Kayserispor Kulübü, commonly known asKayserispor, is a Turkish professional football club based in the city ofKayseri. Founded on1 July1966, the club currently competes in theSüper Lig, the top tier of Turkish football. Kayserispor plays its home matches at theKadir Has Stadium, which has a capacity of 31,856 all-seated spectators.[3] The club's official colours arered andyellow.[4]
Kayserispor has enjoyed domestic and international success over its history. The club won its first major trophy by claiming theTurkish Cup in2008, defeatingGençlerbirliği in the final on penalties.[5] That same year, they also finished as runners-up in theTurkish Super Cup. The team’s best league finishes have been fifth place in four separate seasons:2005–06,2006–07,2007–08, and2012–13.[6]
Football inKayseri had several amateur clubs by the 1930s; among themErciyes Gençlik (est. 1937) andErciyesspor are repeatedly mentioned in local historical publications.[10][11]
In the mid-1960s, Orhan Şeref Apak’sTFF policy aimed to spread professional football to Anatolia and organise a nationwide second tier.[12] Following local meetings in Kayseri, representatives agreed to mergeErciyesspor,Sanayispor andOrtaanadoluspor under theKayserispor name. The club held its general assembly and was officially founded on 1 July 1966.[13][14]
Kayserispor entered the newly created2.Lig in 1966–67. The first manager was Erdoğan Gürhan.[15] Contemporary retrospectives record that the first official match was played in Kayseri against Ankara Toprakspor, with Yener Kurgil scoring in the 17th minute—considered the first goal in club history.[16][17] Kayserispor finished its debut season 10th in the2.Lig (Beyaz Grup), with a 9W–9D–12L record.[18]
Following the late-1980s restructure, the police-affiliated side in the city competed as Kayseri Emniyetspor. After theGeneral Directorate of Security moved to withdraw police teams from national leagues, a civilian board took over and the club adopted theKayseri Erciyesspor name.[19][20]
Across the 1990s the team operated under municipal ownership with successive name changes documented in federation records:Büyükşehir Belediye Erciyesspor (1992–96),Melikgazi Belediyesi Erciyesspor (1997–99) andHacılar Erciyesspor (1999–2001).[21][22][23]Hacılar Erciyesspor won Group 3 of the3. Lig in 1999–2000 and moved up to the2. Lig.[24] They later secured promotion positions from the 2003–04 2. Lig (Category A), earning a place in the top flight.[25]
On 9 July 2004, a general assembly in Kayseri approved the switch of name, badge and colors: the promoted Erciyesspor took theKayserispor identity, while the other side continued asKayseri Erciyesspor.[26] Early in that first season, managerHüsnü Özkara departed after seven league matches andHikmet Karaman took over; the team avoided relegation with a 14th-place finish.[27]
The club entered theUEFA Intertoto Cup in 2006, defeatingSopron andAEL to become one of the competition’s eleven “joint winners”, which qualified them for theUEFA Cup. In theUEFA Cup they beatTirana in the second qualifying round and were eliminated byAZ in the first round (3–4 aggregate).[30]
Kayserispor placed fifth again in2006–07. Sağlam then left to manageBeşiktaş in June 2007, andTolunay Kafkas was appointed.[31][32] Under Kafkas, Kayserispor earned a third straight fifth-place league finish and won the2008 Turkish Cup, defeatingGençlerbirliği on penalties in the final.[33]
Robert Prosinečki was appointed head coach on 15 October 2012; Kayserispor finished fifth in2012–13 before being relegated the following season.[34] Kayserispor returned immediately as champions of the2014–15 TFF First League, clinching the title with a 3–0 win away toElazığspor.[35][36]
Following a general assembly in December 2022, Ali Çamlı became club president; he was re-elected in June 2024 and again in September 2024.[42][43][44] On the pitch, Kayserispor finished 9th in2022–23 and reached the Turkish Cup quarter-finals.[45] In2023–24 the club placed 14th.[46]
There were several coaching changes across these seasons:Recep Uçar was appointed in September 2023, followed byBurak Yılmaz on a two-and-a-half-year contract in January 2024; Yılmaz resigned in September 2024.Sinan Kaloğlu took charge in October 2024, and in January 2025Sergej Jakirović was appointed head coach on a 1.5-year deal.[47][48][49][50][51] Under Jakirović, Kayserispor put together an unbeaten run in early 2025 and climbed clear of the bottom places.[52][53]
Keeping the club clear of relegation at the end of the 2024–25 season, Jakirović's additional one year option contract was exercised. Days laterHull City announced him as their new head coach on a two-year deal.[54][55] Kayserispor then reached a deal with German coachMarkus Gisdol and completed a two-year contract following an official signing ceremony on 22 June 2025[56][57][58]
During the start of the 2025-26, Gisdol is sacked by the club because of a poor run making it 4 draws and 4 defeats for the club, after being sacked on October 7,Radomir Đalović has become the new manager who previously madeHNK Rijeka champions of theCroatian Football League in the 2024-25 season whereas he also coachedNK Maribor but shortly resigned.
Kadir Has Stadium(sponsorship: RHG Enertürk Enerji Stadyumu) is a multi-purpose venue inMelikgazi,Kayseri, and the home ground of Kayserispor. It opened on 8 March 2009 with theSüper Lig match Kayserispor–Fenerbahçe.[64][65] The all-seater capacity is 31,856 and the stands are fully covered.[66] The ground forms part of the Atatürk Sports Complex on the city’s western approach. The municipal description and national team match booklet note that theKayseray light-rail corridor runs by the stadium, providing access from the city centre.[67][68]
In 2022, RHG Enertürk Enerji acquired the venue’s naming rights, with the stadium currently marketed as the RHG Enertürk Enerji Stadyumu.[69] The stadium has hostedTurkey internationals, including a 4–2 win over theEstonia in a2010 World Cup qualifier on 5 September 2009.[70][71] Kayserispor’s first-team and academy activities are centred at theKadir Has (Karpuzatan) training facilities in Kocasinan.[72]
The crest showsMount Erciyes above a two-part shield; the letters “K” and “S” sit on the red and yellow halves, and the founding year “1966” appears at the base, as specified in the club’s 2024 corporate identity guide.[73][74]Mount Erciyes is widely used as a symbol ofKayseri, which explains its prominence on the badge.[75] The club’s official colours arered andyellow. The corporate guide defines the palette (e.g., Pantone 187 C for red; Pantone 1235 C for yellow) and supporting crest tones (sky blue and navy for Erciyes, plus grey/black outlines).[76]
On 9 July 2004, followingKayseri Erciyesspor’s promotion, the two city clubs held general assemblies and swapped the Süper Lig berth under theKayserispor name.[77] Contemporary reporting notes that the name, badge and colours were interchanged in that process.[78] The following season,Kayseri Erciyesspor formally changed its kit colours from red–yellow to blue–black (with white as secondary), confirming the split identity thereafter.[79]
Kayserispor holds one of the most intense rivalries in Turkish football withSivasspor, which began after a tragic match in 1967 that led to 43 fatalities, an event widely regarded as the worst stadium disaster in Turkish football history.[80]
The rivalry between Kayserispor and Sivasspor stems from regional proximity, cultural identity, and longstanding competition between the cities ofKayseri andSivas in central Anatolia. It intensified sharply following their first professional meeting on 17 September 1967 in aSecond Division (White Group) match at theKayseri Atatürk Stadium. The game was abandoned amid serious crowd trouble; 43 people died and hundreds were injured. Turkish national outlets and the federation’s record describe the day as one of Turkish football’s darkest.[81][82]
Contemporary reports and later research recount that tension escalated after a 20th-minute goal by Oktay Aktan for Kayserispor; stone-throwing between sections followed, fans fleeing the violence in panic caused a stampede in front of the stand exits. As the exit gates opened inward, many fans died because they were crushed and suffocated.[83][84] The incident has been the subject of a dedicated book that drew on press archives and eyewitness interviews.[85]
In the immediate aftermath, authorities halted the competition and issued disciplinary measures. Sources from the period note forfeit rulings and ground-closure sanctions, and officials in both provinces faced administrative consequences; the football authorities also avoided placing the two clubs in the same league group for years.[86][87]
The rivalry remains one of central Anatolia’s most charged fixtures and has also appeared on the national stage: the clubs met in the2022 Turkish Cup final at theAtatürk Olympic Stadium, withSivasspor winning in extra time.[88][89] An annual commemoration is held in Sivas on 17 September for those who died in 1967.[90]
Kayserispor has a dedicated and regionally passionate fan base drawn primarily from the city ofKayseri and surrounding central Anatolian provinces. The club’s largest organized supporter group isKapalı Kale(literally “Closed End”), which was founded in 2005 and is named after the traditionally vocal stand in the oldKayseri Atatürk Stadium.[91] The group is active on matchdays and known for its large flags, coordinated chants, and strong stance on local representation in club affairs.
Kayserispor supporters traditionally occupy the eastern stands of theKadir Has Stadium, where drums, megaphones, and choreographed tifos are coordinated by the main groups. In high-profile derbies, especially againstSivasspor orKayseri Erciyesspor (when active), fan presence typically fills the entire lower tier.[92] Kayserispor fans are known for their loyalty during difficult periods. During the2023–24 season—despite multiple managerial changes and relegation fears—the average attendance remained over 9,000 per match.[93]
The club and its supporters have also engaged in charitable initiatives. Kapalı Kale and other fan groups helped coordinate donations and logistics during the2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake, using club facilities as aid centers.[94] Kayserispor does not currently have an official fan club abroad, but diaspora communities inGermany andNetherlands have organized viewing groups and social media communities that follow the club closely.
Due to commercial sponsorship agreements, the club has operated under various names in competition. As of January 2019 the club's name was altered intoİstikbal Mobilya Kayserispor .[111] In January 2020 the club's name was revised intoHES Kablo Kayserispor.[112] As of August 2021 the name was changed intoYukatel Kayserispor.[113] Kayserispor participated asMondihome Kayserispor during the 2023–24 season.[114] Bellona sponsored the club for the 2024–25 season, hence the nameBellona Kayserispor.[115][116] In August 2025 formerCrawley Town and Kayseri Erciyesspor chairman Ziya Eren and his enterprise sealed an one year sponsordeal, naming the clubZecorner Kayserispor.[117]
Kayserispor qualified for European competition for the first time in their history in the2006–07 season via theUEFA Intertoto Cup. In the first round, they faced Hungarian sideFC Sopron, drawing 3–3 in the away leg before winning 1–0 in the return leg inKayseri.[119][120] In the next round, Kayserispor faced Albanian championsKF Tirana. After winning 2–0 away, they defeated Tirana 3–1 in the home leg and progressed to theUEFA Cup.[121][122]
In the2006–07 UEFA Cup second qualifying round, they were matched with Greek clubAE Larissa. Kayserispor drew 0–0 in Greece and then won 2–0 in the return leg at home, becoming the first and only Turkish team to win the Intertoto Cup that season.[123][124] In the UEFA Cup first round, Kayserispor faced Dutch sideAZ Alkmaar. After losing 3–2 away in the first leg, they drew 1–1 at home and were eliminated from the competition on aggregate.[125][126]
After winning the2007–08 Turkish Cup, Kayserispor qualified for the2008–09 UEFA Cup and was drawn against French clubParis Saint-Germain. Kayserispor lost 2–1 at home and then held PSG to a goalless draw in Paris, but was eliminated on aggregate.[127][128]
In total, Kayserispor played 10 matches in European competition between 2006 and 2008, recording 4 wins, 4 draws, and 2 losses, scoring 15 goals and conceding 10.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.