Football is the most popular sport in Turkey, followed by basketball, tracing its roots to the Ottoman Empire.

The Süper Lig (Super League) is the top division in Turkey since 1959.

Currently, clubs finishing in the top four places in the league enter qualifying rounds of European competitions, and the winners of the Turkish Cup, if not one of the top four, are also given a spot.

Hacettepe SK is the reserve side of Genclerbirligi, and Nigde Anadolu FK is of Altinordu.

In addition, once in a European competition, it becomes possible to qualify for others: The following teams have made the last eight of European competitions: ‡ Galatasaray was one of the eight teams in the group stage of the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League, however, UEFA does not consider this a quarter-final participation.