Hatayspor Kulübü, known as Atakaş Hatayspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club located in Antakya, Hatay Province. Hatayspor, founded in 1967 through a merger of three local clubs, aimed to promote sports and positive habits among youth. The team's colors symbolize nobility, purity, and peace. They won their first championship in 1969–70, earning promotion. Over the years, they faced relegations and promotions in lower leagues. They reached the Second League in 1989-90 and 1993, and finally promoted to the Süper Lig in the 2019–20 season.
Hatayspor was founded in 1967 through the merger of Kurtuluşspor, Esnafspor, and Reyhanlı Gençlikspor by the prominent figures of the city. The aim was to attract public interest through competitions and to help young individuals steer clear of negative habits. The team's colors are Maroon-White, with an additional third color, Laurel Leaf Green. Maroon symbolizes nobility, White represents purity, and Laurel Leaf Green signifies peace. The inaugural founding members of Hatayspor were Razık Gazel (President), Orhan Aksuyu (Vice President), Fatih Hocaoğlu (Team Captain), and Hüsnü Hataylı.
Hatayspor secured its first championship during the 1969–70 season under the guidance of coach İlker Tolon, earning promotion from the Third League to the Second League. Subsequently, in the 1975–76 season, the team was relegated to the Third League, but managed to reclaim a spot in the Second League by finishing as runners-up in the 1979–80 season. However, this stay in the Second League was short-lived as the team was relegated again in the 1982–83 season. Due to the elimination of the Third League, Hatayspor competed in the amateur divisions for a single year. In 1984, when the Third League were reinstated, the team was placed in the Third League. In the 1989–90 season, Hatayspor clinched the championship in their Third League group and gained promotion to the Second League . However, they faced relegation once more during the 1991–92 season. Remarkably, just a year after the relegation in the 1992–93 season, Hatayspor achieved another triumph by winning their Third League group and advancing to the Second League. During the 2007–08 season, Hatayspor experienced another relegation to the Third League. In the 2008–09 season, Hatayspor led the Third League Classification group and finished 6th in the Third League Promotion group, earning a spot in the Third League play-offs. Their first opponent was Ankara Demirspor. After a 1–1 draw in regular time and extra time, Hatayspor won 5–2 on aggregate, securing a place in the final against Yalovaspor. Despite taking a 1–0 lead in the final, they were defeated 2–1 and were eliminated. In the 2011–12 season, under the management of İsmail Batur, Hatayspor became champions of their Third League group with a week left to go and earned promotion to the Second League.
During the 2012–13 season, competing in the Second League Red Group, Hatayspor finished 2nd and qualified for the play-offs. Unfortunately, they lost the final match against Fethiyespor, narrowly missing the chance to reach the First League. They faced the same misfortune in the 2013–14 season, losing the final match to Alanyaspor in a penalty shootout, once again failing to secure promotion to the First League. In the 2017–18 season, under the management of İlhan Palut, Hatayspor became champions of the Second League and earned promotion to the First League after 16 years. In the 2018–19 season, now known as the First League, Hatayspor finished in 3rd place. They also made a mark in the Turkish Cup, defeating the First League Lig leader Gençlerbirliği 4–1 in the Round of 16, and further impressing by beating Süper Lig leader İstanbul Başakşehir with a solid 4–1 score at home in the Quarter-finals. However, in the Quarter-finals, despite an impressive performance that saw them score 4 goals to turn around a 2–0 deficit in the second leg against Galatasaray, they were eliminated due to an away goal rule after the aggregate score ended 4–4. In the Play-Offs to qualify for the Süper Lig, Hatayspor eliminated Adana Demirspor in the Semi-finals but lost to Gaziantep in the final on penalties, falling short of promotion to the Süper Lig.
In the 2019–20 season, Hatayspor clinched the championship with one week remaining and, for the first time in its 53-year history, achieved promotion to the Süper Lig.[1] During the 2020–21 season, the team made its debut in the Süper Lig and had a successful season, maintaining a chance to qualify for the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League until the final weeks. However, despite their efforts, they couldn't secure the opportunity, finishing the season in 6th place. In the 2020–21 season, Hatayspor's forward players excelled, with Aaron Boupendza scoring 22 goals to claim the top scorer title. Additionally, Mame Biram Diouf finished in second place with 19 goals in the top scorer rankings. In January 2022, the club launched a partnership with Philippines Football League club Dynamic Herb Cebu.[2][3]
During the first of the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, the club's quarters in Antakya collapsed, trapping players and staff. All were rescued except player Christian Atsu who died,[4] and sporting director Taner Savut, whose body was found on 21 February 2023.[5] Following the earthquake, the club withdrew from the league.[6]
Rivalries
The team which Hatayspor most played against is Tarsus İdman Yurdu. So far, there have been 43 games between the teams. Hatayspor won 17 of 43, Tarsus Idman Yurdu won 15 of 43, and 11 games ended with draw.[7]
