Çayırova Belediyesi

The Kocaeli Derby settles nothing on paper for Çayırova Belediyesi anymore: the club spent its first years chasing Kocaeli BŞB Kağıtspor and Glint Körfez Basketbol through the lower divisions, and now meets them, when it does, from the top of the province rather than below it. That climb is the whole story. What began in 2016 as a municipal club under the name Çayırova Belediyesi Eğitim Spor Kulübü turned into something else once its basketball section was rebuilt in earnest from 2021, and the results came fast: the Erkekler Bölgesel Basketbol Ligi in 2021–2022, the Türkiye Basketbol İkinci Ligi the following season, and the Türkiye Basketbol Ligi title in 2025–2026, a result that sent the club up into the Basketbol Süper Ligi for the first time.

The coaching change behind that last title tells its own story. Gökhan Güney was dismissed in January 2026 and replaced by Ender Arslan, who took the team through the rest of the campaign to both the league title and, that same January, the Erkekler Federasyon Kupası, beaten in the final by Konya Büyükşehir Belediyesi.

The 2025–2026 season carried a name throughout it: İlkan Karaman, the former national team player killed in a car accident, was honoured with jersey retirement ceremonies and a tournament held in his memory. Home games are played in front of 3,500 at the Çayırova Akse Kapalı Spor Salonu, where the green, blue and white of the "Yeşil-Beyazlılar" now have a Süper Ligi season to prepare for, the first the club has ever had to plan around.