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
Elazığ () is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, and the administrative centre of Elazığ Province and Elazığ District. Founded in and around the former city of Harput, it is located in the uppermost Euphrates valley. The plai ...
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
Elazığ () is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, and the administrative centre of Elazığ Province and Elazığ District. Founded in and around the former city of Harput, it is located in the uppermost Euphrates valley. The plai ...
. 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
Malatya Spor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club based in Malatya, mainly concentrated on football.
History
Prior to 1984 the club colors were yellow and black. They played for 11 seasons on the top-level of Turkish football. Their best result ...
. 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
The 2020 Elazığ earthquake occurred at 20:55 local time (17:55 UTC) on 24 January in Turkey. The magnitude of the earthquake was determined to be 6.7 . The earthquake's epicentre was close to the town of Sivrice in Elazığ Province and fe ...
. 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
Aldin Čajić (; born 11 September 1992) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bosnian Premier League club Sloboda Tuzla.
Čajić started his professional career at Teplice, before joining Dukla Prague in 2014. Three ...
*
Ivan Sesar
Ivan Sesar (born 29 August 1989) is a Bosnian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Club career
NK Zagreb
Sesar made his senior debut for NK Zagreb on 31 August 2008 in a 1–1 draw against HNK Sibenik He would only pla ...
*
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
Julien Alex Thomas Faubert (born 1 August 1983) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a right back. Born in France, he played in one match for the France national football team, France national team, in wh ...
;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
Emir Kujović (Cyrillic: Емир Кујовић; born 22 June 1988) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He won five caps and scored one goal for the Sweden national team, and was a squad player at UEFA Euro 20 ...
;Turkey
*
Serdar Gürler
Serdar Gürler (born 14 September 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a right winger or forward for İstanbul Başakşehir. Born in France, he represents Turkey at international level.
Career
Gürler plays as an attacking midfielder ...
*
Ersan Gülüm
Ersan Adem Gülüm (; born 17 May 1987) is a former professional footballer who last played as a centre back for Preston Lions in the NPL Victoria 3 and current president of Hume City FC. Born in Australia, Gülüm played for Australia at unde ...
*
Kerim Frei
Kerim Frei Koyunlu (born 19 November 1993) is a footballer who plays as a winger for Elazığspor. Born in Austria, he plays for the Turkey national team. He previously played club football for Fulham, Cardiff City, İstanbul Başakşehir, ...
Managers
*
Milorad Mitroviç (2003-2003)
*
Güvenç Kurtar
Güvenç Kurtar (born 25 July 1950) is a Turkish football manager and former player who most recently worked as head coach for Gümüşhanespor.
Playing career
Kurtar was born in Uşak. A forward, he began playing football with Beşiktaş J.K ...
(2003–2004)
*
Erol Tok (2007–2008)
*
Şerafettin Tutaş (2008–2008)
*
Osman Özköylü
Osman Özköylü (born 26 August 1971 in Aydın) is a Turkish people, Turkish Association football, football coach and former player.
He played for Aydınspor (1990–1993), Trabzonspor (1993–2002), Samsunspor (2002–2004), Kayserispor (2004 ...
(2010–2011)
*
Hüsnü Özkara (2011–2012)
*
Bülent Uygun
Bülent Uygun (born 1 August 1971) is a Turkish football manager and former player. He played as an attacking midfielder after starting his career as a striker, and was the captain of Fenerbahçe. His nickname is ''The Soldier''.
Playing career ...
(2012–2012)
*
Yılmaz Vural (2012–2013)
*
Trond Sollied (2013–2013)
*
Okan Buruk
Okan Buruk (, born 19 October 1973) is a Turkish professional football manager and former player, currently serving as the manager of Super League club Galatasaray. As both a player and a manager, Buruk is widely recognized as one of the most inf ...
(2013–2014)
*
Ümit Özat
Ümit Özat (born 30 October 1976) is a Turkish professional football manager and former player.
Club career
Born in Ankara, Özat initially played for Gençlerbirliği and for Fenerbahçe as a central defender or a defensive midfielder. Later ...
(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
Mehmet Altıparmak (born 1 May 1969) is a Turkish professional football manager and former player. As a footballer, Altıparmak played as a midfielder.
Career
Altıparmak was a footballer throughout the pro and semi-pro divisions in Turkey. A jo ...
(2017–2017)
*
Hüseyin Kalpar (2017–2018)
*
Muammer Sürmeli (2017–2018)
*
Orhan Kaynak
Orhan Kaynak (born 1 March 1970 in Adana), also known as Küçük Orhan, is a retired Turkey, Turkish Association football, footballer best known for his stints in the Turkish Süper Lig with Adanaspor, Trabzonspor, and Kocaelispor.
Professional ...
(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
Orhan Kaynak (born 1 March 1970 in Adana), also known as Küçük Orhan, is a retired Turkey, Turkish Association football, footballer best known for his stints in the Turkish Süper Lig with Adanaspor, Trabzonspor, and Kocaelispor.
Professional ...
(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
Elazığspor is a Turkish professional football club located in Elazığ and currently competes in the TFF Second League. They play their home games at Elazığ Atatürk Stadium in Elazığ, which has a maximum capacity of 18,423. The club was ...
1967 establishments in Turkey