Football league in Turkey
Football league
The Turkish Super Cup (Turkish: TFF Süper Kupa), as it is currently known, is the annual super cup football match contested between the previous season's Süper Lig champions and the Turkish Cup winners in Turkey. It was originally known as the Cumhurbaşkanlığı Kupası (Presidential Cup) from 1966 to 1998. No competition was held between 1999 and 2005, although there was a substitute competition played under the name of Atatürk Cup in 2000.[1] The rebranded TFF Süper Kupa is a curtain raiser for the upcoming footballing season, usually taking place in August. In case of a team achieving the double, the Turkish Cup runners-up become finalists.
The current holders are 2022–23 Süper Lig winners Galatasaray, who won against 2022–23 Turkish Cup winners Fenerbahçe in the 2023 edition. Galatasaray is the most successful team of the competition, with 17 titles in 26 appearances.
History
Between 1966 and 1980 the cup was called Cumhurbaşkanlığı Kupası (Presidential Cup). Following the Turkish coup d'état in 1980, it was renamed to Devlet Başkanlığı Kupası (Head of State Cup) for the 1981 and 1982 finals. After the resumption of democracy, the tournament was renamed back to Cumhurbaşkanlığı Kupası, taking place from 1983 to 1998. Between 1999 and 2005 no competition was held. In the year 2000 there was a substitute competition called Atatürk Cup. In a bid to rebrand and revive the tournament as a super cup, an inaugural 2006 final took place in Germany, where a large population of Turkish immigrants reside. The success of the new format led to the continuation of the TFF Süper Kupa as it is known and contested today.
During the Cumhurbaşkanlığı Kupası era, all matches were played in the Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium, in the city of Ankara. The only exception to this tradition was the 1975 final, played in the Cebeci İnönü Stadium. After the 2006 rebranding, the cup continued to be contested in a neutral venue, which is picked annually by the Turkish Football Federation.
The finalists always consisted of Süper Lig champions and Turkish Cup winners, but there were exceptions to this rule. In 1968, Fenerbahçe won both the league and the cup, thus achieving the double. The TFF decided to award the Cumhurbaşkalığı Kupası directly to the club, but went on to change the regulations after this case. Between 1973 and 1977, in case of a team achieving the double, the Başbakanlık Kupası (Prime Minister's Cup) winners became the second finalists. During the Turkish coup d'état in 1980, elect government was abolished and between 1981 and 1984 no competition in the name of Chancellery was held. Thus, the Turkish Football Federation made another regulatory change, and awarded the second finalists spot to the Süper Lig runners-up, in case of a team achieving the double. 1983, 1984, 1990 and 1993 finals took place in that fashion.
After the 2006 rebranding, the Turkish Federation revised the regulations for a final time, and the Turkish Cup runners-up began to earn a spot in the competition, in case of a team achieving the double, thus making the game a rematch of that year's Turkish Cup final.
The 2023 edition of the Turkish Super Cup was scheduled be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as part of Riyadh Season entertainment festival. The event did not take place due to a controversy over the display of quotes and images of Turkish founding father Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the Turkish national anthem, with both Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe abandoning the match and leaving Saudi Arabia.
