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Turkish Gridiron Football First League

Türkiye Korumalı Futbol 1. Ligi
Most recent season or competition:
2023
SportAmerican football
Founded2005; 19 years ago (2005)
Organising bodyTurkish Rugby Federation
No. of teams8
Country Turkey
Most recent
champion(s)		Koç Rams (5th title)
Most titlesBoğaziçi Sultans (6 titles)
TV partner(s)TRT Spor Yıldız
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toSecond League
Official websitetkfl.org

The Turkish Gridiron Football First League (Turkish: Türkiye Korumalı Futbol 1. Ligi) is a professional American football league in Turkey.[1]

History

The development of American football in Turkey can be traced to the beginning of 1987, when American Navy men played a pickup game against Turkish students at Bogazici University in Istanbul.[2] Boğaziçi Filler (later renamed Sultans) was founded in 1987, and the Bullets were founded in 1993 in Hacettepe (later named Red Deers after the university logo). Istanbul Technical (Hornets) and Marmara University (Sharks) teams were added during 1995-1996. However, the Marmara Sharks folded in 1998. In 2010, the number of club teams exceeded 13 and the number of universities over 24.

The first official match between two Turkish teams was played between the Boğaziçi Elephants and Istanbul Pistof in 1993. The Elephants won this match 28-0. The name "Elephants" was later changed to "Sultans". After the 1995-1996 season, in line with the increase in the number of teams, the American Football League began to be organized according to the qualifying league fixture among universities. In the following years, the Hacettepe Red Deers, ITU Hornets, Marmara Sharks, METU Falcons, Ankara Cats, Gazi Warriors, Ege Dolphins, and Yeditepe Eagles university teams were also established. However, during these years, matches were played lacking the basic requirements of American football. The teams started buying proper equipment in 2001, and American football in Turkey took on a more professional structure. After Bilkent Judges, Boğaziçi Sultans became the second team to have specialized equipment. The first match with this equipment was played in Ankara in 2001, with the Sultans winning 34-0. The Turkey American Football League was launched on 26 November 2005. Since the 2007-2008 season, American football competition has happened in two categories, the Professional League and the University League.[3]

Seasons

Season Winning team Score Losing team Venue City Ref.
2006 Amateur League Hacettepe Red Deers 19–12 Başkent Knights Beytepe Campus Çankaya, Ankara [4][5]
2006 Boğaziçi Sultans 30–8 Ege Dolphins İnönü Stadium Beşiktaş, Istanbul [6][7]
2007 Hacettepe Red Deers 15–12(OT) Gazi Warriors Beytepe Campus Çankaya, Ankara
2008 Hacettepe Red Deers 20–14(2 OTs) Gazi Warriors Beytepe Campus Çankaya, Ankara
2009 Boğaziçi Sultans 22–20 Istanbul Cavaliers Vefa Stadium Fatih, Istanbul
2010 Istanbul Cavaliers 18–13 Gazi Warriors Bulvarspor Stadium Kartal, Istanbul
2011 Gazi Warriors 41–38(6 OTs) Boğaziçi Sultans Sakarya Atatürk Stadium Adapazarı, Sakarya
2012 Gazi Warriors 47–12 Hacettepe Red Deers Cebeci Stadium Çankaya, Ankara
2013 Boğaziçi Sultans 39–23 METU Falcons Ali Durmaz Stadium Nilüfer, Bursa [8]
2014 Boğaziçi Sultans 30–23 Koç Rams Maltepe Hasan Polat Stadium Maltepe, Istanbul [9]
2015 Boğaziçi Sultans 10–7 Koç Rams Marmara BESYO Stadium Beykoz, Istanbul [10]
2016 Koç Rams 21–14 Boğaziçi Sultans ITÜ Stadium Sarıyer, Istanbul [11]
2017 Koç Rams 56–14 Sakarya Tatankaları Yusuf Ziya Öniş Stadium Sarıyer, Istanbul [12]
2018 Koç Rams 52–41 Boğaziçi Sultans METU Field Çankaya, Ankara [13]
2019 Koç Rams 29–19 METU Falcons Koç Üniversity Field Sarıyer, Istanbul [14]
2020 Season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[a] [15]
2022 Boğaziçi Sultans 17–14 Koç Rams Maltepe Hasan Polat Stadyumu Maltepe, Istanbul [16]

Teams

Türkiye Korumalı Futbol Ligi Teams (Pro League)

Club Founded City
Koç Rams 2004 Istanbul
Boğaziçi Sultans 1987 Istanbul
ITU Hornets 1993 Istanbul
Hacettepe Red Deers 1993 Ankara
Gazi Warriors 1996 Ankara
METU Falcons 1996 Ankara
Sakarya Tatankaları 2002 Adapazarı
Anadolu Rangers 1993 Eskişehir

[17]

Notes

  1. ^ was the team with the most points before the season was cancelled.

References

  1. ^ "Turkish League of American Football kicks off 2020 season". 12 February 2020.
  2. ^ Hartsell, Jeff (5 August 2019). "American football in Turkey? It's a thing, a former Citadel standout learned". PostAndCourier.com. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Türkiye'de Amerikan Futbolunun Detaylı Tarihi". 9 July 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Türkiye'de Amerikan Futbolunun Detaylı Tarihi". nfltr.com. 9 July 2009. Archived from the original on 18 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  5. ^ "American Football in Turkey Turkey American Football League (TAFL)". 13 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Türkiye'de Amerikan Futbolunun Detaylı Tarihi". nfltr.com. 9 July 2009. Archived from the original on 18 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  7. ^ "American Football in Turkey Turkey American Football League (TAFL)". 13 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Boğaziçi Sultans, 2013 sezonu şampiyonu oldu". nfltr.com. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Sultans üst üste ikinci şampiyonluğunu kazandı". nfltr.com. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Boğaziçi Sultans üst üste üçüncü defa şampiyon!". nfltr.com. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  11. ^ "TAFL 2015-2016 Sezonu Şampiyonu Koç Rams!". nfltr.com. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  12. ^ "Koç Rams – Sakarya Tatankaları Finali TRT Spor'dan Naklen Yayınlanacak!". nfltr.com. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Kulüpler Ligi'nde Normal Sezon Finali Oynanıyor!". nfltr.com. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  14. ^ "Koç Rams, Üst Üste Dördüncü Defa Şampiyon!". nfltr.com. 14 July 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  15. ^ "TKF1L'de Yeditepe Eagles şampiyon ilan edildi". 25 September 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  16. ^ "Kulüpler Ligi'nde Normal Sezon Finali Oynanıyor!". nfltr.com. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  17. ^ "2020 SEZONU TÜRKİYE KORUMALI FUTBOL 1. LİGİ". 8 March 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
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