Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Bursaspor and Besiktas. What do these four clubs have in common? Well, for starters they're all Turkish, but only three of them are widely recognised as giants abroad.
The "big three" from Istanbul - for those unfamiliar they're Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Besiktas - have dominated Turkish football for decades, leaving crumbs to other clubs. Amongst the rest are Trabzonspor, with 7 titles to their name, Başakşehir, who were crowned champions once in 2020, and... Bursaspor. But what more does this club have in common with the big three, that Trabzonspor and Basaksehir don't?
Bursaspor is, along with Gala, Fener and Besiktas, one of only four clubs in Turkey with an average attendance of over 30,000 people. Just one little bit of info is missing: they've done this while playing in the 3. Lig, a.k.a. the fourth tier of Turkish football.
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| Bursaspor's fans are the strength of the club |
The city of Bursa is the fourth most populous in Turkey behind Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir, with around two million inhabitants. This can partly explain the massive fanbase, but the absence of similar situations in Ankara and İzmir and the fact that Bursaspor has achieved this while competing at such a low level suggests that we look into it a little bit deeper.
In fact, Ankara is three times as large as Bursa, but the highest attendance in the city is held by Gençlerbirliği SK at just 11,000 according to Transfermarkt, while Bursaspor reached an average of 40,000 in the 2024-25 season!
Bursaspor fans are widely known for being amongst the most passionate and loyal in Turkey, and their love for the club has deep roots. Back in 1963, Bursaspor was founded by merging five local amateur clubs. Each of these clubs are now represented in the club's badge by a star. The chosen colours were those most representative of the city: the white represented the snow of Mount Uludağ, while the green represented the woods typical of the region.
Bursaspor's kit and the badge with five stars [oldfootballshirts.com]
Ever since then, Bursaspor has had one of the biggest following in the country. Just a couple years after the club's foundation, in the 1960's, around ten thousand fans attended the matches, while the team gained promotion to the top tier for the first time. These numbers were unprecedented in the lower divisions of Turkish football, and that already showed how special this club could become.
For the next few decades, Bursaspor always competed in the first division, even winning the Prime Minister's Cup in 1971 and the Turkish Cup in 1986. In that same year and in 1987 the club was going to be relegated from the league, but both times their demotion was overturned, and Bursa enjoyed top tier football until their third and this time unavoidable relegation in 2004.
Back in the Süper Lig within a couple of years Bursaspor began building the foundations to one of Turkey's biggest success stories to date. Under coach Ertuğrul Sağlam, the club began the 2009-10 season aiming for a European spot, but by December they found themselves in first place for the first time ever, defeating giants Galatasaray, Besiktas and Fenerbahce thanks to a 2-3 comeback win.
Bursaspor's 2009-2010 side [ayaktakileroturanlar.com]
After spending most of the season in the top three, as well as finding themselves up by eight points at one point, Bursaspor fell in second place with just five matches to go. Going into the last match of the season, Fenerbahce was in front by just one point, but they only managed a 1-1 home draw against Trabzonspor.
Bursaspor, on the other hand, had to face Besiktas at home hoping they could get a better result than their title rivals. A goal from Pablo Batalla and an own goal from Ibrahim Toraman saw Bursaspor lead 2-0 at half time. Besiktas' Ugur Inceman scared the home side in the 88th minute, halving the lead, but everyone's ears were pointed towards Istanbul, where Fenerbahce couldn't break through Trabzonspor's defence to find a league winning goal.
As full time was whistled by the referee, a moment of confusion reached the Bursa Atatürk Stadium. When the news of the final score of the Fenerbahce match arrived, the place erupted, celebrating the club's first ever title. Bursaspor had become just the fifth club to be crowned champions of Turkey, and only the second to do so outside of Istanbul after Trabzonspor!
The impact the fans had on the matches was widely recognised, as Bursaspor earned 43 of their 75 points on home soil, so some credit for the magical season was also given to the ultras groups of Teksas and Bursasporluyuz.
The Teksas ultras display the badge in a tifo [kentbursa.com]
In the following years, Bursaspor remained a mid-table side in the Süper Lig, reaching a couple of Cup finals without succeeding in bringing the silverware home.
On the 21st of December of 2015, the club moved from the Bursa Atatürk Stadium to the newly built, 44,000 capacity Centennial Atatürk Stadium, known worldwide for its unique crocodile shape. This arena, which was built by the municipality using public funds, cost around 170 million Turkish Liras (€56m) and was built according to UEFA standards.
The crocodile stadium in Bursa [goal.com]
Despite not having to build the stadiums with their own funds, Bursaspor tried to keep their big club status by spending heavily on transfers and wages, but they still did not have the revenue Galatasaray and Fenerbahce generated. This generated frequent leadership changes, a massive debt and corruption allegations, resulting in transfer bans and eventually relegation in 2019.
The terrible results the club was achieving on the field also pushed a good chunk of the fans away, which meant even less revenue as the club spiralled down the leagues, reaching its all time low in 2024 with relegation to the fourth tier.
In the 2024-25 season, the club found its feet again. The team won the league, achieving promotion instantly to the 2. Lig (the third tier), and 40,600 fans turned up to the matches on average, even selling out six of the fifteen home matches. These numbers are unprecedented at such a low level in Turkey, showing the potential of Bursaspor when the club is well-run.
A massive tifo at Bursaspor's title-clinching match in the 3. Lig [tribuna.com]
At the time of writing, Bursaspor find themselves in third place, just four points off the top in the 2. Lig, and it will be interesting to see if this revival will keep up both in the stands and on the pitch.
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