Referee Batuhan Kolak directed the match played at RAMS Park. With Kolak's first whistle, the 88-day break before the new season in the Super League ended.
After the 2025-2026 season, which was completed on May 17, 2026 with Galatasaray's championship, the curtain of the 69th season of the Super League opened in Istanbul.
18 teams from 13 provinces of Türkiye will compete in line with their goals in a period of 306 matches, which will last 9 months and 9 days (282 days).
Galatasaray's first 11
The yellow-red team played against Arca Çorum FK with the first 11 of Uğurcan Çakır, Roland Sallai, Davinson Sanchez, Abdülkerim Bardakcı, Ismail Jakobs, Lucas Torreira, Gabriel Sara, Leroy Sane, Yunus Akgün, Barış Alper Yılmaz and Victor Osimhen.
Galatasaray's bench included Jankat Yılmaz, Eren Elmalı, Lesley Ugochukwu, İlkay Gündoğan, Kaan Ayhan, Renato Nhaga, Kazımcan Karataş, Wilfried Singo, Arda Ünyay and Mario Lemina.
The only transfer is Ugochukwu on the bench
French midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu, who was added to Galatasaray's squad during the summer transfer window, entered the squad for the first time in an official match.
Coach Okan Buruk assigned the 22-year-old football player, who was loaned from Burnley, one of the English Championship teams, to the bench.
Two teams met for the first time in the league
Galatasaray and Çorum FK faced each other for the first time in a Super League match.
The yellow-red team hosted the Central Anatolian representative, who competed in Türkiye's top level football league for the first time in its history. Çorum FK became the 77th different team that Galatasaray will face in the Super League.
Galatasaray did not forget the Colombia earthquake
The yellow-red team wore black t-shirts to warm up due to the earthquake that occurred in Colombia, Davinson Sanchez's country.
The t-shirts worn by Galatasaray football players to commemorate those who lost their lives in the 7.4 magnitude earthquake featured the Colombian flag inside a heart and the text "We are with you, Colombia" was used.
The target is the 27th championship
Galatasaray Club emphasized that they entered the season with the aim of winning the 27th championship in the Super League.
Before the match, the words "Target27" appeared on the LED screens in the stadium. Announcements about this target were made over the loudspeakers.
The yellow-red team, which has been ahead in the Super League for 4 consecutive seasons, aims to reach a happy ending this season and win its 27th championship in total and improve its own championship series record.
Historical match for Çorum representative
Çorum FK played the first Super League match in its history.
Founded in 1997 under the name Çorum Belediyespor, the red-black club gained the right to compete in Türkiye's top football league for the first time in its 29-year history. In its first match in the Super League, Çorum FK faced the most successful football team in Turkish football history with 26 championships.
Approximately a thousand fans supported the visiting team from the stands.
Çorum FK is on the field with its renewed squad
Arca Çorum FK played against the last champion Galatasaray with 9 new transfers.
The red-black team started the match with the first 11 of Marcos Felipe, Andrei Borza, Hrvoje Smolcic, Alexandre Penetra, Gökhan Sazdağı, Berat Özdemir, Fredy, Markus Karlsbakk, Alexandros Kyziridis, Serdar Gürler and Jesus Ramirez. Coach Uğur Uçar gave chances to 9 new transfers, except Fredy and Serdar Gürler, in the starting squad of the Galatasaray match.
The bench of the Central Anatolia representative included Erhan Erentürk, Serdar Saatçı, Arda Şengül, Hüseyin Bulut, Kenan Fakılı, Almed Ildiz, Muhammed Diamande, Mame Thiam, Emircan Gürlük and Hasan Abdulkareem.
"Special" competition for Uğur Uçar
Çorum FK Coach Uğur Uçar played his first Super League match against Galatasaray, with whom he trained from the youth team.
Uğur Uçar, who was trained in Galatasaray infrastructure and promoted to the A team in 2004, played 93 official matches in 7 seasons in which he wore the yellow-red jersey. The serious injury suffered by Uğur Uçar, who had significant potential, in the 2007-2008 season had a negative impact on his career at Galatasaray.
Uçar, who started his coaching career well, coached Trendyol 1st League representative Pendikspor between March 2025 and February 2026. The 39-year-old coach, who took over Çorum FK in February 2026, managed to take his team to the Super League.
Uğur Uçar's first opponent in the Super League was Galatasaray, for whom he played football in the youth team and the A team.
