📼 Kocaelispor Videos

Kocaelispor (Turkish pronunciation: [kod͡ʒaˈelispoɾ], lit. 'Kocaeli Sports Club'), is a Turkish professional football club based in İzmit, Kocaeli Province. Founded in 1966, the club competes in the Süper Lig, the top tier of the Turkish football league system. Kocaelispor plays its home matches at the 34,829-capacity Kocaeli Stadium, and its traditional colours are green and black.

Kocaelispor has spent several spells in the Süper Lig, most notably between 1980 and 1988, 1992 and 2003, and during the 2008–09 season. The club's highest league finish came in the 1992–93 season, when they placed fourth. Kocaelispor has won the Turkish Cup twice, in 1997 and 2002.

Nicknamed the Körfez'in Şimşekleri (Thunderbolts of the Gulf), the club enjoys a strong local following in İzmit and the surrounding Kocaeli region. Their main rivalry is with Sakaryaspor, contested in the heated Körfez Derbisi (Gulf Derby).

After a period of financial turmoil and successive relegations during the 2010s, Kocaelispor descended into the amateur leagues. However, a sustained rebuilding effort led to a series of promotions. In the 2023–24 season, they reached the play-offs after finishing sixth. The following year, they secured promotion to the Süper Lig with three matches remaining in the 2024–25 season, marking their return to the top division after a 16-year absence.