Çaykur Rizespor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Rize, a city on the Black Sea coast known for its tea production. The club’s visual identity is built around a circular emblem featuring a green tea leaf, a direct reference to the region’s defining crop and to the state tea company Çaykur, which has sponsored the club since the early 1990s.
Design and History
The club was founded on 19 May 1953 as Rizespor and Gençlik Kulübü. Its first colors were yellow and green, chosen to represent the region’s citrus fruit and tea respectively. In 1968, following a merger with Fener Gençlik and Güneşspor, the club adopted green and blue as its new colors, inspired by nature and the sea. In 1991, a general assembly decision formalized an agreement with the General Directorate of Tea Enterprises, and the club took the name “Çaykur Rizespor Kulübü.”[1]
The current crest is a circular white emblem with a blue outer ring, red lettering, the club name “Çaykur Rizespor Kulübü,” the foundation year 1953, and a green tea sprout in the center.[2] The tea leaf has remained a constant element across versions of the crest, symbolizing the region’s deep ties to tea production. Over time, the tea leaf became more stylized, and red lettering was added to give the design a fresh and recognizable look. Despite these changes, the core identity of the crest, the tea leaf and the green-blue color combination, has stayed consistent.[3]
The club’s official website offers a vector download of the logo under its “Kurumsal Kimlik” (Corporate Identity) section.[4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The tea leaf is the key symbol of the crest.[2] It references both the Çaykur tea company, which has sponsored the club since 1990, and Rize’s status as a center of Turkish tea cultivation. The green-blue color scheme, adopted in 1968, was inspired by nature and the sea, reflecting the club’s Black Sea location.[1]
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