Fenerbahçe opens new season on Champions League stage

Fenerbahçe is set to begin its UEFA Champions League campaign in the second qualifying round, facing Polish club Gornik Zabrze at home. The match is scheduled for 21:00 and will be broadcast live on TV100. Lithuanian referee Manfredas Lukjancukas will officiate the game.

The team, under coach İsmail Kartal, has been preparing through training camps in Topuk Yaylası and Austria. They secured victories in their Austrian friendlies, defeating Admira Wacker 5-0, Pogon Szczecin 4-0, and LASK 2-1. Fenerbahçe aims to gain an advantage in the first leg against Gornik Zabrze to improve their chances of progressing.

The return leg is scheduled for Wednesday, July 29, in Poland. Fenerbahçe has a long history of struggling to reach the Champions League group stage, having not participated for 17 seasons since the 2008-09 season. To qualify for the "Champions League of Giants" this season, they must overcome Gornik Zabrze and two subsequent qualifying rounds.

Historically, Fenerbahçe first participated in the Champions League in the 1996-97 season. They reached the group or league stage in the 2001-02, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2007-08, and 2008-09 seasons. However, they failed to qualify in several other seasons, including 2002-03, 2006-07, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2018-19, 2022-23, and most recently 2024-25 and 2025-26. The club was also excluded from European competition in the 2011-12 season due to a match-fixing investigation, and a two-year ban from European tournaments was imposed by UEFA after being eliminated in the play-off round of the 2013-14 season.

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I said I wanted to give people a bit of a break, and that's what I'm announcing on my second day as Prime Minister.