Turkish football’s European footprint in 2025/26 is the deepest it has been in over a decade. All three Big-Four sides — Galatasaray in the Champions League, Fenerbahçe in the Europa League, Beşiktaş in the Conference League — are still alive into the back end of the season. Here’s a snapshot of where they are, who they play, and how to follow it from the UK and from Turkey.
Galatasaray — Champions League last 16
Galatasaray came through the new 36-team league phase in the top-eight bracket and earned a direct seat in the round of 16. Okan Buruk’s side has built around the Mauro Icardi / Wilfried Singo spine, with Lucas Torreira anchoring midfield. Their league-phase wins over Tottenham (away) and PSV (home) put them in the top-bracket conversation.
The knockout draw matters more than usual under the new format because the top-eight seedings get a guaranteed easier theoretical path. Galatasaray drew a winnable fixture and is the favourite over two legs.
Where UK fans watch: TNT Sports has the UK Champions League rights (full breakdown in our TNT Sports Champions League rights piece). Amazon Prime carries the Tuesday “best match” pick, which can land on a Galatasaray tie depending on the week.
Where Turkish fans watch: UEFA’s 2024-2027 Turkey package moved to TRT. All Galatasaray UCL matches air free-to-air on TRT 1 or TRT Spor — no subscription required. The team-by-match-day rundown is at the Turkish Champions League broadcaster guide.
Fenerbahçe — Europa League knockout
Fenerbahçe finished the Europa League league phase comfortably inside the playoff bracket. José Mourinho’s tenure has stabilised the spine — Edin Džeko upfront, Anderson Talisca as the creative outlet, İrfan Can Kahveci behind. The European campaign has so far been the team’s best showing under the new format.
UEFA’s seeding pots in the new Europa League format mean Fenerbahçe avoided the heaviest names through the league phase but will likely meet a top-seed (Manchester United, Roma, or Lazio class) in the round of 16 if they navigate the playoff round.
Where Turkish fans watch: TRT 1 and TRT Spor share the UEL Turkey package. Fenerbahçe’s home and away matches are typically on TRT 1 with the secondary picks rotating to TRT Spor. Their full season broadcast schedule is tracked on the Fenerbahçe team page at taraftarium24.stream.
Beşiktaş — Conference League knockout
Beşiktaş dropped from the Europa League into the Conference League playoff route after finishing 25th in the UEL league phase. The Conference League knockout path remains realistic — the prize-money differential between UECL and UEL group-stage qualification is meaningful enough that Beşiktaş will treat this seriously.
The Conference League schedule keeps Beşiktaş’s matches on Thursday evenings at 18:45 or 21:00 Istanbul time. UK viewers should note that UECL has very limited UK broadcast presence — TNT Sports cherry-picks selected ties only.
Where Turkish fans watch: TRT Spor and TRT Spor Yıldız carry the bulk of UECL fixtures. Beşiktaş’s match-day channel assignment is on the Beşiktaş team page at taraftarium24.stream.
What this season tells us about Turkish football’s broadcast value
Three Turkish sides simultaneously alive in the European knockouts moves the dial on UEFA’s commercial reasoning for the 2027 cycle Turkey rights. The state broadcaster (TRT) winning the 2024-2027 package was already a structural shift — the rights moved out of paid OTT (Exxen) and into free-to-air. If Turkish clubs can build deep European runs over the next two seasons, the next cycle will draw bids from both TRT and a returning Exxen / S Sport / beIN combination.
For the 2024-2027 window, the read for fans is simple: Turkey gets every UEFA club match free-to-air. Outside Turkey, the standard regional rights (TNT Sports UK, beIN Sports MENA, MagentaSport DE for Süper Lig) apply.
Related coverage
- How TNT Sports Won the Champions League Rights — the UK side of the same UEFA cycle
- Champions League Live Stream Guide — global broadcast options
- Watching Süper Lig in Germany — diaspora guide for the ~3M Turkish-German market