[1] The firm was founded on 20 January 2001, after various smaller groups of fans decided that, Galatasaray, which could be seen as a European top club after their success in the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup and 2000 UEFA Super Cup, needed a large, organised fan group.
[2] This led to the creation of ultrAslan under the leadership of Alpaslan Dikmen, the main coordinator until his accidental death on 27 September 2008.
The name of the organisation is a portmanteau word combining the concepts of "Ultras" and "Aslan" (the lion).
[4][5] In contrast to many other European fan groups, ultrAslan, although patriotic, is generally apolitical in nature.
It strictly declines any financial support or supply of free tickets from the club, and is financed by donations by members as well as by the sale of self-produced articles.