Ankara SAŞ, is a Turkish

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 football club based in the Turkish capital Ankara

Ankara

Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....

. Ankaraspor no longer participate in any league after their expulsion from the Turkish League by TFF on 4 August 2010 due to being sued by TFF for objection to forced relegation in 2009–10.

History

Ankara SAŞ was founded as Ankara Belediye Spor Kulübü in 1978. The club has undergone several name changes throughout its history. In 1984, they were renamed Ankara Büyükşehir Belediye Spor Kulübü. The name was simply switched to Büyükşehir Belediye Ankaraspor Kulübü in 1998. Büyükşehir Belediye Ankaraspor Kulübü has many sub-divisions branching from its main football division. These include badminton

Badminton

Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...

, basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

, handball

Team handball

Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...

, ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

, judo

Judo

is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

, oil wrestling

Oil wrestling

Oil wrestling , also called grease wrestling, is the Turkish national sport. It is so called because the wrestlers douse themselves with olive oil. It is related to the Uzbeki kurash, Tuvan khuresh and Tatar köräş...

, table tennis

Table tennis

Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...

, wrestling

Wrestling

Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...

. Finally, in 2005, the football club changed its name to the current name, Ankara Spor A.Ş and only focused on football, while Büyükşehir Belediye Ankaraspor Kulübü continued its activity on branches other than football.

Relegation

On September 15, 2009, Ankaraspor A.Ş. was demoted from the Turkish Super League. “The Professional Football Disciplinary Committee (PFDK) decided to relegate Ankaraspor by one division over its unsportsmanlike relationship with Ankaragücü ruling that it was contrary to sporting competitiveness.” All Ankaraspor games in the 2009–10 season have been canceled and awarded 3–0 to Ankaraspor's opponents by default.

Club badge and colours

Ankaraspor's home colours are blue and white.

The badge consists of a blue and white colored shield, which bears the name and the foundation year of the club. The shield features a view of an Anatolian leopard

Anatolian leopard

The Anatolian leopard , also called the Asia Minor leopard is a leopard subspecies native to southwestern Turkey. Its continued existence is uncertain.- Distribution and habitat:...

 which has some hexagon panels of a football in its head and chest. This animal, which lived in Anatolia

Anatolia

Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

 and especially near Ankara

Ankara

Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....

 for a period of time, symbolizes the power and dignity of the club.

European participations

UEFA Intertoto Cup

UEFA Intertoto Cup

The UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...

:

Season	Round	Country	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2005	Second round		Dubnica	0–4	1–0	1–4

External links

• Ankaraspor official web site