Denizlispor Kulübü was founded on May 26, 1966, as a merger of two smaller youth sports clubs, Çelik Yeşilspor Gençlik and Pamukkale Gençlik. They joined to form what is now Denizlispor, which was at the time a lesser known sports & youth club in the Çaybaşı district of Denizli city. This union made its registration at the Turkish football's governing body, the
Turkish Football Federation (TFF) under the name of Denizlispor Youth Club. The new football team joined Turkish football's 2nd division for the upcoming season on July 14, 1966.
Denizlispor finished fifth in the
2001–02 Süper Lig, consequently qualifying for the
UEFA Cup. In the
2002–03 UEFA Cup, the team defeated
FC Lorient,
Sparta Prague, and
Olympique Lyonnais, before losing in the fourth round against
FC Porto, who later on won the tournament.
In the 2003–2004 season the black-green club managed another 5th spot. Denizlispor's form declined after the 2004–2005 season and struggled avoiding relegation. Denizlispor drew 1–1 against
Fenerbahçe on the last match day of the 2005–06 season securing its stay at the highest level, upsetting the title chances of the team from
Kadıköy. Denizlispor remained in the Super League despite a 3–0 loss against
Ankaragücü in an away match on May 24, 2009, due to better results against
Konyaspor, who got relegated. Denizlispor eventually relegated the next season to the
TFF First League after a goalless home draw against Ankaragücü on April 24, 2010.
After the relegation in the 2009–10 season, Denizlispor competed in the
TFF First League for nine seasons. In the 2010–11 season, Denizlispor completed the first half of the season as leaders. The team, however, finished the season in 9th place. The following seasons, Denizlispor did not achieve any substantial success. Denizlispor became champions in the
2018–19 TFF First League season, with 72 points, promoting to the
Süper Lig.
After two consecutive seasons in the
Süper Lig, Denizlispor could not manage to keep competing in the Süper Lig, relegating to the TFF First League. In the 2022–23 season, Denizlispor had a disastrous start to the season with just six points in their first 16 fixtures, performing poor throughout the season staying in the relegation zone in 36 of the 38 rounds. The team eventually relegated to the
TFF Second League for the first time ever in their history.
Crest and colours
Denizli SK's classic home kit
The Denizlispor crest was designed by Yakup Ünel, a founding member of the team. The crest is based around a
rooster, which is identified with the province of
Denizli. The team's colours come from the colours of a type of
rooster with green and black feathers unique to Denizli region.
Denizlispor play their home matches in Denizli Atatürk Stadium. The stadium holds 18,745 people and was built in 1950. Denizlispor's first league match played against
Eskişehirspor in 1983. The stadium does not have wire nets.[2]
Last updated: 7 May 2023 Div. = Division; SL = Turkish Super League; 1L = TFF First League 2B = Turkish Second Football League, Group B; 2Rd = Turkish Second Football League, Red Group; 2Wh = Turkish Second Football League, White Group; Pos. = Position; Pl = Match played; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lost; GS = Goal scored; GA = Goal against; P = Points UCL = UEFA Champions League; UCWC = UEFA Cup Winners' Cup; UC = UEFA Cup; Cup = Turkey Cup.
Colors: Gold = winner; Silver = runner-up.