İlayda Cansu Kara

İlayda Cansu Kara — Biography

İlayda Cansu Kara is a left-footed center-back and defender from the new generation of Turkish women's football. She grew up in Kocaeli around the small clubs where her father worked, joined Fenerbahçe's newly founded women's team to play in the Super League, and at the end of 2024 moved to the United States to play for Coastal Carolina University's Chanticleers. She made her way to the national team through the under-17 and under-19 categories.

She began with taekwondo in primary school and switched to football the following year. She obtained her license in 2015 from Körfez Belediyesi Hereke Yıldızspor, coached by her father, then moved to Harb-İş Spor and in 2017 to Kocaeli Bayan FK, where she played in the youth team until 2021. In Grade 11 she moved to Merter Final Schools in Istanbul and joined Fenerbahçe, signing with the club's new women's team on September 22, 2021. Fenerbahçe reached the semi-finals in 2021-22 and finished second in the Super League in 2022-23. She was also a student at the School of Physical Education and Sports of Fenerbahçe University.

She first played for the Turkey under-17 team in a friendly against Russia on November 21, 2019, and appeared in seven matches. With the under-19 side she debuted against Azerbaijan on September 14, 2022, and scored four goals in 15 matches. She was first called up to the senior national team in July 2023 and was called up again in 2024 for the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 League B qualifiers.