Elazığspor is a Turkish professional football club located in Elazığ and currently competes in the TFF Second League. They play their home games at Elazığ Atatürk Stadium in Elazığ, which has a maximum capacity of 18,423.[1] The club was founded in 1967.[2] They have also played in the Süper Lig many times in the past.

Elazığspor
Full nameElazığspor Kulübü
Nickname(s)Gakgoşlar
Founded1967; 57 years ago (1967)
GroundElazığ Atatürk Stadium
Capacity18,423
ChairmanAhmet Feti Yılmaz
ManagerBülent Yenihayat
LeagueTFF Second League
2023-24TFF Third League, Group 2, 2nd of 15 (Promoted from Play-Offs)
Websitehttp://www.elazigspor.org.tr/

History

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Elazığspor was founded in 1967 when three clubs (Merkez Gençlik, Güvenspor and Harputspor) were united to form a strong team for the city of Elazığ.[3] The club's emblem refers to a famous local dance called Çayda Çıra. This dance is performed with candles in the hands. Elazığspor's main rivals are Malatyaspor. The cities Elazığ and Malatya, were Malatyaspor play, are neighboring cities.[4] Due to the rivalry meaning a lot to those fan bases, extra security is almost a necessity to make sure of safety. Due to the fan bases dislike for each other, sometimes the visiting team's fans will not be allowed to attend the game due to security reasons.[4] Usually, there will be around 30 journalists from Malatya to attend the game whenever the rivalry is being hosted by Elazığspor.[4] The “Doğunun derbisi” has become one of the biggest football rivalries in Turkey.

One friendly match that Elazığspor played versus Diyarbakırspor on September 5, 2011, turned tragic. Fans of both teams threw stones and hard objects at each other.[5] One lieutenant and 1 expert sergeant died to the fan's behaviors.[5] A total of 6 people were injured.[5] These events happened during the middle of the match, as the game had to be delayed until the events that were going on came down. The club has played in the Second and Third Leagues for several years. Finally in 2002, the club was promoted to the Turkish First Football League. However, in 2004, they were relegated to the TFF First League again. They were relegated to the TFF Second League in 2008 after finishing in 16th place.

In January 2019, Elazığspor hit the news after signing 22 players in 2 hours on 30 January, after negotiating the end of a transfer ban imposed by the Turkish Football Federation.[6] The club, which made so many transfers in such a short time, entered the Guinness Book of Records.

The club withdrew from the 2019-20 2. Lig after the 2020 Elazığ earthquake. Next season, the club was allowed to compete in the 2020-21 2. Lig.[7]

League participation

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Current squad

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As of 16 January 2023[8][9]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   TUR Yiğit Kafkasyalı
3 FW   TUR Recep Yurdakul
4 DF   TUR Ali Osman Döner
5 DF   TUR Yiğitcan Erdoğan
6 DF   TUR Hasan Ekici
7 FW   TUR Hakkı İsmet Şimşek
8 MF   TUR Cafer Tosun (on loan from İstanbulspor)
10 MF   TUR Mesut Saray
11 MF   TUR Salih Polatdemir
14 FW   TUR Fırat Ergün
17 FW   TUR Abdullah İçen
19 FW   TUR Feyzullah Güneş
20 MF   TUR Selim Özeren
22 DF   TUR Eray Berk Yıldız
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 MF   TUR Ahmet Ertuğrul Öztürk
24 MF   TUR Zeki Korkmaz
26 GK   TUR Hakan Canbazoğlu
33 MF   TUR Yağızcan Erdem
34 FW   TUR Ömer Faruk Sezgin (on loan from Ankaraspor)
35 DF   TUR Yüksel Kayaalp
39 DF   TUR Emre Akgün
52 FW   TUR İzzet Topatar
53 DF   TUR Muhammet Ensar Çavuşoğlu (on loan from Pazarspor)
67 MF   TUR Cihan Canpolat
72 DF   TUR Muhammed İbrahim İşler
78 GK   TUR Ali Can
80 FW   TUR Ahmet Ormanoğlu
99 GK   TUR İbrahim Akdaş

Notable players

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Bosnia and Herzegovina
France
Netherlands
Sweden
Turkey

Managers

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References

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  1. ^ "Elazığ'ın yeni stadyumu açılıyor". www.ntv.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  2. ^ Okay, Cüneyd (2002). "The Introduction, Early Development and Historiography of Soccer in Turkey: 1890-1914". Soccer & Society. 3 (3): 1–10. doi:10.1080/714004887. S2CID 144787624.
  3. ^ "Tarihçe | Elazığspor Kulübü" (in Turkish). Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  4. ^ a b c "NEW APPOINTMENT IN EAST". 19 February 2016.
  5. ^ a b c "Diyarbakırspor Elazığspor- Match Events". 2011-09-05.
  6. ^ Sarigul, Erin. "Turkish club Elazigspor sign record 22 players in two hours". ESPN. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  7. ^ "Kamuoyuna Duyuru". Elazığspor Kulübü Resmi İnternet Sitesi. 7 February 2020. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Elazığspor". Mackolik.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  9. ^ "TETİŞ YAPI ELAZIĞSPOR – Club Details TFF". tff.org. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
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