TFF First League

TFF First League

Organising body	Turkish Football Federation (TFF)
Founded	1963; 61 years ago (1963)
Country	Turkey
Confederation	UEFA
Number of teams	18 (since 2023–24)
Level on pyramid	2
Promotion to	Süper Lig
Relegation to	2. Lig
Domestic cup(s)	Turkish Cup
International cup(s)	UEFA Europa League (via winning Turkish Cup)
Current champions	Eyüpspor (1st title) (2023–24)
Most championships	Samsunspor (7 titles)
TV partners	beIN Sports, TRT
Website	tff.org
Current: 2023–24 TFF First League

The TFF First League (Turkish: TFF 1. Lig), currently referred to as Trendyol 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons,^[1] is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the Turkish Second League Category A after the reorganization of the Second Football League, which was the second level of the Turkish league system between 1963 and 2001. The league was called Türk Telekom Lig A in the 2006–2007 season, and was renamed to TFF First League prior to the 2007–08 season. As of 16 January 2008 the league was renamed as Bank Asya 1. Lig.^[2][3] In April 2012 Bank Asya withdrew as sponsor of the league.^[4] During the 2012–2016 seasons the league was known under the terms of a sponsorship deal as the PTT 1. Lig.^[5] Nowadays the league is called the TFF First League once again.^[6]

Before the 2005–06 season, the top three teams were promoted to Süper Lig and the bottom three teams were relegated to the Turkish Second League Category B. Since the 2005–06 season through 2008–09, the top two teams are directly promoted to the Süper Lig, the teams finishing 3rd through 6th competed in a play-off. The third-placed team played a match with the sixth-placed team, while the fourth-placed team played against the fifth-placed team. The winners of both matches then played against each other to decide the third team that was promoted. In 2009–10 the third team was determined by play-off group games, in which the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th teams of normal season played in a one-game league system in a neutral venue. In 2010–11 play-off status changed again and elimination match system came back but this time on a two-leg (home and away) basis.

In the 2022–23 season, the 3rd team will advance directly to the play-off final and the teams finishing 4th through 7th will compete in the play-off. The fourth-placed team will play against the seventh-placed team, while the fifth-placed team will play against the sixth-placed team in a one-game format, in the home grounds of the 4th and 5th teams. In the next round, the qualified teams will compete in a two-legged format to advance to the final. The final will be held in a neutral venue.^[7]