The National Division or National League ( tr, Millî Küme) was a top-level

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

competition organised by the Turkish Football Federation, including the most successful teams from

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 ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

. It was the first national league in Turkish football history. The league was played from

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into ...

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

. The top four clubs from Istanbul and the top two clubs from the Ankara and İzmir regional leagues made up the league roster, since the leagues of these three major cities were the strongest in those decades. The matches in Ankara were played at 19 Mayıs Stadium, the matches in İzmir at Alsancak Stadium, and the matches in Istanbul at Taksim Stadium. The league was the most important and popular football competition in its era. Fenerbahçe are the most successful club, having won six titles.

History

Before the introduction of the National Division, the former

Turkish Football Championship The Turkish Football Championship ( tr, Türkiye Futbol Şampiyonası) was a top-level football competition in Turkey. It was the first nationwide championship in Turkish football history. The championship was organised by the Turkish Football Fed ...

was held as a national championship in Turkey. Its tournament system was based on a

knockout tournament A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

, contested between the winners of each of the country's top regional leagues. In the late 1920s, the demand for a national football league was growing in the general Turkish public, which showed in the country's newspapers and magazines, where the European counterparts were given as examples. In 1937 that demand was fulfilled, as the ''Millî Küme'' was founded and began in March that year. Eligible for the league competition where the top placed teams of the

, and

regional leagues, which were the strongest leagues in those decades. An exception was made in

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar E ...

, when 1940 Turkish Football Championship winners Eskişehir Demirspor (the only club from outside the three major cities) and a third club from Ankara were included. In 1940 the Turkish Football Federation decided to resume the Turkish Football Championship. As a result both national championships were held at the same time from 1940 to 1950. The main differences between both tournaments were the competition systems and the qualification criteria. The National Division became the most popular and most important football competition in Turkey, overshadowing the Turkish Football Championship, since it was played in a league format with away matches. 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 introduced by the TFF. It was competed by the winners of both championships. The Prime Minister's Cup was one of the earliest football super cups in the world. The cup was held in that format until 1950, when the National Division concluded.

Competition format

There were eight clubs in the National Division. The four highest-placed teams in the

Istanbul Football League The Istanbul Football League ( tr, İstanbul Futbol Ligi) was founded as a regional football league under the name Constantinople Football Association League by James La Fontaine and Henry Pears in Istanbul, the capital of the former Ottoman Emp ...

and the top two teams from the Ankara League and İzmir League at the end of the season qualified for the National Division. The competition was played within a year, it started just after the conclusion of the aforementioned regional leagues. The competition format was based on a double round-robin system, that means each club played the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents', for 14 games. Teams received

three points for a win Three points for a win is a standard used in many sports leagues and group tournaments, especially in association football, in which three points are awarded to the team winning a match, with no points awarded to the losing team. If the game is ...

, two points for a draw, and one point for a loss. No points were awarded for a forfeit/regulation loss. Teams were ranked by total points, then goal average (the number of goals scored divided by the number of goals conceded). There was no system of

promotion and relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues ...

, since the National Division was the only national league and there was no lower division.

Champions

Source:

Performance by club

Player records

Top scorers

Most appearances

* All players are Turkish unless otherwise indicated.

External links

RSSSF

References

;Sources * * {{UEFA leagues National Defunct top level football leagues in Europe Recurring sporting events established in 1937 Recurring events disestablished in 1950 1937 establishments in Turkey 1950 disestablishments in Turkey

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...