leagues (

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, and

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...

Leagues), and the winners of a qualification play-off, contested by the winners of the regional qualification groups. The 1951 edition was the last one as the top-level championship, as Turkish football became professional in September 1951. From then on the competition continued under the name Turkish Amateur Football Championship until 1996, consisting only of amateur teams.

Champions

Source:

Performance by club

External links

RSSSF

References

Sources * * {{UEFA leagues Turkish 1924 establishments in Turkey 1951 disestablishments in Turkey Recurring sporting events established in 1924 Recurring events disestablished in 1951

Football