Çaykur Rizespor Kulübü 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 based in

Rize Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.Black Sea coast. The team competes 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 ...

, the top tier of

Turkish football Association football, Football is the most popular sport in Turkey, followed by basketball, tracing its roots to the Ottoman Empire. The first matches were played in Ottoman Thessaloniki, Salonica in 1875. The sport was introduced by English pe ...

. The club was originally founded on 19 May 1953, with its initial colors being green and yellow, symbolizing the region’s connection to tea and citrus farming. In 1968, Rizespor merged with two other local clubs, Fener Gençlik and Güneşspor, leading to a reorganization of the club and the adoption of green and blue as its official colors—green representing the lush hills of

Rize Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

. The club has maintained these colors ever since. Since 1990, Rizespor has been sponsored by the Turkish state-owned tea company

Çaykur Çaykur is a Turkish state-owned tea-producing company. Their portfolio includes ice tea, green tea, organic and black tea. Çaykur has 45 tea processing factories, and one packaging factory. The general manager of Çaykur is Yusuf Ziya Alim. ...

, leading to the official name change to Çaykur Rizespor Kulübü. This partnership also influenced the club’s visual identity, with a tea leaf becoming the central element of the club’s crest. Çaykur Rizespor plays its home matches at Rize City Stadium, a modern facility located near the coast, which offers picturesque views and a vibrant atmosphere. The club is known for its passionate local fanbase and its significant role in representing the Black Sea region in Turkish football.

History

Rize İdman Yurdu

Rize İdman Yurdu was the first sports club founded in

Rize Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The club was officially formed on the first anniversary of the city’s liberation from Russian occupation. Its founding was largely inspired by Suphi Bey, who was stationed in

Rize Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.Rize Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

and

Samsun Samsun is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and a major Black Sea port. The urban area recorded a population of 738,692 in 2022. The city is the capital of Samsun Province which has a population of ...

. Additionally, apart from football, great emphasis was placed on gymnastics, with Suphi Bey being a notable figure who dedicated significant effort to this direction. Şark İdman Ocağı continued its sporting activities for about two years, while Rize İdman Yurdu underwent various stages of development and later became the foundation for Rize Fener Gençlik Kulübü.

Foundation

The club, named Rizespor, was founded in

Rize Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

. It was established with the aim of “enhancing the physical and cultural abilities of youth and contributing to their development through education in this field.” The founding members were Yakup Temizel (a draper), Atıf Taviloğlu (a draper), Bilsel (a draper), Yaşar Tümbekçioğlu (a tax officer), and Muharrem Kürkçü (a draper). The club’s colors were chosen as “Yellow”, representing the oranges and lemons that were abundant in

Rize Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.Rize Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.Rizespor transitioned to professionalism through the merger of Rize Güneşspor, Rizegücü, and Fener Youth Sports Club, under the new colors of Blue-Green. They began their journey in the TFF 2. Lig, after narrowly missing promotion to the TFF 3. Lig following a controversial 3–0 forfeit defeat to

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Net Global Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department has competed in Süper Lig since t ...

. Additionally, 2 points were deducted, and instead of Rizespor, Tarsus İdman Yurdu was promoted to the TFF 2. Lig. This 3–0 forfeit marked a significant moment in Turkish football history as the first penalty of its kind applied to Rizespor. After a brief period, they fell back to Amateur Leagues but returned to the TFF 2. Lig in the 1978–1979 season as champions, earning the right to play in the TFF 1. Lig for the first time.

Recent history

On 9 February 1991, during an extraordinary general assembly, the club merged with

, the largest public organization in the Black Sea Region, and continued its activities in professional leagues under the name “Çaykur Rizespor Club.” The club was relegated from the 2001–02 season, finishing in 16th place. However, it was promoted back to the

after just one year. The club remained in the 2003–04 season without relegation until the 2007–08 season, when it was relegated, finishing in 17th place. In the following season, it competed in the TFF 1. Lig. From 2008 to 2013, the team competed in the TFF 1. Lig, finishing the 2012–13 season in 2nd place and earning promotion back to the

after a five-year absence. They competed in the 2016–17 season but were relegated to the TFF 1. Lig, finishing in 16th place. In the 2017–18 season, the club became champions and was promoted again to the 2018–19 season. In February 2015, the club announced plans to engage in 20 additional sports disciplines, including

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

mountaineering Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

, and women’s football. In the 2020–21 season, under the management of

Stjepan Tomas Stjepan Tomas (born 6 March 1976) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. His previous clubs include Dinamo Zagreb, Vicenza, Como, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Rubin Kazan. He played as centre-back, and at one point o ...

, Çaykur Rizespor parted ways with Tomas after 19 weeks. He was replaced by Marius Şumudică, who mutually terminated his contract after three draws and four losses. Bülent Uygun then took over. The team finished the league in 13th place with 12 wins, 12 draws, and 16 losses, accumulating 48 points. In the

2020–21 Turkish Cup The 2020–21 Turkish Cup () was the 59th season of the tournament. Ziraat Bankası was the sponsor of the tournament, thus the sponsored name was Ziraat Turkish Cup. The winners earned a berth in the play-off stage of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa ...

, they were eliminated in the round of 16 after a 1–0 loss to

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

. The 2021–22 season ended with the club finishing 17th and being relegated to the TFF 1. Lig. During the 2022–23 season, they finished 2nd and were promoted back to the

after one year. On 13 June 2023, After

Bülent Korkmaz Bülent Korkmaz (born 24 November 1968), colloquially known by his given nicknames "Büyük Kaptan" () and "Cengaver" (), is a Turkish former professional footballer and current manager of TFF 1. Lig club Esenler Erokspor. Korkmaz was a one ...

's contract with Çaykur Rizespor came to an end, the club decided to appoint İlhan Palut as their new coach. In his first season in charge, Palut led Rizespor to a 9th-place finish in the

, with the team securing 14 wins, 8 draws, and 16 losses over 38 matches, finishing with 50 points and a goal difference of -10.

Rivalries

Çaykur Rizespor-

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

rivalry is also known as the Black Sea derby. They are considered rivals due to their geographical proximity and their shared history of competing against each other in local and regional tournaments.

Stadium

The club hosts their home games at Rize City Stadium since 2009–10 season. The opening game of the stadium was held on 12 August 2009, when Çaykur Rizespor hosted Fenerbahçe for an exhibition game.

Supporters

Rotasızlar

Rotasızlar is a supporter group founded in 2006 by Ülkücü supporter Ali Yılmazoğlu in collaboration with Hakan Yıldırım. It is known for supporting Çaykur Rizespor with full energy for 90 minutes during both home and away matches. The group got its name from the 2004–2005 and 2005–2006 seasons, when a group of veteran fans sat in different sections of the stadium every match. The sea-side stand behind the goal at the New Rize City Stadium is now the home of Rotasızlar. Their base is in the Askoroz district. On average, they attend matches with 800–900 supporters, with a minimum of 350–400 and sometimes more than 2,000.

Atmacalar

Atmacalar was established in 2013 following the merger of two newly formed supporter groups, Göçebe and Derebeyler, under the leadership of Emre Genç and Osman Mete.

Mekansızlar

Founded in 1999, Mekansızlar is a supporter group that backs Çaykur Rizespor both at home and in away matches. Composed of experienced names from Rizespor’s supporter culture, the group usually stands behind the goal on the mountain side of the stadium. Mekansızlar is also known by their nickname: Dağdibi Cehennemi (“Hell of Dağdibi”).

Crest and Colors

Before the 1968 merger, Rizespor’s colors were green and yellow, while Fener Gençlik wore yellow and navy blue, and Güneşspor used yellow and red. When the three clubs united to form a single team, new colors were chosen to represent their shared identity. Inspired by nature, green was chosen to symbolize Rize’s rich greenery, and blue to represent the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

. Since then, Rizespor has used green and blue (yeşil-mavi) as its official colors. Rizespor’s crest has changed several times over the years, reflecting both the club’s development and its strong connection to the Rize region. The earliest logos featured the initials “RSK” (Rize Spor Kulübü) with the colors green and yellow, representing two of the area’s most well-known products: tea and citrus. Later designs replaced the initials with the full name “Rizespor” and adopted the green and blue color scheme. A key element that has remained in every version of the crest is the tea leaf, which symbolizes the region’s deep ties to tea production. Over time, the design of the crest became more modern and simple, with cleaner lines and updated fonts. After the club merged with

, the name was changed to “Çaykur Rizespor Kulübü”, and this was reflected in the crest. The tea leaf became more stylized, and red lettering was added to give the design a fresh and recognizable look. Despite changes in design over the years, the core identity of the crest—the tea leaf and the green-blue color combination—has stayed the same, showing Rizespor’s strong link to the culture, nature, and people of Rize.

Achievements

Honours

* TFF 1. Lig (second tier) ** Champions: 1978–79, 1984–85, 2017–18 ** Play-off winners: 1999–2000 ** Runners-up: 2002–03, 2012–13, 2022–23 * TFF 2. Lig (third tier) ** Champions: 1993–94 ** Runners-up: 1973–74 *

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

** Semi-finals: 2002–03, 2007–08, 2015–16 ** Quarter-finals: 1986–87, 2003–04

League participation

:1979–81, 1985–89, 2000–02, 2003–08, 2013–17, 2018–22, 2023– * TFF 1. Lig :1974–79, 1981–85, 1989–93, 1994–00, 2002–03, 2008–13, 2017–18, 2022–23 * TFF 2. Lig :1968–74, 1993–94

Past Season Performances

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Non-playing staff

Administrative Staff

Source:

Technical Staff

Source:

Coaching history

Presidential history

References

External links

Official websiteRizespor on TFF.orgRizespor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caykur Rizespor 1953 establishments in Turkey Association football clubs established in 1953 Football clubs in Turkey Sport in Rize Süper Lig clubs