This study examines the institutionalisation and expansion of physical education in Turkey from the early years of the Republic to post-1950 education policies from a historical perspective. The Physical Education Law No. 3530, which came into force in 1938, established the ideological, social and pedagogical functions of physical education on an institutional basis by organising sport in a centralised structure under state control. During the Second World War, physical education was considered a strategic tool for training young people in discipline, resilience and national unity; the General Directorate of Physical Education and the Gazi Education Institute emerged as leading institutions in this process. In Village Institutes, physical education and sport played a functional role in rural development and the transmission of the ideology of the Republic as an integral part of production-based education. The Gazi Education Institute institutionalised physical education teaching as a field of expertise based on scientific and pedagogical foundations, serving the Republic's goal of educating modern individuals. In the post-1950 period, the Democratic Party's populist and development-oriented education policies ensured the spread of physical education and school sports; school sports became more visible in the education system as a means of social development, instilling national consciousness and discipline. Consequently, physical education in Turkey has institutionalised not only as a field supporting physical development but also as a vehicle for national identity, social solidarity, and modernisation projects.