Eskişehirspor Kulübü 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 (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club located in

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from 'old' and 'city') is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 821 315 (Odunpazari + Tebebasi), with a metropolitan population of 921 630. The city is l ...

. Founded in 1965, Eskişehirspor competed in the top division of Turkish football for 16 years until they were relegated. After being out of 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 ...

for 12 years the club won 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 ...

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

and were promoted in May 2008. Since being relegated from the Süper Lig in 2016 they have competed in lower leagues.

History

Early years

Eskişehirspor was founded by merging the regional teams of İdman Yurdu, Akademi Gençlik and Yıldıztepe and was admitted to the Second League in the 1965–1966 season. The team was promoted to the First League in its first professional season. Eskişehirspor became one of the better historically rich

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

n clubs despite having never won the

between 1968 and 1975. They were runners-up in 1968–1969, 1969–1970, and 1971–1972 seasons. Eskişehirspor won the

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 ...

in the 1969–1970 season by beating Bursaspor by 4–3 (1–2, 3–1) aggregate and a year after that in 1970–1971 season they lifted the Cumhurbaskanligi Kupasi ( President Cup) by beating Galatasaray once again by the same scoreline 3–2 with all goals coming from the Eskişehirspor legend himself Fethi Heper.

Unforgettable match

One of Eskişehirspor's greatest matches took place in the 1970–71

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

against

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...

. Eskişehirspor lost the away leg 1–0, but Fethi Heper won it for them 3–2, scoring a hat-trick in front of a home crowd with only 10 minutes left to play.

1980s and 1990s

After the 80's, Eskişehirspor started to slowly lose their success. The club relegated to Second League in the 1981–82 season after an eventful match against

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 ...

at gameweek 34, the last gameweek. The match was halted at 78th minute due to an intemperance caused by Eskişehirspor's supporters, after Beşiktaş's midfielder

Ziya Ziya () is a Turkish given name for males and females, it is of Arabic origin, in Turkish ''Ziya'' means ''light''. * Ziya Doğan, Turkish football manager * Ziya Gökalp, Turkish sociologist * Nazmi Ziya Güran, Turkish impressionist painter * Z ...

's goal at 76th minute, and match score was changed to 2–1 for Beşiktaş. Eskişehirspor was announced 3–0 unanimously lost by TFF and relegated as 1 point behind of

Gaziantepspor Gaziantepspor was a Turkish football club located in the city of Gaziantep. Formed in 1969 and dissolved in 2020, Gaziantepspor were nicknamed the ''Şahinler'' (The Falcons). The club colours were black and red, and they played their home matc ...

. Also, Beşiktaş finished their championship yearning since 1967. Eskişehirspor returned 1st League in 1983–84 season. They reached Federation Cup final in 1986–87 season but lost against Gençlerbirliği by 6–2 aggregate. They won the

Chancellor Cup The Prime Minister's Cup () was a football competition organised by the Turkish Football Federation in Turkey. It began in 1944 and continued until 1950 as a unique kind of super cup competition between the winners of the Turkish Football Champio ...

against

after the penalty shootout resulted 4–2, total 6–4. This match was resulted 2–2. They relegated again Second League after 1–0 lost against

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

, which goal scored by Tanju at Round 38, which was also last round in 1988–89 season. Eskişehirspor collected 41 points and remained behind of Altay by average. They relegated to Third League once after finishing third from last at Group A of 2nd League in 1991–92 season. However, they returned to Second League next season after finishing 1st at Group 5 of Third League. Eskişehirspor finished 1st at 3rd Group in Second League and qualified for Promotion Group in 1994–95 season. They finished 3rd and qualified to Extra Playoff. They defeated successively Erzurumspor as 2–1,

Adanaspor Adanaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional Association football, football club based in Adana; currently, they play in the TFF First League. The club was founded in 1954 by middle-class merchants and artisans in response to their perceived ali ...

as 3–2, which after extra time and Aydınspor as 2–1 and returned to First League. Eskişehirspor's new adventure at First League lasted only one season and relegated after 7-1 losing against

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 ...

despite a good start against

İstanbulspor İstanbulspor Kulübü is a Turkish association football, football and sports club founded by Istanbul High School students in 1926. In 2004–05, they were relegated from the Turkish Süper Lig (Super League) to the TFF First League. For many d ...

and this match finished 3–1 for Eskişehirspor. Eskişehirspor qualified to Promotion Playoff but didn't return to First League in 1997–98. They escaped from relegation to Third League danger and Petrolofisi relegated in 1998–99 season. Eskişehirspor finally qualified to Second League Category B (later Second League), who is third level of Turkish League, after 2000–2001 season.

Back to the Süper Lig

Eskişehirspor finished 1st in 3rd Group of İddaa League B and played in Promotion Group in 2005–2006 season. They finished 3rd behind of Kasımpaşa and Gençlerbirliği Asaşspor and qualified for Extra Playoff matches. Eskişehirspor's first play off match was against

Kardemir Karabükspor Kardemir Demir Çelik Karabükspor, known simply as Kardemir Karabükspor or Karabükspor, was a Turkish sports club based in Karabük. The team was founded in 1969 after a merger between "Karabük Gençlikspor" and "Demir Çelik Spor". The club ...

. After regular and extra time the match ended in a 0–0 draw. Eskişehirspor advanced to quarter final game after beating them 3–1 in the penalty shoot out. They also defeated

Sarıyer Sarıyer () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 177 km2 and its population is 350,454 (2022). It is on the northeastern part of Istanbul's European side. Sarıyer al ...

after 6–5 in the penalty shoot out. Regular and extra time the match ended in a 0–0 draw before penalty shoot out. They defeated 3–0 Kartalspor in semifinal and Pendikspor in final and promoted to First League. Eskişehirspor finished 13th in 2006–2007 season. After a successful season in the Bank Asya First League, Eskişehirspor finished in 4th place and qualified for the playoffs in 2007–2008 season. The playoffs determine who is going to take the third and final promotion spot for the

. Eskişehirspor's first play off match was against Diyarbakırspor. The match ended 0–0 after regular and extra time, Eskişehirspor won the penalty shoot out, 6–5. The final match against Boluspor was held at the Beşiktaş' Inonu Stadium in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. At the end of 90 minutes Eskişehirspor were promoted to the Süper Lig winning 2–0, with goals from Doğa Kaya and Coşkun Birdal. On 3 June 2008, Halil Ünal was elected as the new chairman of Eskişehirspor.

Rıza Çalımbay Rıza Çalımbay (born 2 February 1963) is a Turkish UEFA Pro Licensed football manager and former player who is currently serving as the head coach of Sivasspor. Under his leadership, Sivasspor won the 2021–22 Turkish Cup, the first major tr ...

was appointed as manager for the 2008–2009 season. Eskişehirspor beat

twice (4–2 at home and 1–0 at away), and draw 2–2 with Fenerbahçe at home in this season and secured Süper Lig status for 2009–2010 season, despite losing 5–2 at home to

on 24 May 2009. The 2009–2010 season was a much more progressive period for ESES. Almost all title chasing clubs were beaten in the Eskisehir Stadium by Kırmızı Şimşekler. ESES had a very poor beginning to the 2010–2011 season, losing 6 matches back to back. Rıza Çalımbay was sacked by the board and Bulent Uygun was announced as the new Coach. Within a short time he and his technical staff solved the main problems of the team, and, after 10 matches, almost qualified for the UEFA Cup, but were ranked 7th in the table at end of the season. During the summer break, Bulent Uygun was fired and Michael Skibbe announced as new coach.

Relegation to amateur level and transfer ban

Eskişehirspor was relegated from the Süper Lig in 2016 and spent 5 seasons in the

, the second division of Turkish football, before being relegated in 2021. During this period, the club was placed under a transfer embargo starting in 2019, due to months of unpaid wages and a debt of 234 million Turkish Lira. In 2022, the club suffered back-to-back relegations as it fell to the

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 ...

. In January 2023, Erkan Koca was elected as the sole candidate at the extraordinary general assembly meeting and became the new president of the club. After the new management took office, Eskişehirspor's transfer ban was lifted in February 2023 after 7 transfer periods following the letter of no debt received from its creditors. At the end of the 2022–23 season, the club was relegated to the

Turkish Regional Amateur League The Turkish Regional Amateur League () is the fifth tier of the Turkish football league system. The tier comprises a number (usually 10-13, varies by season) of groups across Turkey, each consisting of teams grouped according to the regions in ...

Crest and colours

The unmistakable emblem was actually designed by Eskisehirspor's first club chairman

Aziz Bolel Aziz (; ; ) is a Semitic name from the root two-zayin. In the Hebrew Bible, the root two-zayin () means 'reputable, powerful, sublime'. In the 1 Chronicles, Aziz was the son of Shema and the father of Bela. Azizus ( Latinised), attested as an ...

and perfected by graphic designer

Selahattin Vapur Selahattin is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic Muslim masculine given name Salah ad-Din (Arabic: صَلَاح الدِّيْن ''ṣalāḥ ad-dīn''). Notable people with the name include: People * Selâhattin Âdil (1882–1961), Ottoman Arm ...

, the three stars represent the merger of Akademi Gençlik, İdmanyurdu and Yıldıztepe. The club colours were inspired by French club

Stade Rennais Stade Rennais Football Club (SRFC, ), commonly referred to as Stade Rennais () or simply Rennes,''Rennais'' and ''Stade Rennes'', used by some English-speaking media outlets and journalists, are not grammatically correct names for the club. is ...

' 1964–1965

Coupe De France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

win, the board saw Rennes lifting the cup celebrating on the front page of a football magazine and immediately fell in love with the club colours and adopted them as their own believing that it would bring them good luck.

Stadium

Eskişehir Atatürk Stadium

Eskişehir Atatürk Stadium () is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It was used mostly as Eskişehirspor's home ground. The stadium was built in 1953 and held 13,520 people. It was named after the Turkish statesman

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

New Eskişehir Stadium

New Eskişehir Stadium The New Eskişehir Stadium () is a stadium in Eskişehir, Turkey. It opened to the public in late 20 November 2016 and has a capacity of 32,500 spectators. It is the home ground of Eskişehirspor. It replaced the club's former home, Eskişehir A ...

is a multi-use

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

in the Sazova neighborhood of (Southwest of Eskişehir metropolitan area)

. The all-seated stadium has a capacity of nearly 32,500 people. It was also one of the 9 candidate host stadiums of the Turkish bid for

EURO 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

. Despite losing the election, the Chairman of TFF said "we have to work on these stadiums like a winner of the election; I'm going to talk about it with the Prime Minister". The inner walls of the stadium are constructed partially with serigraphic glass to provide maximum transparency from the inside and to emphasise its open character at night. A tram line connects the New Eskişehir Stadium with the city centre, the airport and the university. A new express ring road around the city also passes just south of the stadium. On 7 January 2010, the Eskişehirspor president, Halil Ünal, Eskişehir mayor, Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Büyükerşen and Eskişehir governor, Mehmet Kılıçlar, signed the agreement to construct the new stadium in Muttalip. The stadium also replaced the Eskişehir Atatürk Stadium, former home ground of Eskişehirspor. It opened to the public on 20 November 2016.

Supporters

The supporters create a great atmosphere during the season with their Band Team (known a
BandoESES
. Besides BandoESES, there is another supporter group (known a
KoreoESES
, who create very different and unique shows, with some beautiful choreographies for every match, at the stadium and on the road. Eskisehirspor supporters are really different than others when it comes to supporting their club through 2nd and even 3rd divisions. They regard their old fashioned stadium as holy grounds and reject the idea that it be moved to the outskirts of the city for the modern one. Because of their passionate, obsessive and dominant atmosphere during matches, they are the envy of many other team's supporters. They have gained recognition and respect as one of the fiercest fanbases in Turkey and are known as a "phenomenon" of Turkish football.

Attendance record

The game in Group VI between Eskişehirspor and ''Manavgat Belediyespor'' of December 15, 2024 had the highest attendances numbers in the history of the

with a total of 30,328 spectators.

Bando ESES

Founded in 2006 in the 'Samba Bar',

, what started as a group of friends has grown into one of the most well known and respect supporter groups in Turkey. Bando-ESES currently has 23 active musicians playing instruments ranging from

Trumpets The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard B o ...

to traditions Turkish

davul The davul, dhol, tapan, atabal or tabl is a large double-headed drum that is played with mallets. It has many names depending on the country and region. These drums are commonly used in the music of the Middle East and the Balkans. These drums ...

drums. They are accompanied by loyal backing members who also help out. The group bring a change to the usual chanting and really liven games up turning matches into a carnival atmosphere. They can help to control the tempo of the game and have a range of musical styles. The group are well organised and are constantly growing.

Controversy

On 14 May 2016, after losing 1–2 to İstanbul BB, by a late winning goal in the 93rd minute, Eskişehirspor, after all the effort to stay, were relegated from the Süper Lig. Fans of the club, the Eskişehirspor Ultras, upset with this, set their own stadium on fire. The stadium was never used again.

Honours

**''Runners-up (3):'' 1968–69, 1969–70, 1971–72 *

**Winners (1): 1970–71 **''Runners-up (3):'' 1969–70, 1986–87, 2013–14 *

Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup, known as Turkcell Super Cup () for sponsorship reasons, is a super cup tournament in Turkish football. Founded in 1966 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2025 by four teams: the winners ...

**Winners (1): 1970–71 * Prime Minister's Cup: **Winners (3): 1966, 1972, 1987 *

Balkans Cup The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being ...

: **''Runners-up (1):''

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

League participations

: 1966–82, 1984–89, 1995–96, 2008–2016 *

: 1965–66, 1982–84, 1989–92, 1993–95, 1996–01, 2006–08, 2016–2021 *

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 ...

: 1992–93, 2001–06, 2021–2022 *

: 2022–2023 * Regional Amateur League: 2023–

Competition history

European record

UEFA club ranking

Players

Current squad

Other players under contract

Managers

* Abdullah Matay (1965–66) * Cihat Arman (1966–67) *

Abdulah Gegić Abdulah Gegić (, ; 19 March 1924 – 21 June 2008) was a Yugoslav football manager and player. Playing career Following World War II, Gegić played for Metalac Beograd in the inaugural Yugoslav First League season. He later spent four years wi ...

(1 July 1967 – 30 June 1971) * Abdullah Matay (1971–72) * Tomislav Kaloperović (1973) * Abdullah Matay (1973–74) * Octavian Popescu (1974–75) * Abdullah Matay (1976) *

(1977–78) * Abdullah Matay (1981–82) * Milorad Mitrović (1981–83) *

(1983) * Valeriu Neagu (1984–85) * Milorad Mitrović (1985–86) * Ender Konca (1986) *

Đorđe Gerum Đorđe Gerum (; born 28 September 1940) is a Serbian former football manager and player. Playing career Born in Pančevo, Gerum started playing football at his hometown club Dinamo, but soon joined the youth system of Partizan. After spendin ...

(1986–87) * Abdullah Matay (1986–87) * Milorad Mitrović (1988–89) * Ender Konca (1990) * Ilie Datcu (1991) * Abdullah Matay (1993–94) * Yılmaz Vural (23 May 1995 – 14 Dec 1995) * Güvenç Kurtar (1996) * Akif Başaran (20 Nov 1998 – 30 June 1999) *

Buran Beadini Buran Beadini (born 30 March 1955) is a North Macedonia, Macedonian Association football, football manager and former defender who played for clubs in Yugoslavia and Turkey. He is of Albanians in North Macedonia, Albanian heritage. Playing car ...

(1999), (1999–00), (2001) * Yavuz İncedal (2006–07) * Metin Diyadin (4 April 2007 – 30 June 2008) *

Nenad Bijedić Nenad "Ćeća" Bijedić ( Turkish: ''Nejat Biyediç'' or ''Nejat Vardar''; 24 September 1959 – 15 August 2011) was a Bosnian and naturalized Turkish football manager and player. He began playing football in FK Velez Mostar. Playing career Cl ...

(21 March 2008 – 1 June 2008) *

(4 July 2008 – 30 June 2011) * Bülent Uygun (6 Oct 2010 – 7 July 2011) *

Michael Skibbe Michael Heinz Skibbe (born 4 August 1965) is a German former football player and current manager of J1 League club Sanfrecce Hiroshima. He is currently the 2024 ' J.League Manager of the Year'. Club career In his youth, Skibbe played for SG Wa ...

(18 July 2011 – 21 Dec 2011) *

Ersun Yanal Kazım Ersun Yanal (, born 17 December 1961) is a Turkish football manager and former player. His style has always been attacking football doubled up with tactics unprecedented in Turkish football. He enjoys a very respectable place amongst Turki ...

(26 Dec 2011 – 25 June 2013) * Ertuğrul Sağlam (28 June 2013 – 5 Jan 2015) *

(8 Jan 2015 – 10 Oct 2015) * Ismail Kartal (11 Oct 2015 – 12 Nov 2015) *

Samet Aybaba Samet Aybaba (born 3 February 1955, Adana) is a UEFA Pro Licensed Turkish football manager and former player. Career He was born 2 March 1955 in Adana. He began a football career in İskenderunspor. He transferred to Beşiktaş JK in 1977–78 ...

(17 Nov 2015 – 19 May 2016) * Alpay Özalan (23 Jun 2016 – 14 Mar 2017) * Mustafa Denizli (23 Feb 2017 – 30 Jun 2017) *

Sergen Yalçın Ali Rıza Sergen Yalçın (; born 5 November 1972), known as Sergen Yalçın, Turkish professional football manager and former player. Yalçın is the first individual in Turkish football to win the Süper Lig both as ...

(31 Jul 2017 – 25 Sep 2017) * Yücel İldiz (25 Sep 2017 – 5 Apr 2018) * Yılmaz Vural (6 Apr 2018 – 30 Jun 2018) * Fuat Çapa (7 Aug 2018 – 12 Sep 2019) * Coşkun Demirbakan (18 Sep 2019 – 25 Dec 2019) * Mustafa Özer (26 Dec 2019 – 28 Sep 2020) * İlhan Var (9 Oct 2020 – 5 Jan 2021) * Yasin Söğüt (21 Jan 2021 – 3 Feb 2021) * Cengiz Seçsev (3 Feb 2021– 14 Apr 2021) *

Cem Karaca Muhtar Cem Karaca (5 April 1945 – 8 February 2004) was a Turkish legendary rock musician and one of the most important figures in the Anatolian rock movement. He was a graduate of Robert College. He worked with various Turkish rock bands suc ...

(29 Jul 2021 – 19 Oct 2021) * Suat Kaya (20 Oct 2021 – 30 Jul 2022) * Emre Özbayer (4 Jul 2022 – )

References

External links

*
Eskişehirspor
on TFF.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Eskisehirspor Association football clubs established in 1965 Sport in Eskişehir Football clubs in Turkey 1965 establishments in Turkey Süper Lig clubs