Istanbul Basaksehir

İstanbul Başakşehir Futbol Kulübü is a relatively new football club compared to many other professional Turkish teams, having been established in 1990. The club’s original name was İSKİ Spor Kulübü, and it was owned by the municipality’s water distribution company. ISKI Spor Kulübü began competing in the Regional Amateur Football League during the 1990–91 season, earning promotion to the TFF Second League. After this promotion, the club’s name was changed to İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor.

The club competed in the TFF Second League until 1996. After a successful campaign in the 2006–07 season, they secured promotion to the Süper Lig. İstanbul BB finished 12th in the 2007–08 season, ensuring their stay in the top division. In the 2009–10 season, the club achieved a 6th-place finish. However, in the 2012–13 season, the team finished 16th and was relegated to the TFF First League. The club made an immediate comeback, finishing the 2013–14 season as champions and earning promotion back to the Süper Lig.

On 4 June 2014, the club was restructured into a joint-stock company with seven shareholders and renamed İstanbul Başakşehir Futbol Kulübü. Göksel Gümüşdağ was appointed as the founding chairman.

In its debut Süper Lig season as Başakşehir, the team finished 4th, qualifying for the UEFA Europa League qualifiers. In the 2015–16 season qualifiers, the team was eliminated by AZ Alkmaar but secured another 4th-place league finish. During the 2016–17 season, Başakşehir defeated Rijeka in the qualifiers but was eliminated by Shakhtar Donetsk before reaching the group stage.

In just their third season after rebranding, Başakşehir finished as runners-up in the 2016–17 Süper Lig. In the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League qualifiers, they defeated Club Brugge but were knocked out by Sevilla in the play-off round. They subsequently participated in the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage, finishing 3rd in Group C. Domestically, Başakşehir finished the 2017–18 season in 3rd place. In the following season, Başakşehir was eliminated by Burnley in the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League qualifiers but secured a 2nd-place finish in the 2018–19 Süper Lig.

Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Başakşehir adopted the slogan “New Vision, Same Goal.” Although they were eliminated by Olympiacos in the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League play-off, they topped Group J in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, competing against Roma, Borussia Mönchengladbach, and Wolfsberger. They advanced to the Round of 32, defeating Sporting CP but were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Copenhagen.

On 19 July 2020, Başakşehir were crowned champions of the Turkish Süper Lig for the first time in the club’s history. They also became only the sixth club in the competition’s history to win the league title and the fourth club from Istanbul to do so.

On 18 February 2024, it was reported that City Football Group, the ownership group behind Manchester City, reached a partnership agreement with the club in order to improve their football strategy, recruitment, scouting and coaching methodology. This development marked a significant milestone for the club, aligning it with one of the most successful football group structures in the world. The deal is expected to enhance Başakşehir’s international presence and bolster its financial and operational capabilities.