Why did the worst team in history end up like this?
Earthquake-stricken Malatya Spor fails to rise from the rubble: The tragedy of the worst football team in history
Malatya Spor, whose extremely poor results in the Turkish league have led it to be called the worst football team in the world, has stood on its feet and slowly raised its head after a catastrophic earthquake.
According to “Varzesh3,” a team with strange results and points in the second division of Turkish football has recently attracted the attention of the football world and sometimes faced ridicule. Malatya Spor, which is mocked for its negative goal difference of 112 and is referred to as the worst football team in the world. But the reality is different, and Malatya Spor should actually be praised.
There is no doubt that Malatya Spor has recorded the worst results in football history this season. They have lost all 34 matches in the second division of the Turkish league and are at the bottom of the table with -21 points. But this nightmare has a reason.
Malatya Spor’s nightmare did not start in August but goes back to February 2023. On February 6, a 6-magnitude earthquake shook Malatya and large areas of Turkey, turning people’s lives upside down. The club, in addition to having all its infrastructure destroyed, was also mourning the loss of its goalkeeper, Ahmet Türkaslan.
Malatya Spor announced that it did not have the minimum conditions to participate in the league and withdrew from the league the following season. In the months after the earthquake, almost all players left, either permanently or on loan, and the club, due to debts exceeding 20 million euros, was not allowed to buy new players or even sign contracts with players from its youth teams.
Malatya Spor was penalized by FIFA with an 18-point deduction for failing to meet its financial commitments, which is why we currently see -21 points next to Malatya Spor’s name in the Turkish second division table. But as soon as the league started this season, the Turkish Football Federation also stepped in and deducted three more points from them for not participating in the previous season.
This disaster-stricken team cannot be expected to compete for promotion to the Super League. But they had truly miserable conditions, and with only four weeks left in the season, they have not even achieved a single win or draw and have lost all their matches. The team, which wears yellow and black striped shirts, has conceded 125 goals this season and scored only 13.
