The founding fathers of the Istanbul Ottomans R.F.C. - Marc Mercier, Dennis Ponds de Vier and Chris Skirrow - decided in 1999 to write history in Turkey. Being in a country where sports like football, basketball, wrestling, and weightlifting are very popular, it must have been odd enough that there was no rugby at all in this country. Soon they realized that they've made the right choice. Not only became the Ottomans a full team, they've also inspired others to team up as well: Kadıköy RC, Bakırköy RC, and the Cyprus Pumas followed shortly.

The year of 2007 - 2008 was the very first year that the Turkish national competition began. Till that year, the Ottomans were visiting neighbouring countries and have participated and represented Turkey in numerous tournaments (both XV as 7s) and friendly games.

Where other Turkish teams are local teams, the expats from all over the world are a significant presence for The Ottomans. The club has represented the following countries: France, Spain, Russia, England, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Venezuela, United States, Canada, Japan, and Sri Lanka.

If you're in Turkey for a while and would like to enjoy in every aspect the world of rugby, all we can say is "welcome to the home of The Ottomans".