About Super Lig
Super Lig History, Format, Organization, Media Coverage
The Süper Lig is the top-flight football league in Turkey. Founded in 1959, this competition is run by the Turkish Football Federation and succeeded the Turkish Football Championship (1924-1951) and the National Division (1937-1950) to become Turkey’s national championship.
Initially, the league was called “Milli Lig”; however, following the formation of 2. Lig at the start of the 1963-64 campaign, the top-flight’s name was changed to 1. Lig. In 2001, a second division named 1. Lig was created, which led to Turkey’s top division rebranding to the Süper Lig as we know it today.
The number of participants in the Süper Lig has changed throughout the years but from 1994 to 2020, only 18 teams competed in this top flight. That number increased but the four subsequent seasons saw 21, 20, 19, and 20 teams compete.
The league follows a round-robin format, with teams playing every other club twice per season, once at home and once away. The competition also operates on a promotion/relegation system, with the worst performers getting demoted to the TFF First League, the country’s second division. Meanwhile, the top performers earn qualification to UEFA’s continental club competitions, namely the prestigious UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The Süper Lig has a passionate fan base for several reasons, one being the league’s iconic rivalries such as the Fenerbahçe–Galatasaray derby, with beIN SPORTS playing a huge role in bringing the Turkish top flight to fans across the globe. The Qatari multinational network of sports channels acquired a renewal to its previous five-year broadcasting deal that ran out in 2022, thus securing the domestic and international rights to air the Turkish Süper Lig for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. This includes the USA, with the deal securing televised fixtures via beIN SPORTS USA and the Spanish-language beIN SPORTS en ESPAÑOL, and live streams via beIN SPORTS CONNECT.
