İstanbul Başakşehir İstanbul Başakşehir is one of the youngest clubs to have won the Turkish championship, although its history is more complex than the founding date of the present organisation suggests. The club in its current form was established on 4 June 2014, when it was separated from the structure of İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor. That predecessor, founded in 1990, provides the direct sporting background of the present club. In its first season after the reorganisation, Başakşehir finished fourth in the Süper Lig and immediately qualified for the UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds.
The new club quickly ceased to be merely a solid top-flight side. In 2016/17, İstanbul Başakşehir finished second in the league for the first time, and it repeated that achievement the following season. It remained among the leading Turkish clubs in the years that followed until reaching the greatest success in its history in 2019/20. Under coach Okan Buruk, the team won the Turkish championship ahead of Trabzonspor. It was the club's first and, so far, only league title.
The 2020 championship was particularly significant because Başakşehir became a rare modern champion outside the traditional leading group represented by Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor. The club therefore broke the established hierarchy of Turkish football, although it has not built an equally large collection of domestic trophies. Its closest attempts came in the Turkish Cup. In 2017, it lost the final to Konyaspor on penalties, 4–1, and in 2023 it was defeated 2–0 by Fenerbahçe.
European competition has been the other defining element of the club's rapid rise. İstanbul Başakşehir has regularly appeared in UEFA qualifying rounds since the middle of the previous decade. In 2017/18, it reached the Europa League group stage for the first time, and it went further in the following years. The 2019/20 campaign was especially successful: Başakşehir won its Europa League group, including a dramatic victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach secured by a stoppage-time goal. It then overturned a first-leg deficit against Sporting CP, winning the second leg 4–1 after extra time and reaching the round of 16 for the first time in the club's history.
In the round of 16, the opponent was FC Copenhagen. Başakşehir won the first leg at home 1–0 after a late penalty converted by Edin Višća, but lost the return match 3–0 and were eliminated. Reaching the last 16 nevertheless remains the club's best achievement in the Europa League.
Soon afterwards, the club also made its debut in the Champions League group stage. In 2020/21, Başakşehir recorded a historic 2–1 victory over Manchester United. UEFA lists the match as the club's biggest home win in the Champions League.
The club plays at Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium, which opened in 2014 and was named after one of Turkey's most famous coaches. The stadium became an important part of the club's new identity. İstanbul Başakşehir traditionally play in orange and navy, while the team is known by the nickname “Baykuş”, meaning “The Owls”.
One of the defining figures of modern Başakşehir is Edin Višća, who spent many seasons as one of the team's most important players. UEFA lists the Bosnian as the club's leading scorer in the Europa League, with 11 goals. Coaches Abdullah Avcı and Okan Buruk also played major roles in the club's rise from an ambitious top-flight side to Turkish champions.
The history of İstanbul Başakşehir is therefore unusual in the context of Turkish football. The club was established in its present form only in 2014, yet six years later it became national champion. One league title, Turkish Cup final appearances, regular European participation, a Europa League round-of-16 run and a victory over Manchester United demonstrate the scale of its development. Başakşehir has established its own place alongside Istanbul's traditional powers in a remarkably short period.
