Elazığspor is a Turkish professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club located in
Elazığ and currently competes in the
TFF Second League
The TFF 2. Lig (), currently referred to as Nesine 2. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the third level in the Turkish football league system. It was founded in the 2001–02 season with the name of ''Turkish Second League Category B'' as a continu ...
. They play their home games at
Elazığ Atatürk Stadium in Elazığ, which has a maximum capacity of 18,423.
The club was founded in 1967. They have also played in the
Süper Lig
The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...
many times in the past.
History
Elazığspor was founded in 1967 when three clubs (Merkez Gençlik, Güvenspor and Harputspor) were united to form a strong team for the city of
Elazığ. The club's emblem refers to a famous local dance called
Çayda Çıra. This dance is performed with candles in the hands. Elazığspor's main rivals are
Malatyaspor. The cities Elazığ and Malatya, were Malatyaspor play, are neighboring cities.
Due to the rivalry meaning a lot to those fan bases, extra security is almost a necessity to make sure of safety. Due to the fan bases dislike for each other, sometimes the visiting team's fans will not be allowed to attend the game due to security reasons.
Usually, there will be around 30 journalists from Malatya to attend the game whenever the rivalry is being hosted by Elazığspor.
The “Doğunun derbisi” has become one of the biggest
football rivalries in Turkey.
One friendly match that Elazığspor played versus Diyarbakırspor on September 5, 2011, turned tragic. Fans of both teams threw stones and hard objects at each other.
One lieutenant and 1 expert sergeant died to the fan's behaviors.
A total of 6 people were injured.
These events happened during the middle of the match, as the game had to be delayed until the events that were going on came down. The club has played in the Second and Third Leagues for several years. Finally in 2002, the club was promoted to the
Turkish First Football League. However, in 2004, they were relegated to the
TFF First League
The TFF 1. Lig (), currently referred to as Trendyol 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization ...
again. They were relegated to the
TFF Second League
The TFF 2. Lig (), currently referred to as Nesine 2. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the third level in the Turkish football league system. It was founded in the 2001–02 season with the name of ''Turkish Second League Category B'' as a continu ...
in 2008 after finishing in 16th place.
In January 2019, Elazığspor hit the news after signing 22 players in 2 hours on 30 January, after negotiating the end of a transfer ban imposed by the
Turkish Football Federation
The Turkish Football Federation (; TFF) is the governing body of association football in Turkey. It was formed on 23 April 1923, and joined FIFA the same year and UEFA in 1962. It organizes the Turkey national football team, the Turkish Foo ...
. The club, which made so many transfers in such a short time, entered the Guinness Book of Records.
The club withdrew from the 2019-20 2. Lig after the
2020 Elazığ earthquake. Next season, the club was allowed to compete in the 2020-21 2. Lig.
League participation
*
Süper Lig
The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...
: 2002–04, 2012–2014
*
TFF First League
The TFF 1. Lig (), currently referred to as Trendyol 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization ...
: 1974–82, 1983–85, 1986–87, 1990–92, 1995–02, 2004–08, 2011–12, 2014–2019
*
TFF Second League
The TFF 2. Lig (), currently referred to as Nesine 2. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the third level in the Turkish football league system. It was founded in the 2001–02 season with the name of ''Turkish Second League Category B'' as a continu ...
: 1968–75, 1985–86, 1987–90, 1992–95, 2008–11, 2019–2021, 2024–
*
TFF Third League
The TFF 3. Lig (), currently referred to as Nesine 3. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth level in the Turkish football league system. It was founded in the 2001–02 season as a continuation of then third level division Turkish Third Foot ...
: 1982–83, 2021–2022, 2022–2024
Current squad
Notable players
;Bosnia and Herzegovina
*
Aldin Čajić
*
Ivan Sesar
*
Ognjen Vranješ
Ognjen Vranješ (; born 24 October 1989) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back.
Vranješ started his professional career at Borac Banja Luka, before joining Red Star Belgrade in 2009. He was sent on loan to Napredak ...
;France
*
Julien Faubert
;Netherlands
*
Marvin Zeegelaar
Marvin Romeo Kwasie Zeegelaar (born 12 August 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left-back or a left midfielder.
Club career Early years
Born in Amsterdam of Surinamese descent, Zeegelaar finished his formation with local ...
;Sweden
*
Emir Kujović
;Turkey
*
Serdar Gürler
*
Ersan Gülüm
*
Kerim Frei
Managers
*
Milorad Mitroviç (2003-2003)
*
Güvenç Kurtar (2003–2004)
*
Erol Tok (2007–2008)
*
Şerafettin Tutaş (2008–2008)
*
Osman Özköylü (2010–2011)
*
Hüsnü Özkara (2011–2012)
*
Bülent Uygun (2012–2012)
*
Yılmaz Vural (2012–2013)
*
Trond Sollied (2013–2013)
*
Okan Buruk (2013–2014)
*
Ümit Özat (2014–2015)
*
Bayram Bektaş (2015-2015)
*
İbrahim Üzülmez (2015–2015)
*
Kemal Özdeş (2016–2016)
*
Coşkun Demirbakan (2016–2016)
*
Ogün Temizkanoğlu (2016–2016)
*
Bayram Bektaş (2016–2017)
*
Mehmet Altıparmak (2017–2017)
*
Hüseyin Kalpar (2017–2018)
*
Muammer Sürmeli (2017–2018)
*
Orhan Kaynak (2018–2019)
*
Erhan Altın (2018–2019)
*
Serhat Gülpınar
Serhat Gülpınar (born January 1, 1979) is a Turkish football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (w ...
(2018–2019)
*
Sefer Yılmaz (2019–2019)
*
Levent Eriş (2019–2020)
*
Orhan Kaynak (2020–2020)
*
Ümit Tekoğlu (2021–2021)
*
Cafer Aydın (2021–2021)
*
Kenan Kamaç (2021–2021)
*
Cafer Aydın (2021–2022)
*
Alaettin Tutaş (2022–2021)
*
Ramazan Çelik (2022–2022)
References
External links
*
Elazığsporon TFF.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elazigspor
Association football clubs established in 1967
Sport in Elazığ
Elazığspor
1967 establishments in Turkey