Fenerbahçe Sports Club, which operates in nine branches in Turkish sports, is celebrating its 117th anniversary.

In 1899, the young people from Moda and Kadıköy, who came together under the name "Siyah Çoraplılar" and later founded Kadıköy Football Club in 1902, were unable to realize these two initiatives due to the monarchy regime's strict control at that time.

With the loosening of the monarchy regime, the same young people founded Fenerbahçe Football Club in 1907, never to be closed again.

Fenerbahçe, which also made a name for itself with its struggle in the National Struggle and the War of Independence, had its first president, Ziya Bey (Songülen), its first general secretary, Ayetullah Bey, and its first general captain and treasurer, Necip Bey (Okaner).

Fenerbahçe Football Club became the first club to be established as an association in 1908.

Originally sporting yellow and white colors, Fenerbahçe Football Club changed its name to Fenerbahçe Sports Club in 1909 and adopted the yellow and navy blue colors it has used to date.

The first emblem of Fenerbahçe, drawn by footballer Hikmet Topuz and commissioned by former president Tevfik Taşçı in Manchester, had its old Turkish letters converted to new Turkish letters starting in 1929.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Türkiye, visited Fenerbahçe Club President and his close friend Sabri Toprak on May 3, 1918, while World War I was still ongoing.

Atatürk, when Elkatipzade Mustafa Bey handed him the club's souvenir book, wrote in the old Turkish language in the book, "I had heard about the very commendable activities of Fenerbahçe Club everywhere and had taken it upon myself to visit this club and congratulate the men of endeavor. The fulfillment of this duty could only be achieved today. I record my commendations and congratulations here.".

Due to Atatürk's visit, May 3 started to be celebrated as Fenerbahçe's anniversary, in addition to being the day of its foundation.

While continuing its activities in nine branches, the yellow-navy male and female athletes of Fenerbahçe continue their struggles in football, basketball, volleyball, athletics, sailing, table tennis, boxing, rowing and swimming branches.

In football, the Yellow Canaries, who have won 19 championships in the Süper Lig, also won six championships in the period before the start of the top tier in 1959, under the names of six in the National Group and three in the Turkish Football Championship.

Having won the Turkish Cup seven times and the Turkish Super Cup nine times, the Kadiköy-based side also won one Balkan Cup, eight Prime Ministry Cups, two Atatürk Cups, 16 Istanbul Leagues, four Istanbul Shields, one Istanbul Cup, one General Harrington Cup, four Navy Cups and 12 TSYD Cups.

Fenerbahçe showed success by reaching the quarterfinals in the UEFA Champions League in the 2007-2008 season and the semifinals in the UEFA Europa League in the 2012-2013 season.

Basketball success

Fenerbahçe has also made great strides in basketball.

The yellow-navy team became the first Turkish team to win the most important cup in Europe in men's basketball.

Winning the championship in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague in the 2016-2017 season, the yellow-navy team achieved the greatest success in Turkish basketball history at the club level.

They repeated the same success with the women's basketball team on the 100th anniversary of the republic.

Winning the biggest cup in Europe in women's basketball twice in a row, the yellow-navy team became the first club in the world to achieve this in both women's and men's categories.

In men's basketball, Fenerbahçe reached the round of 16 six times and the quarterfinals three times, participating in the Final Four for five consecutive years.

In Türkiye, they won seven Presidential Cups, 10 Süper Lig titles, eight Turkish Cups, and three Turkish Championships.

In order to determine the Turkish team to go to the FIBA European Champions Cup, Fenerbahçe won the championship three times in the Turkish Men's Basketball Championship organized between 1946 and 1967.

Fenerbahçe became a major school in women's basketball.

With 18 Süper Lig championships, 14 Turkish Cups and 12 Presidential Cups in Türkiye, the yellow-navy team also became the third and fourth in the most important cup in Europe two times each. For the cup in question, Fenerbahçe played in the final six times.

In addition, the Fenerbahçe Alagöz Holding Women's Basketball Team won all four cups they competed in this season (FIBA Super Cup, EuroLeague, Turkish Cup and Turkish Championship) and completed a historic season.

Dominating the nets

Fenerbahçe stood out in volleyball, especially in women's volleyball.

While the yellow-navy team became the first Turkish team to win the FIVB Women's Club World Championship in 2010, they finished third in 2012 and 2021.

In the CEV Champions League Women, Fenerbahçe became the champion in 2011-2012, the runner-up in 2009-2010 and the third in 2010-2011, 2015-2016 and 2018-2019.

Winning the CEV Cup in 2013-2014, the yellow-navy team reached the top in the Sultanlar League seven times and won the cup four times.

In men's volleyball, Fenerbahçe reached the round of 16 once in the CEV Champions League and played in the semi-finals of the CEV Cup in 2016-2017.

The yellow-navy team won the league five times and the cup four times.

Fenerbahçe also attracts attention with the achievements it has achieved with its athletes in amateur sports.

In the sailing branch established in the 1910s, the yellow-navy club won two European fourth places in Olympic classes in 2019. In the youth category, Fenerbahçe won two World championships in 2019.

In the officially established athletics branch in 1918, Ramil Guliyev, a yellow-navy athlete, won Türkiye's first gold medal in the history of the World Athletics Championships.

Ramil, who competed in the 200-meter final under the national team in the 16th edition of the World Athletics Championships held in London between August 4-13, 2017, received the title of "The fastest athlete on the planet" by completing the 200-meter men's race in 20.09 as the world champion.

Winning the championship in the 200-meter final with his time of 19.76 at the European Athletics Championships held in Berlin just one year later, Ramil broke the championship record and won the gold medal.

More dominance

Fenerbahçe also stood out with its achievements in rowing, table tennis, boxing, swimming and chess.

In the boxing branch, where it was most remarkable, Fenerbahçe athletes, who competed in a total of 30 weight categories in the 1930-1931 season, won eight gold, seven silver and six bronze medals in total, completing the season as the champion.

In swimming, Fenerbahçe athletes, who achieved great success in 1924 and 1925, became the champions in Istanbul, attracting great attention.

In chess, the yellow-navy team, which achieved great success, especially in the early 2000s, won the cup in 2004 and 2005.

Fenerbahçe, which has an important place in the history of Turkish sports with its successes in many branches, aims to continue its success by increasing its achievements in the coming years.

With the slogan "We are Fenerbahçe, our power is our unity," the yellow-navy club continues its activities with great enthusiasm, aiming to achieve success in all branches it is in."