Football season resumes in Turkey's top league as Galatasaray encounters Gaziantep to kick off the Super Lig
2025-26 Turkish Süper Lig Season Kicks Off With Exciting Changes
The 2025-26 Turkish Süper Lig season begins tonight, marking a new era for the league as clubs are now free to design and use their own bespoke kit fonts, breaking away from the long-standing requirement for Arial font [2]. This change allows teams to express more creativity and strengthen their individual identities through customized typography on their kits.
The season, which runs from August 8, 2025, to May 17, 2026, promises to be an exciting one with several notable changes and managerial appointments.
Among the key figures in the league are José Mourinho, who takes charge at Fenerbahçe, a major rival trying to break Galatasaray's dominance. Mourinho, a well-known and highly experienced coach famed for winning major trophies across Europe, reflects Fenerbahçe's ambition to reclaim the league title after a long wait since 2014 [3].
Selçuk İnan, a former Galatasaray player and a recognized figure in Turkish football, has been appointed as the manager of the newly promoted club Kocaelispor. His last role was with Gaziantep before taking this new position, which is considered a smart appointment by the club [3].
The defending champions, Galatasaray, aiming for a fourth consecutive title, have strengthened their squad significantly. However, information about their current manager's background was not explicitly detailed in the sources. The club has a tradition of employing high-profile coaches and recently made influential signings to boost performance in both domestic and European competitions [3].
The league consists of 18 teams, with 10 of them being managed by Turkish coaches and 8 by foreign coaches. The trend of Turkish managers winning league titles in the Turkish Super Lig has continued for the past 18 seasons, with Okan Buruk being the only exception as a foreign coach in this regard [3].
The season will conclude with three teams being relegated to the second division, specifically the clubs finishing in 16th, 17th, and 18th places. The first major derby of the campaign - Fenerbahce vs Trabzonspor - is scheduled for Week 5 [3].
Clubs will be allowed to register 12 foreign players plus 2 additional ones on their A team roster. Twelve of the eighteen teams in the league have retained their head coaches from the previous season, while six clubs will begin the year under new management [3].
The opening clash of the season is between Galatasaray and Gaziantep. The season will conclude on May 17, 2026, with the league's 68th edition being played across 9 months and 9 days, consisting of 306 matches in the title race [1].
These changes and managerial appointments point to an evolving, competitive Süper Lig season with enhanced club identity and high-profile coaching leadership.
Turkey's top football league, the Turkish Süper Lig, commences the 2025-26 season with exciting changes, as Jose Mourinho steps into the role of manager at Fenerbahçe, aiming to dethrone the dominance of Galatasaray in European football leagues. Meanwhile, Selçuk İnan, a recognized figure in Turkish sports, has been appointed as the manager of Kocaelispor in a strategic move by the club.
