Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği (Turkish pronunciation: [buɾsaspoɾ kulyby dæɾneji]), commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Bursa. Formed in 1963, the club colours are green and white, with home kits usually featuring both colours in a striped pattern.
In the 2009–10 season, the club's men's football team won its first Süper Lig title after finishing with 75 points, one point ahead of the runners-up Fenerbahçe. Bursaspor became the second club outside Istanbul to win a Süper Lig title, joining Trabzonspor who won the first of its six titles in 1975–76. The club has also won the Turkish Cup once and the Prime Minister's Cup twice, as well as the First League twice. The club's first, and most successful foray into European competition came in the 1974–75 European Cup Winners' Cup when it reached the quarter-finals. Bursaspor also took part in the 1986–87, losing in the first round, as well as the 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup, where it lost in the quarter-finals.
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. Their first match took place on 21 September 1963 against İzmir Demirspor in İzmir. 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. 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. The club therefore qualified for the 1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup, losing to eventual champions Ajax in the first round.
Bursaspor began the 2009–10 season successfully and by the midpoint of the season, in December 2009, the club were sitting in the top spot of 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, Bursaspor manager Sağlam was linked with the vacant Turkey managerial position after Fatih Terim's resignation, but Sağlam refused to comment on the speculations, with Guus Hiddink eventually taking up the position ahead of him.
The latter part of the season saw a 6–0 win over mid–table İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor, the largest win in the league that 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 were sitting on top of the table after being in the top three for the previous few months. With eight games left to play, Bursaspor were five points clear at the top. However, five weeks before the end of the season, Bursaspor fell to second place, but they managed to maintain pressure on leaders Fenerbahçe, who had overtaken them. Going into the final matchday of the season, Bursaspor were just one point behind and needed their championship rivals to draw or lose, which eventually happened, as Fenerbahçe were held to a 1–1 home draw by Trabzonspor. Meanwhile, Bursaspor defeated Beşiktaş 2–1, which meant they would be crowned champions, winning the league by a single point. This made them only the second club in Turkish top tier history outside the "Istanbul Big Three" to win the Süper Lig, the other being Trabzonspor (İstanbul Başakşehir later joined them as the third team outside of the traditional "Big Three" to win the Turkish top tier). Before winning their first title in 2009–10, Bursaspor had never finished inside the top three. The club won its first and only league title to date in Ertuğrul Sağlam's first full season as manager. Pablo Batalla and Ozan İpek were the club's joint top scorers with eight goals each.
Bursaspor were subsequently drawn against Rangers, Valencia and Manchester United in the group stages of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League. 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. Bursaspor is the fourth football club in Turkey to start a dedicated television channel (Bursaspor TV).[]
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. Bursaspor were relegated to the TFF First League in 2019, on the final day of the 2018–2019 season. After three seasons in the First League, they were relegated to the TFF Second League in the 2021–22 season. Their inability to pay their debt saw them incur a ban on signing new players. On April 7, 2024, the club had been mathematically relegated to TFF Third League for their first time in their history, after their defeat by 1461 Trabzon FK with 1–2 at home.