The Intercontinental Derby (Turkish: Kıtalararası Derbi) is any football^{[Note 2]} match between rivals Fenerbahçe SK and Galatasaray SK.^{[9][10][11][12]} The fixture is widely regarded as the biggest football match in Turkey, and one of the biggest matches in international football^[13] because of the success both clubs have had in Turkish football, the intensity of the matches, and the immense rivalry between the two teams.^[8][6] The fixture has been in existence for more than a century and has developed into one of the greatest, most intense and often bitter derbies in the world, traditionally attracting very large attendances and nearly equal support for both teams throughout the country.^[14] The derby is known as "intercontinental" because Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray are two of the major Turkish teams from the Asian and the European parts of Istanbul respectively.

The first game played between the two sides was a friendly game on Sunday, 17 January 1909. The game, staged at Papazın Çayırı where Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium is located today, finished 2–0 in favour of Galatasaray. Fenerbahçe achieved their first victory over Galatasaray when they defeated them 4–2 in the 4th gameweek of the Istanbul Football League on Sunday, 4 January 1914.

On 21 September 2003, the two clubs played the Süper Lig game in front of a record attendance of 71,334 people, with drawing the game 2–2. The biggest win is achieved by Galatasaray with winning 7–0 on 12 February 1911. This match, however, was only mentioned by Galatasaray and due to the absence of neutral third-party sources, the line-ups and details of the match are disputed and not completely verifiable, because there were close to no witnesses of this event.^[15][16][17] The biggest modern-day victory is when Fenerbahçe achieved their biggest win against Galatasaray on 6 November 2002 with 6–0, where four goals were scored when Fenerbahçe was one man down.^{[18][19][20][21][22][23][24]} Fenerbahçe are known for rarely losing at home in derbies, in the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Galatasaray could not defeat Fenerbahçe for 20 years (in 23 consecutive matches) until 23 February 2020, when Galatasaray finally defeated Fenerbahçe, marking the first time Galatasaray won a game at Şükrü Saraçoğlu (away) after 20 years, since 22 December 1999.

The first league games in Turkey were held in Istanbul in 1904. This league was called Istanbul Football League originally. The teams participating were called Cadi-Keuy FC, Moda FC, Elpis FC and HMS Imogene. These teams were made up of the English, Greek, and Armenian minorities living in Turkey. Galatasaray SK joined the league in 1906–07 and Fenerbahçe SK in 1909–10. Galatasaray SK did not participate in the 1911–12 season and the club suggested to loan Emin Bülent Serdaroğlu, Celal Ibrahim and two other Galatasaray SK players to Fenerbahçe SK for the match against Strugglers FC. But Fenerbahçe SK did not accept this offer. In 1912 Galatasaray SK president Ali Sami Yen and Fenerbahçe SK president Galip Kulaksızoğlu made a meeting. They arranged a protocol and agreed to form a strong Turkish team against the non-Turkish teams in the league. According to this agreement the new club would have been called Türkkulübü (The Turkish Club), full white kit with a red star. Additionally they also agreed to set up a museum. On 23 August 1912 they presented the petition to the International Olympic Committee – Ottoman section. Due to the Balkan Wars in 1913, this agreement could not be enforced.

Both clubs compete with each other for the title of the most successful football club in Turkey, as well as the greatest Turkish sports club overall. In football, Fenerbahçe SK is more successful in the Intercontinental Derby games but Galatasaray won the Turkish Super League championship 23 times and Fenerbahçe 19 times.^[39] Fenerbahçe's request for 9 championships before the Turkish Super League has not yet received a positive response from the Turkish Football Federation. Apart from this, Galatasaray won the Turkish Cup 18 times, while Fenerbahçe won it 7 times to date.^[40] Galatasaray has been a more successful club than Fenerbahçe in almost every period of European cups. Apart from the 2000 UEFA Cup champion and 2000 UEFA Super Cup champion titles, it has played quarter-finals many times in the European Cup^[41][42][43] and the Champions League^[44] and has the title of the Turkish club that has collected the most points in the Champions League until today. Fenerbahçe's greatest achievements in European cups are the Champions League quarter-finals in the 2007–2008 season^[45] and the Europa League semi-finals in the 2012–2013 season.

The rivalry between the two top Turkish clubs can be traced back to some social, cultural, and regional differences. Galatasaray were founded in 1905 by Galatasaray High School students in the district of Beyoğlu. In the early decades of Turkish football Galatasaray were considered the classic representative of the upper class French influenced society of Istanbul. On the other hand, Fenerbahçe were founded by middle class Muslim men in the district of Kadıköy in 1907. Fenerbahçe were known as the people's club and were considered the representative of the blue-collar workers. During the 70s, Fenerbahçe were supported by 60% of the country while Galatasaray were still heavily supported by the upper class society of Istanbul, these differences caused the derby between the two clubs to be considered a clash between Turkish aristocracy and bourgeoisie. However Galatasaray managed to close the gap between the two clubs after the club started to rise and match Fenerbahçe's strength from 1987 onward especially in the 1990s eventually winning the UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup in 2000. The class differences between the fanbases have slowly faded out and the social gap that once separated the two sides has closed over the years. Nowadays, both clubs boast fanbases that represent all the social classes.^[46]

• In a 2011 poll, 1.4 million Turkish citizens were asked for the team that they support in Turkey by bilyoner.com, the results ended with Galatasaray scoring 35% of the votes while Fenerbahçe scored 34% making up almost seven tenths of the fans.^[14][47] Fenerbahçe claimed the poll was inaccurate for many reasons such as the number of people asked compared to whole population and regions the poll was conducted in. Club officials stated Fenerbahçe is "always indisputably the most popular club in Turkey", with many football commentators and world class players supporting this claim.
• In the research conducted by Socios company in July 2022 and with the participation of 45,774 people in Turkey, Galatasaray has 37.6% and Fenerbahçe 32.3%.^{[48][49][50][51][52]}
• Galatasaray and Fenerbahce are followed by large masses on social media. Galatasaray's social media accounts are followed by more people.

The rivalry reflected in The Intercontinental Derby matches comes about as Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray are the most successful football clubs in Turkey. As seen below, Galatasaray leads Fenerbahçe 84 to 71 in terms of official overall trophies.

As of 7 April 2024

Note: Calculated based on official tournaments. Preparatory and special tournaments are not included.^[53][54]

• Total: Fenerbahçe with 33 higher finishes, Galatasaray with 32 higher finishes (as of the end of the 2022–23 season).

(In bold: Transfer between both clubs)

  Fenerbahçe win
  Galatasaray win
  Draw