Mustafa Reşit Akçay

Mustafa Reşit Akçay — Biography

Mustafa Reşit Akçay was born on 12 December 1958 in Trabzon and began his coaching career at İdmangücü, where he spent eight years. He then worked for four years within Trabzonspor's youth setup, contributing to the development of players such as Fatih Tekke and Gökdeniz Karadeniz. In 1996 he travelled to the Netherlands for seven months of coaching education at Ajax's academy, after which he served as Giray Bulak's assistant at several clubs before taking his first head-coaching post at Bulancakspor in the 2001-02 season.

He went on to lead a string of Anatolian clubs, including Gümüşhanespor, Pazarspor, Ofspor and Tavşanlı Linyitspor, and in 2011 guided 1461 Trabzon to the title and promotion to the top flight. In 2013 he took charge of Trabzonspor, then coached Akhisar Belediyespor, Osmanlıspor, Konyaspor and Ankaragücü in turn; his Osmanlıspor side went unbeaten for a long stretch in the UEFA Europa League, and he won the Turkish Super Cup with Konyaspor in 2017.

Appointed at Kocaelispor in 2021, he steered the club to promotion via the play-offs before later managing Esenler Erokspor. In 2026 he returned to the dugout as head coach of Araklıspor.