F

or only the second

time since1985,

Turkey has a league

champion from outside

the “Big Three” of

Besiktas, Fenerbahce

and Galatasaray.

Unlike Bursaspor’s surprise success

in 2009-10, this is more than a

one-off. Istanbul Basaksehir are

genuine game-changers in Turkey.

Istanbul is a divided city. The

so-called “Intercontinental Derby”

pits Fenerbahce from the Asian side

against Galatasaray in the European

side. It is a ludicrously passionate affair,

while Besiktas’ clashes against the two

sides are equally fiery. Football in the

city has often quite literally been a

matter of life and death, with fans

obsessively devoted to their own

club to extreme levels.

The idea of another Istanbul team

elbowing their way into top spot ahead

of all three seemed inconceivable. In

such a tribal city, with the battle lines

already so clearly drawn, how could

a club like Istanbul Basaksehir

• founded as an amateur side
  in1990 – attract any fans?
  The truth is that they haven’t.
  Figures vary, but their average
  attendance during their title-winning
  season was somewhere between 500
  and 2,000, the lowest in the league.
  When they were drawn against Burnley
  in the Europa League two years ago,
  they drew a home crowd of just 4,503,
  and didn’t sell any tickets for the
  second leg at Turf Moor. InJuly the
  team paraded their league trophy
  through the city on an open-top bus
  to virtually empty streets. Lockdown
  restrictions are in place of course,
  but it’s unlikely that these would
  have stopped fans of the Big
  Three from celebrating.
  Yet, although they have very little
  support, this is not a team that has
  been built on a shoestring budget.
  They have several big names in the
  autumn of their careers (far from a
  new phenomenon in Turkish football),
  with former Premier League stars
  Martin Skrtel, Gael Clichy, Gokhan Inler,
  Robinho and Demba Ba all appearing
  for them last season, while the likes
  of Emre Belozoglu and Emmanuel
  Adebayor have signed in the past.

In addition, they have a relatively

new ground, the Basaksehir Fatih

Terim Stadium. Built in 2014 and

named after the current Galatasaray

coach, it has a capacity of just over

17,000, but is yet to sell out.

A clue to their success can be found

in the exhibition match that took place

when the ground was opened. Amongst

the stars on show that day was Turkish

president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After

scoring a hat-trick, the No.12 shirt that

he was wearing was officially retired by

the club, and his portrait was hung up

at the training ground.

Shortly before the new ground was

opened, they announced new sponsors

Medipol, a network of health clinics,

founded by Erdogan’s health minister

Fahrettin Koca. The club president at

the time,Goksel Gumusdag, is married

to one ofErdogan’s wife’s nieces. The

district of Basaksehir itself was built by

Erdogan during his time as mayor of

Istanbul, and is populated by many of

his supporters. Even the club colours

of orange and blue are those of the

country’s ruling party, the AKP.

Erdogan’s patronage explains the

club’s sponsorship from Turkish Airlines

and DenizBank, one of the country’s

largest private banks. With such

backing, more investment is sure

to follow. Arsenal outcast and known

Erdogan supporter Mesut Ozil is among

those linked with the club, although

whether this will be enough to attract

more fans remains to be seen.

Sooner or later, Basaksehir will need

to attract bigger crowds if they are to

continue growing and avoid scrutiny

from UEFA. InJune, Trabzonspor

became the latest Turkish side to

fall foul of FFP regulations, and were

handed a one-year ban from European

competition. If it hasn’t already, the

regulators’ gaze will soon be turning

to the Turkish champions in an empty

stadium from an Istanbul suburb.

Then again, with such friends in high

places, the club may not need to worry.

Jamie Evans

Erdogan FC...

Basaksehir are the

favoured club of the

Turkish president

Erdogan’s patronage explains the

club’s sponsorship from Turkish

Airlines and DenizBank

Istanbul Basaksehir

Turkish minnows’ rise to the top is no fairy tale

Headliners

Top scorer...former

Newcastle United

striker Demba Ba