Turkey's top football league, the Süper Lig, was founded in 1959. It became the first league to be played nationwide when it was formed by merging several regional competitions. Over time, it has acquired a relatively high quality, as it has long been possible to qualify directly for the prestigious Champions League.
A total of 18 clubs from almost all over Turkey play in the league, though the eastern part of the country does not have a representative at the moment. The league is completely dominated by teams from Istanbul. Specifically, Galatasaray has already won 22 titles, Fenerbahçe has won 19 and Beşiktaş has 15 overall titles so far. And these teams regularly show their quality on the international stage. The remaining Turkish titles are shared by two teams, Trabzonspor (6) and Bursaspor (1).
