Konyaspor

Konyaspor were founded on 22 June 1922 as Konya Gençlerbirliği. The club recognizes this date as its official founding after a 2016 board decision confirming the historical records. As champions of the regional Konya Football League, Konya Gençlerbirliği represented the city at the 1924 Turkish Football Championship, the first nationwide competition in Turkish football, defeating Trabzon İdman Ocağı 3–0 in the first round before losing 2–1 to Anadolu Turan San’atkârangücü in the quarter-finals.

During the reorganization of Turkish league football in the 1960s, Konya’s leading amateur and semi-professional sides were consolidated under one professional team. In 1965 the club began competing under the name Konyaspor in the Second League, adopting black and white as its colours.

A further restructuring took place in 1981 when Konyaspor merged with crosstown rivals Konya İdmanyurdu. The club kept the Konyaspor name and changed its colours to green and white, reflecting İdmanyurdu’s traditional palette. Konyaspor won the Second League in 1987–88 and were promoted to the top division for the first time in their history.

Konyaspor lasted five seasons in the first league. They played 160 official matches, ending up with 47 wins, 33 draws, and 80 losses. During the 1988–89 season Konyaspor made it to the semi-finals of the Turkish Cup, losing to eventual champions Beşiktaş. In the 1992–93 season, the club were relegated back to the second league.

After spending 10 seasons in the second league, Konyaspor returned to Süper Lig as the title holders of the 2002–03 First League with 68 points. During the 2003–04 season Konyaspor made it to the quarter-finals of the Turkish Cup, but then lost to eventual champions Trabzonspor 2–1 during extra time. In 2004–05 Konyaspor advanced to the quarter-finals beating Beşiktaş 3–1, but then lost to Denizlispor 5–4 on penalty shoot-outs.

In 2008–09 despite the 3–0 home win against Ankaraspor, Konyaspor couldn't avoid relegation as they remained 16th in the table with 38 points which meant their relegation from the Süper Lig. Konyaspor were in the Süper Lig since 2003. However, Konyaspor completed the TFF First League 6th and secured a position in the Promotion Play-offs in 2010. Konyaspor then won the Promotion Play-offs and made an immediate return to the Süper Lig after 1 year. They finished the Play-offs 1st with 7 points beating Adanaspor 3–1 in the first game, Karşıyaka 1–0 in the second and drawing with Altay 2–2 in the final match. But Konyaspor relegated again in the 2010–11 season.

In October 2014, Aykut Kocaman was appointed head coach of Konyaspor. During his tenure (2014–2017), Konyaspor recorded some of the most successful seasons in their history: in 2015–16, Konyaspor finished third in the Süper Lig with 66 points, the club’s best league placing to that date, and qualified for the UEFA Europa League, marking their first participation in European competition. In 2016–17 they play for the first time in their history in European competitions and draw in Group H with Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga and Gent. They finished the group in fourth place with five losses, one draw and without winning any match. On 31 May 2017 Konyaspor won their first major national trophy, defeated İstanbul Başakşehir to win their first ever Turkish Cup in the club's 95-year history. In the first Turkish Cup final since the 2007–08 season in which none of Istanbul's "big three" clubs Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, and Galatasaray were competing, Konyaspor against İstanbul Başakşehir finished regular and extra time tied 0–0 and won on penalty shoot-outs with a result of 4–1.

On 16 June 2017, Aykut Kocaman left Konyaspor to become Fenerbahçe head coach; he was replaced by Mustafa Reşit Akçay. In 2017–18, Konyaspor opened the season by beating Beşiktaş 2–1 to win the Turkish Super Cup—the first Super Cup in club history. The league campaign ended 15th (36 pts). In 2018–19, Aykut Kocaman returned and the team finished 8th. In September 2019, the club signed a name-sponsorship deal with İttifak Holding (3+2 years).In 2019–20, Konyaspor avoided relegation, closing 13th in the pandemic season.

In February 2021, İlhan Palut was appointed following İsmail Kartal’s departure and led Konyaspor to 11th place in 2020–21. In 2021–22, Palut’s side finished 3rd with 68 points, the second-best league finish in club history, earning a berth in the UEFA Europa Conference League. On 11 January 2022, Konyaspor defender Ahmet Yılmaz Çalık died in a traffic accident near Ankara. Çalık, who had joined the club in 2020, had become a regular starter and a respected figure in the dressing room. In tribute, Konyaspor retired his number 6 shirt, and several Süper Lig clubs and the Turkish Football Federation expressed condolences. In the same season, Konyaspor ultimately placed third in the final 2021–22 Süper Lig table matching the club’s second-best league finish and qualified for European competition the following season. In July 2022, Konyaspor returned to Europe and defeated BATE Borisov 5–0 on aggregate in the Conference League second qualifying round (3–0 away, 2–0 home) before exiting to FC Vaduz in the third qualifying round (1–1 away, 2–4 home).

In January 2023, the club parted company with Palut while sitting seventh; Aleksandar Stanojević was appointed the next day and the league campaign ended 8th (51 pts). In November 2023, Hakan Keleş succeeded Stanojević, and in January 2024 the job passed to Fahrudin Omerović. In April 2024, former club captain Ali Çamdalı was named head coach and, in June, signed a 1+1 contract. Konyaspor finished the 2023–24 Süper Lig 16th with 41 points; on the final day they lost 3–1 to Galatasaray, a result that confirmed the title for the Istanbul side. On 1 November 2024, Konyaspor appointed Recep Uçar as head coach on a deal running through 2025–26. In the 2024–25 Süper Lig season, Konyaspor finished 11th, collecting 46 points from 36 matches with a record of 13 wins, 7 draws, and 16 losses. The mid-table finish marked an improvement on the previous campaign’s 16th place (41 points) and provided a more stable platform heading into 2025–26.