HISTORY

Fenerbahçe was founded over a century ago in the district of Kadiköy in Istanbul. The founders were Mr. Nurizade Ziya Songülen, Mr. Ayetullah and Mr. Necip Okaner. This group of individuals founded the club secretly in order to keep a low profile and not become at odds with the strict Ottoman rule which saw Sultan Abdulhamit II forbid Turkish youths from setting up a club and engaging in the game of football played by the English families, something they could only watch in envy.
 
After the first meeting of the founders, Nurizade Ziya Songülen was elected as the first President while Mr. Ayetullah and Mr Necip Okaner became General Secretary and General Captain. The first symbol of the club was the lighthouse situated on the Fenerbahçe headland while the first colours of the club were white and yellow, the colours of the daffodils scattered around the Fenerbahçe peninsula. The emblem and colours were to be changed in 1910 when the badge was redesigned by Topuz Hikmet and the colours were changed to Yellow and Navy.
 
Until a change of legislation in 1908, Fenerbahçe’s activities were conducted under strict secrecy. After this date, however, the new law required that clubs must register in order to exist legally. From that day on, the club was to take its place amongst the top Turkish clubs and achieve much success.
 
Fenerbahçe Sports Club’s first football team included Asaf, Ziya Hasan, Sami, Ayetullah, Mazhar, Necip Fethi, Galip, Huseyin, Hasan, and Nevzat. This team joined the Istanbul League in 1909 but was unable to obtain any silverware in its first three seasons. In the 1912-1913 season, the team consisted of Ali Said, Galip, Arif, Izzi, Huseyin, Sabri, Hikmet, Said, Hasan Kamil, Nuri, and Mico and won the first championship in the club’s history. Besides being its first championship, it had more significance as it was won without a single defeat throughout the season.