Organized, club-based sport in Amasya took shape around schools and People's Houses (halkevi) in the first decades of the Republic, while the documented history of its clubs begins with Amasyaspor, founded in 1967. Wearing green and white and nicknamed the Şehzadeler (Princes), that club was dissolved in 2005 and its name was taken over by another club. Today Amasyaspor FK in the city centre plays in the Third League, Merzifonspor in Merzifon wears blue and white, a handball side has risen to the top flight, and world and Olympic champion wrestlers from Hamamözü and Suluova are among the best-known faces of Amasya sport. The founding of the clubs, their league careers, the facilities and the athletes are described below in that order; karakucak wrestling is the subject of a separate article, so only the modern wrestlers are touched on briefly here.

The Republic's Approach to Sport and Amasya

In the early years of the Republic, physical education was regarded as an integral part of the aim of raising a healthy generation. The spread of physical education classes in schools, the creation of sports branches in the People's Houses that began opening in 1932, and the organization of clubs in towns and cities were the first concrete results of this outlook. Amasya took part in this general movement, and teams were formed in schools and neighbourhoods. Even so, no coherent, verifiable record has been found for the names, founding dates or matches of Amasya clubs before the 1960s, so the account begins with the documented period, in 1967.

Amasya's sporting map today is spread over four districts. The central district has football, handball, volleyball and indoor hockey teams, Merzifon has a blue-and-white football club, Suluova has handball and a wrestling tradition, and Taşova has a handball team. Most of the province's sports facilities are likewise concentrated in these centres.

The 12 Haziran Stadium

More than half a century of Amasya football has been played at the 12 Haziran Stadium in the city centre. Completed in 1967, with a natural grass pitch of 105 by 68 metres and floodlights, it has been the city's main football ground. Older records give its capacity as 12,000, while the Turkish Football Federation's current data show 7,810 seats. No document has been found that explains the difference between the two figures.

Renovation began in 2012 and, after a break of more than two years, the stadium reopened on 12 October 2014. The name recalls Mustafa Kemal's arrival in Amasya on 12 June 1919, after Samsun, and this association is generally accepted in the city, but no document stating the official reason for the name has been found. Besides Amasyaspor, the stadium later hosted Yeni Amasyaspor and Amasyaspor FK and Amasya Eğitim Spor, a club founded by women footballers; the 2021-22 play-out match in which Merzifonspor lost to Suluova Belediyespor and dropped to the amateur league was also played here.

Amasyaspor: 1967-2005

Amasyaspor was founded in 1967 and entered the national leagues the following season, 1968-69. In its early years it finished in mid-table: eighth in 1968-69, eighth again in 1969-70, and fifth in 1972-73 and 1973-74. These two fifth places remained the club's best results of that first period. In the following years it slid towards the bottom of the table, finishing fourteenth in 1975-76 and ninth in 1976-77, and dropped to the amateur league in 1977.

The club's league career from then on alternated between descents and ascents. After four seasons in the amateur ranks it won the Amasya First Amateur League in 1980-81 and took a place in 1981-82 in what was then the second tier. After finishing thirteenth and fifteenth there, it returned to the amateur level in 1983-84, and rejoined the professional structure in 1984 when the Third League was re-established. From 1984 to 1993 it played nine seasons in the third tier. The best years of this period were sixth place in 1984-85, seventh in 1988-89 and fourth in 1989-90, with 51 points from 30 matches. The highest goal totals visible in the tables also belong to this period, with 59 goals in 1988-89 and 49 in 1989-90.

After finishing seventeenth in 1991-92, the team dropped again to the amateur league in 1992-93 despite finishing thirteenth. The sources do not explain the reason for this relegation. Amasyaspor won the amateur title in 1993-94, returned to the professional league and had one of its finest seasons in 1997-98. Under coach Sedat Gezer it won 18 of 32 matches, drew 9 and lost only 5, scoring 50 goals and conceding 19. It finished second with 63 points and moved up a division.

From 1998 to 2004 Amasyaspor played in the Second League, and after 2001, when the league was restructured, in its B Category. In this period it finished fifth in 1998-99 and sixth in 2000-01, but managerial turnover was high. In 1998-99 alone, Aldoğan Argon, Mehmet Ali Çınar and Ziya Özkeskin each took charge of the team. Özkeskin served the club in three separate spells. The team finished sixteenth in 2003-04 and dropped to the Third League; in 2004-05 it won only 4 of 30 matches, finished last with 18 points and conceded 72 goals. Alongside this decline, worsening financial difficulties led to the club's closure in 2005.

Players and Coaches

One of the prominent names in Amasyaspor's long life is Mustafa Nadir Karakaya, who wore the club's shirt for twenty years, from 1973 to 1993. Karakaya was the Third League's top scorer four times. Part of the club's record is still incomplete; the names of most of the coaches who served between 1967 and 1970, 1970 and 1982, and 1982 and 1996 do not appear in the sources. Those who are known include Gazanfer Olcayto (1970), Nuri Asan (1982-83), Dursun Karamustafa (dates uncertain), Sedat Gezer (1996-98), Ahmet Kazım Ertem (2000), Murat Şimşek (2001-02), Durmuş Ali Çolak (2002-03), Hakkı Bayrak (2003-04) and Tümer Uzun (2005).

Yeni Amasyaspor and Amasyaspor FK

Amasyaspor FK, today regarded as Amasya's football team, is not a direct continuation of the old Amasyaspor. The sources report that the club was founded in 1997 under the name Amasya Üniversitesi GSK. Since the university was formally established on 17 March 2006, the 1997 date may reflect the club's local amateur past, with the university name attached later; this point is unexplained. When the old Amasyaspor closed in 2005, the club changed its name to Yeni Amasyaspor in 2011 and took on the task of keeping the city's football name alive.

The new team's path proved a hard one. In 2009-10 it reached the final of the Third League promotion play-offs by eliminating Boyabat Çeltikspor and Çorum Belediyespor, and lost the final 3-2 to Fatsa Belediyespor. In 2010-11 it joined the Regional Amateur League, played for the first time that season. After the 2012-13 season, three seasons on, it lost the play-out match played to stay there 4-1 to Merzifonspor and dropped to the Amasya First Amateur League. It won that league in 2013-14 and returned a year later by beating Merzifonspor again in the play-out, this time 3-1. From 2014 to 2019 it played in the Regional Amateur League, finishing second three seasons in a row, in 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17, without winning the title. After 2018-19 it lost another play-out against Merzifonspor 2-1 and dropped back to the amateur level. In all, the two clubs thus met in three play-out matches, two won by Merzifonspor and one by Yeni Amasyaspor.

In 2019 the club changed its name to Amasyaspor 1968 FK. The choice of name may have been influenced by the old club's entry into the league in 1968, but no source states this explicitly. In 2019-20 it won all nine of its matches in the Amasya First Amateur League, scoring 56 goals and conceding just one, and was promoted directly to the Regional Amateur League. In 2021-22 it finished first in both the regular season and the play-off group of that league and was promoted to the Third League for the first time in its history. In 2022 the club changed its name once more, to its present name, Amasyaspor FK.

In the Third League it finished ninth in 2022-23 and 2023-24 and third in 2024-25 with 49 points; in 2022-23 and 2024-25 it reached the third round of the Turkish Cup. It finished 2025-26 in twelfth place and began 2026-27 in the same league. The club's chairman is Ali İhsan Üzüm and its coach is Ercan Kul, who was also in charge of the team in 2020-21. In the first round of the 2026-27 Turkish Cup the team beat Çankırıgücü SK 10-0, and it has been drawn against Bursa Yıldırım Spor in the second round.

Merzifonspor

Merzifonspor was founded in 1968 and became the second great name of Amasya football. The club's crest, on its blue-and-white shirts, carries the silhouette of Kara Mustafa Pasha of Merzifon. The team entered the professional leagues in 1984 when the Third League was re-established and played at that level until 2004; after the league restructuring of 2001, the same name denoted the fourth tier. Its best finish was second in its group in 1990-91. After 2003-04 it dropped to the amateur league.

The club has won the Amasya First Amateur League four times: in 1983-84, 2012-13, 2018-19 and 2024-25. Its play-out meetings with Yeni Amasyaspor sharpened the rivalry between the province's two football centres. In 2025-26 it played a play-out against Merzifon Belediyespor, the champions of the Amasya First Amateur League, and by winning that match stayed in the Regional Amateur League. The team plays its home matches at the 5,450-capacity Merzifon District Stadium, and it has a supporters' group called Varoşlar.

Women's Football: Amasya Eğitim Spor

Football in Amasya did not remain limited to men's teams. Amasya Eğitim Spor, founded in 2011, is a women's football team that plays its matches at the 12 Haziran Stadium. In the Women's Second League the team finished third in 2011-12, second in 2012-13 and 2013-14, and third again in 2014-15; in 2015-16 it won 16 of 22 matches, finished second with 50 points and was promoted to the Women's First League. Its highest-scoring season was 2013-14, when it scored 103 goals in 18 matches and conceded only 16. In 2016-17, however, it did not turn up for any match in the Women's First League, 18 matches were recorded as forfeits and the team dropped back to the second league. What happened to the team afterwards is not clear from the sources; stadium records show it as a user until 2018.

Handball, Volleyball and Indoor Hockey

The most notable sport outside football is handball. Amasya 22 Haziran Sports Club was promoted to the Men's Handball First League in 2024-25 and a year later, on 13 March 2026, won its final match to earn promotion to the Super League. The club's chairman is Aslan Bolat; after the success, a dinner was held in April 2026 attended by Governor Önder Bakan, members of parliament and Mayor Turgay Sevindi. The club's name appears to allude to the publication of the Amasya Circular on 22 June 1919, but no source has been found that documents this link. Taşova Belediyesi Sports Club has also moved up from the Second League to the First League in men's handball.

Şehzadeler Voleybol is a volleyball team that uses the New Amasya Sports Hall and competes in the Women's Second League. The women's handball team of Amasya Atatürk Lisesi SK also plays in the Second League in the same hall. Indoor hockey has developed around a private school club: the sports club of Kutlubey Schools, founded in 2011, stands fifth among nine teams in the indoor hockey Super League.

Schools, the University and Youth Centres

Schools have played a large part in spreading sport at grassroots level in Amasya. Inter-school competitions, provincial tournaments and amateur leagues give young people both a regular training environment and team discipline. Amasya University is the highest link in this chain. Tracing its foundation to the Faculty of Education opened in 1974, it runs a Physical Education and Sports Teaching programme, has a Sports Lovers Club among its student clubs, and with its semi-Olympic indoor swimming pool of 25 by 6 metres, opened in 2016, gave the city a place for water sports. The university's football club, reported to have been founded in 1997 as Amasya Üniversitesi GSK, is the origin of today's Amasyaspor FK.

In the districts, youth centres also make room for sporting activity. At the opening of the Merzifon Youth Centre, Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak announced that the centre would be named after the young weightlifter Zehranur Aslan.

Facilities

The city's main football ground is the 12 Haziran Stadium. Among indoor venues, the New Amasya Sports Hall has a capacity of 2,500 and its last recorded work is dated 2017; volleyball and handball matches are played there. In the districts, the Merzifon District Stadium holds 5,450 spectators, the Suluova Mahmut Demir Sports Hall 500 and the Gümüşhacıköy Sports Hall 300. Semi-Olympic indoor swimming pools are run by three separate institutions: the Merzifon Municipality's pool of 2013 (25 by 6 metres, 250 seats), the Amasya Municipality's pool of 2015 (25 by 7 metres, 500 seats) and Amasya University's pool of 2016 (25 by 6 metres, 250 seats). Most of these facilities appear to have been renovated or opened in the 2010s.

Wrestling: Hamit Kaplan and Mahmut Demir

Wrestling has been the branch in which Amasya has made the loudest mark internationally. Hamit Kaplan, born in Hamamözü (sources give his date of birth as 20 September 1933 or 1934), began in his youth with oil wrestling and then moved to mat wrestling with the help of his uncle and coach Adil Candemir. Selected for the national team in 1954, he became Olympic champion at the 1956 Melbourne Games in freestyle over 87 kg by beating the Bulgarian Hüseyin Mehmedov 3-0 in the final, and also won a gold medal at the 1957 World Championships. How many times Kaplan wore the national singlet differs between sources: one record gives 115, while the Amasya Governorate's memorial announcement gives 175. He died in a traffic accident in Çorum on 5 January 1976, aged 41; his house in Hamamözü was turned into a museum in 2012, and in 2023 a documentary about him called "Pehlivan" was released.

Mahmut Demir, born on 21 January 1970 in Dereköy, Suluova, began wrestling in 1984 and at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics beat Aleksey Medvedev in the 130 kg final, bringing Turkey its first freestyle gold in 28 years. Having worn the national singlet 220 times, he is known in world wrestling as the "Turkish Tank". He retired in 1997 and became honorary president of the Amasya Şekerspor Club, which won the FILA European Champion Clubs Cup in 2006. The sports hall in Suluova bears his name.

The New Generation

Zehranur Aslan, a 16-year-old weightlifter from Merzifon, lifted 86 kg in the snatch and 112 kg in the clean and jerk at the Youth World Weightlifting Championships held in Colombia in July 2026, winning the gold medal with a total of 198 kg. Her coach is Recep Arslan.

Chronology

1932: The People's Houses began to open; sports branches were part of these institutions.

1956: Hamit Kaplan of Hamamözü became Olympic freestyle wrestling champion in Melbourne.

1967: Amasyaspor was founded; the 12 Haziran Stadium was completed.

1968: Amasyaspor began league competition; Merzifonspor was founded.

1981: Amasyaspor took a place in the second tier by winning the Amasya First Amateur League.

1984: The Third League was re-established; Merzifonspor entered the professional league.

1996: Mahmut Demir of Suluova won an Olympic gold medal in Atlanta.

1997-98: Amasyaspor finished second in the third tier and was promoted.

2005: Amasyaspor closed for financial reasons.

2011: Amasya Üniversitesi GSK took the name Yeni Amasyaspor.

2012-2014: The 12 Haziran Stadium was renovated and reopened on 12 October 2014.

2019: The club took the name Amasyaspor 1968 FK.

2021-22: The club was promoted to the Third League for the first time.

2022: The club changed its name to Amasyaspor FK.

2026: Amasya 22 Haziran Sports Club was promoted to the handball Super League; Zehranur Aslan became youth world champion.

Sources

Official sources

Other sources

Online sources