Diyarbakırspor
# Diyarbakırspor

Diyarbakırspor is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Diyarbakır. Formed in 1968, they are nicknamed Diyar ("land"). Their colours are red and green, and they play their home matches at Diyarbakır Stadium.

Domestically, Diyarbakırspor have finished runners-up for the 1.Lig (Second Division) once, in 1976–77, and in third place twice, for 1980–81 and 1985–86.

## History

Diyarbakırspor was formed after the merger of Diclespor and Yıldızspor on 24 June 1968. Their club colours were red and green; red for Yıldızspor, green for Diclespor. Nejat Cemiloğlu was the first president of the club. The club competed in the 2.Lig from 1968 to 1975.

Under the guidance of president Ali Kahraman and vice-president Şeyhmus Akçadağ, Diyarbakırspor earned double promotion to the 1.Lig in 1976 and 1977. Diyarbakirspor were the first Turkish club to achieve the feat of double promotion, and second in the world, behind Nottingham Forest.

In the second season of top-flight football, Diyarbakırspor spent five weeks at the top of the table. However, they finished in fifth place at the end of the season. They also qualified for the Balkans Cup. Diyarbakırspor were relegated for the first time in 1980, earned promotion back to the top-flight the following season, and were relegated once more the next season. They spent three years in the 2.Lig before winning promotion to the 1.Lig.

At the end of the 1986–87 season, Diyarbakırspor finished with a record for lowest points in the 1. Lig with 11. The club would compete in the 2. Lig until 2001 before earning promotion back to the Süper Lig. Diyarbakırspor spent 5 years in the Süper Lig until relegation in 2006.

After finishing second in the 2008–09 TFF First League, Diyarbakırspor were promoted back to the Süper Lig, but finished 16th in the 2009–10 season to be relegated back to the TFF First League. In the 2010–11 season, the club finished last in the league to be relegated to the TFF Second League for the first time since 1976. In the 2011–12 season, they finished in the relegation zone to be relegated for the third consecutive season.

Later on, Diyarbakırspor withdrew from the Regional Amateur League, then returned to the Diyarbakır 1st Amateur League in the 2015–16 season, where they finished last and relegated to the Diyarbakır 2nd Amateur League. In the 2017–18 season, they gained promotion through play-offs, and in the 2019–20 season, they returned to the Regional Amateur League.

## Colours and badge

The club colours are red and green. They were the colours of the two clubs who merged to make up Diyarbakırspor, Yıldızspor (red) and Diclespor (green). The badge features the city walls of Diyarbakır. The city is home to the world's second largest walled structure, trailing behind the Great Wall of China. The badge also features a watermelon, a symbol of the city.

## Stadium

Diyarbakırspor play their home matches at Diyarbakır Atatürk Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium located in the city of Diyarbakır. The field measures 68 meters by 105 meters with working floodlights. The capacity is 12,963 seats. On 15 May 2018, the new Diyarbakır Stadium with a capacity of 33,000 seats, was inaugurated with a match between Diyarbakırspor and Tire 1922 SK.

## Honours

* TFF First League
   * Winners (3): 1976–77, 1980–81, 1985–86
   * Second place (2): 2000–01, 2008–09
* TFF Third League (2) 1975-1976, 2012-2013
* Turkish Cup
   * Semi-final (1) 1981–82
   * Quarter-final (3) 1978–79, 1980–81, 2004–05

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## League affiliations

* Süper Lig 1977–1980, 1981–1982, 1986–1987, 2001–2006, 2009–2010
* TFF First League 1976–1977, 1980–1981, 1982–1986, 1987–2001, 2006–2009, 2010–2011
* TFF Second League 1968–1976, 2011–2012
* TFF Third League 2012–2013
* Turkish Regional Amateur League 2013–2014, 2020–
