Trabzon Ortahisar Women

Trabzon draws its handball rivalry from geography rather than history: Görele Belediyesi, the nearest club of note on this stretch of the Black Sea coast, is the name Ortahisar Belediyespor's players and supporters bring up first, even without a fixture carrying a formal derby title.

The club itself has barely had time to accumulate history of its own. Formed under the Ortahisar Municipality, it went from a standing start to the First League title in the 2023-24 season, going through that campaign unbeaten and earning promotion to the Super League.

The Super League proved no shock. In their debut season, 2024-25, Ortahisar finished fourth and reached the final of the Turkish Cup, where Bursa Büyükşehir Belediyespor beat them 30-25 on 3 May 2025. The run was enough to send them into the EHF European Cup for 2025-26, with Energa Start Elbląg of Poland set as their first continental opponents.

Behind the results sits a squad still being built around its own products. Sahra Durmaz, the goalkeeper, came through the club's academy and made her way into the first team at 18, while Kübra Akçayoğlu combines playing duties with coaching Turkey's national team for hearing-impaired handball. Sedat Yavuz has led the side through the promotion and the cup run as head coach.

Matches are played at the Beşirli Multi-Purpose Sports Hall, in front of crowds the ground can stretch to hold 3,500 of.