Foundation and early years

The club was founded on 1 June 1963 after Acar İdman Yurdu, Akınspor, İstiklal, Pınarspor and Çelikspor were merged to form a single club; Bursaspor. Green and white were chosen as the club colours, and the club entered the 2. Lig in 1963–64.^[2] Their first match took place on 21 September 1963 against İzmir Demirspor in İzmir.^[8] Bursaspor were promoted to the Süper Lig after winning the 1966–67 2. Lig. They won 19 of their 30 matches, finishing with 45 points, eight ahead of second placed Samsunspor.^[6] They were relegated to the 2. Lig in 1985–86 and were relegated again in 1986–87 season, but their relegations were revoked due to winning the Turkish Cup in 1986 and a Turkish Council of State verdict in 1987. Their most recent relegation came in 2004. They gained promotion back into the Süper Lig after winning the First League on 16 May 2006. Bursaspor won their first major cup in 1971, beating Fenerbahçe 1–0 after extra time in the now-defunct Prime Minister's Cup. Because Fenerbahçe had won the league and cup in 1973–74, Bursaspor, as 1974 Turkish Cup runners up, were given a place in the 1974–75 European Cup Winners' Cup. Bursaspor reached the quarter-finals, beating Finn Harps and Dundee United, before falling to eventual champions Dynamo Kyiv. The club's first Turkish Cup win came in 1986 when they defeated Altay 2–0 in the finals.^[6] The club therefore qualified for the 1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup, losing to eventual champions Ajax in the first round.^[7]

The league title

The 2009–10 season began successful and by the midpoint of the season, in December 2009; gameweek 17, the club were sitting in the top spot in the Süper Lig table. The first half of the season saw a 1–0 home victory against Istanbul giants Galatasaray, and also a 2–3 win away at Beşiktaş. In late 2009, Sağlam was linked with the vacant Turkey managerial position after Terim's resignation, but he refused to comment on the speculation. Guus Hiddink eventually took up the position. The latter part of the season saw a 6–0 win over mid–table İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor, the largest win in the league to date this season, and also a 2–3 away win against Fenerbahçe after winning from two goals down. Bursaspor again reached the quarter-finals of the Turkish Cup and again they lost on aggregate to Fenerbahçe, this time crashing out 4–3 due to an injury time winner from Fener. In April 2010 Bursaspor sat at the top of the table after being in the top three for the past few months. With eight games left to play Bursaspor were five points clear at the top. Five weeks before the end of the season, Bursaspor fell to second place in the Süper Lig. They maintained pressure on Fenerbahçe who had overtaken them. Going into the final game of the season, Bursaspor were just one point behind Fener, and needed to better their results against defending champions Beşiktaş. Knowing that the match against Beşiktaş could prove decisive. With Fenerbahçe held to a 1–1 home draw against Trabzonspor, and Bursaspor beating Beşiktaş 2–1, the Bursaspor were crowned champions, by just a single point. They are only the second club outside the "Istanbul Big Three" who have won the league. Trabzonspor were the other team, who last won in 1983–84. Before winning its first Süper Lig title in 2009–10, Bursaspor had never finished inside the top three. The club won its first title in Ertuğrul Sağlam's first full season as manager of the club. Pablo Batalla and Ozan İpek were the club's joint top scorers with eight goals apiece.^[9] Bursaspor were drawn against Rangers, Valencia and Manchester United in the group stages of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League.^[10] In its away match against Rangers, Bursaspor decided not to don their home kit to avoid provoking Rangers' fans, as their kit heavily resembles that of Rangers' rivals, Celtic.^[11] Bursaspor is the fourth football club in Turkey to start a dedicated television channel (Bursaspor TV).^[12]

Subsequent years, financial trouble and relegations

After several successful seasons including qualifying for the UEFA Europa League on several occasions, the late 2010s saw Bursaspor struggle financially, as they faced a heavy amount of debt.^[13] Bursaspor were relegated to the TFF First League in 2019, on the final day of the 2018-2019 season.^[14] After three seasons in the First League, they were relegated to the TFF Second League in the 2021–22 season.^[15] Their inability to pay their debt saw them incur a ban on signing new players.^[16]

Fans

The club's main fan base is known as Teksas (Texas) and Legend Teksas.

Special relationship with Ankaragücü

In the early 1990s Bursaspor's ultra group Teksas had a leader called Abdulkerim Bayraktar. He went to study in Ankara, and whilst in the city he started attending Ankaragücü games and started building ties between the two clubs. In 1993 however, his life was cut short during his military service when he was killed by terrorists. This tragic event bought Bursaspor and Ankaragücü even closer together. During the first game after his death, Bursaspor organised a tribute to him, and the events which happened next cemented the brotherhood between these two teams. A large group of Ankaragücü supporters made their way onto the pitch and unveiled a large banner reading 'Our brother Abdul will never die, he lives on in our hearts'. The two supporter groups united and hundreds of Ankaragücü ultras attended his funeral. From that day on, Bursaspor supporters would chant Ankaragücü's name in the 6th minute of every home game, 06 being significant due to 06 being Ankara's city code. Ankaragücü supporters in return chant Bursaspor's name during the 16th minute, 16 being Bursa's city code. When the two sides play, the supporters sit together; it is one of the rare occasions in which ultras from opposing teams watch a game together in a mixed environment. They bring BursAnkara scarfs (a merger of the two cities' names) to the games and create an atmosphere full of mutual respect.^[18]

Matches

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1974–75	European Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Finn Harps	4–2	0–0	4–2
		2R	Dundee United	1–0	0–0	1–0
		QF	Dynamo Kiev	0–1	0–2	0–3
1986–87	European Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Ajax	0–2	0–5	0–7
1995	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group 10	Košice	1–1	—	1st
			Charleroi	—	2–0
			Wimbledon	—	4–0
			Beitar Jerusalem	2–0	—
		R16	OFI Crete	2–1	—	2–1
		QF	Karlsruher SC	3–3	—	3–31
2010–11	UEFA Champions League	Group C	Manchester United	0–3	0–1	4th
			Valencia	0–4	1–6
			Rangers	1–1	0–1
2011–12	UEFA Europa League	3Q	Gomel	2–1	3–1	5–2
		PO	Anderlecht	1–2	2–2	3–4
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	3Q	KuPS	6–0	0–1	6–1
		PO	Twente	3–1	1–4	4–5
2013–14	UEFA Europa League	3Q	Vojvodina	0–3	2–2	2–5
2014–15	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Chikhura Sachkhere	0–0	0–0	0–02

Notes

¹ Karlsruhe progressed to the Semi-finals after winning a penalty shoot-out 6–5.
² Chikhura progressed to the third qualifying round after winning a penalty shoot-out 4–1.

UEFA ranking history

As of 2019

Season	Rank	Points	Ref.
1975	144	1.166	[19]
1976	146	1.166	[20]
1977	150	1.166	[21]
1978	154	1.166	[22]
1979	149	1.166	[23]
2011	135	12.010	[24]
2012	124	13.310	[25]
2013	120	14.900	[26]
2014	122	15.840	[27]
2015	119	16.020	[28]
2016	152	11.420	[29]
2017	151	10.840	[30]
2018	154	7.160	[31]
2019	159	6.920	[32]

Current squad

As of 11 September 2022^[33][34]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  TUR Canberk Yurdakul 3 DF  TUR Abdullah Tazgel 4 DF  TUR Furkan Ünver 5 MF  TUR Ozan Koç 6 MF  TUR Kubilay Sönmez 7 FW  TUR Hasan Ayaroğlu 8 MF  TUR Bilal Güney 9 FW  TUR Berat Altındiş 10 FW  TUR Cenk Şahin 11 FW  TUR Eren Güler 12 GK  TUR Talha Yakın 17 FW  TUR Hasan Sabri Karaca

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF  TUR Ömer Görgüç 22 DF  TUR Eren Tunalı 23 DF  TUR Ertuğrul Kurtuluş 24 DF  TUR Kerem Kök 25 MF  TUR Deniz Dirk Knibbe 28 GK  TUR Deniz Aydın 46 MF  TUR Baris Dalkiran 66 MF  TUR Samet Bozkurt 77 FW  TUR Mustafa Genç 78 MF  TUR Emre Tepegöz 99 DF  TUR Hamza Arıkan — FW  TUR Alperen Şirin

Other players under contract

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  TUR Çağatay Yılmaz

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  TUR Şamilcan Bahçeli (at Gümüşhanespor until 30 June 2023)

List of former players

Domestic league

• Turkish Süper Lig
  • Winners (1): 2009–10
• Turkish Second Football League
  • Winners (2): 1966–67, 2005–06

Domestic cup

• Turkish Cup
  • Winners (1): 1985–86
  • Runners-up (5): 1971, 1974, 1992, 2012, 2015
• Turkish Super Cup
  • Runners-up (3): 1986, 2010, 2015