Cypriot First Division

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Cypriot First Division
Country  Cyprus
Confederation UEFA
Founded 1934; 91 years ago (1934)
Number of teams 14
Level on pyramid 1
Relegation to Cypriot Second Division
Domestic cup(s) Cypriot Cup
Cypriot Super Cup
International cup(s) UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa League
Current champions APOEL (24th title)
(2014–15)
Most championships APOEL
(24 titles)
TV partners CytaVision
PrimeTel
Website CFA
2015–16 Cypriot First Division

The Cypriot First Division championship (Greek: Πρωτάθλημα Α' Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association.

History

Football was introduced to Cyprus early in the 20th century by the British. Initially played in the island's schools, it proved hugely popular and a number of clubs were duly formed.

Since 1911, when Anorthosis Famagusta FC was founded, many clubs were established and in 1932 the Cypriot Championship began annually at first unofficially. Every season, the championship was organized by a different football club which caused some conflicts between some of the teams.

As football became more established, the clubs were united in agreeing that an official body was needed to regulate the sport. And in September 1934, the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) was formed and the Cypriot Championship and Cup began to take place annually.[1] The first Champions of Cyprus were Trast AC in 1935 but the club folded three years later. The 1930s were dominated by APOEL, who won five championship in a row until 1940. Like other Championships in the World, the Cypriot Championship was interrupted, due to World War II from 1941 until 1945.

World War II was followed by the Greek Civil War, which caused a lot of fanaticism between Greeks. Since the majority of the island are Greek Cypriots, it had a lot of influence in their society too, including sport. In 1948, some clubs were involved in politics and criticized the left-wing as responsible for the War. Several footballers from those clubs criticized their club but that followed the expulsion of those players from their teams. Those players then went on to help establish new clubs with their own Association and their own football competitions. Until 1953 there were two separate football Championships in Cyprus and two different Associations. However, in 1953, the two Associations unified Cypriot football, and the teams which were established in 1948 under the separate association, were allowed to become members of the CFA. Only Omonia was accepted into the First Division. And due to the addition of more clubs that season, relegation and promotion began in Cypriot football.

The Cypriot Championship unification, lasted for only two seasons. In 1955, Çetinkaya Türk S.K., who had been the only Turkish Cypriot team playing in the Cypriot First Division since 1934–35, withdrew from the Championship and with other Turkish Cypriot teams, established the Cyprus Turkish Football Federation, with its own competitions. The reason behind this was political, as the Turkish Cypriot leadership were supporting the partition of the island. However, this Federation was never recognized and no team of that federation could play in international competitions.

The independence of Cyprus in 1960, was followed by full membership for the Cyprus Football Association to UEFA in 1962. From 1963, the champions of the Cyprus, could compete in the European Champions Cup and the Cup winners in the European Cup Winners Cup. Since 1971, the runners up in the Greek Cypriot First Division can compete in the UEFA Cup. From 1967 until 1974, the Greek Cypriot Champions were promoted to the Greek First National Division. Greek Cypriot teams were relegated every season from the Alpha Ethniki, apart from 1974, when APOEL managed to remain in the Greek Championship which meant that Cyprus would have two teams in Alpha Ethniki. However, due to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus that year, APOEL and AC Omonoia (the champion of Cyprus for 1974) withdrew from the League.

The Greek Cypriot championship was abandoned in the 1963–64 season due to the bicommunal conflicts between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.

Omonia dominated the Greek Cypriot Championship in the 1970s and 1980s, winning 12 championship in 13 seasons. In 1976, Omonia player Sotiris Kaiafas was the top scorer not only in Cyprus but also in Europe with 39 goals winning the European Golden Boot. Anorthosis Famagusta dominated Cyprus football between 1995 and 2000, losing the championship during those years only once in 1996.

The last 15 years (2000–present), APOEL had been the most successful club by winning more than one championship every two years, counting eight championship titles in total.

Format

At present, 14 clubs compete in the league. Each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, which makes a total of 26 games for each club. The last two teams (of the first round) are relegated directly to the Second Division. Since 2007–08 season the league has a second round play-off system. In the second round the first 12 (out of 14) teams are separated into two groups of six teams according to their position at the end of the first round. The points from the first round are carried to the second round and the teams play each other twice (10 more matches). At the end of the second round, the bottom team of the relegation group is relegated to the Second Division.

Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. The rule for three points for a win has been applied since 1992, before then two points were awarded for a win. Teams are ranked by total points, the matches between the teams, then goal difference and then goals scored. If teams are still equal they are deemed to occupy the same position. If the champions, teams for relegation or qualification for other competitions thus cannot be decided, a series of play-off match(es) are played between the affected teams, although this has yet to occur. Since the establishment of the league and until 2005–06, goal difference had the biggest ranking after total points. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned as champions. The three lowest placed teams are relegated into the Cypriot Second Division and the top three teams from the 2nd Division promoted in their place.

The league champions are entitled to entrance in the UEFA Champions League in the third qualifying round. The winner of the Cypriot Cup automatically enters the UEFA Europa League play-off round. The runner-up and third placed team in the league enters the UEFA Europa League on the second qualifying round. If the cup winners are also league champions, then the losing cup finalists are granted a UEFA Europa League berth. If the cup winners qualify for Europe by their league position, then the fourth-placed team in the league qualifies for the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.

The First Division has had 14 teams from 1989 until today, apart from the 1994–95 season when the league was reduced to 13 teams and the 2014–15 season when the league was reduced to 12 teams. For some years there has been discussion about reducing the number of teams in the first division. This is partly driven by some of the mid-table clubs not being involved for much of the season in either the Championship or qualification for Europe, or relegation. In the 2014–15 season, the Cypriot First Division teams were reduced from 14 to 12, but the next season (2015–16) they were increased again to 14.

Previous formats

From 2007–08 until 2012–13 season, in the second round the first 12 (out of 14) teams were separated into three groups of four teams according to their position at the end of the first round. For the 2013–14 season, in the second round the first 12 (out of 14) teams were separated into two groups of six teams according to their position at the end of the first round. The last two teams of the first round were relegated directly to the B1 Division and the bottom two teams of the relegation group also. The points from the first round were carried to the second round and the teams played each other twice.

In the 2014–15 season, only 12 clubs competed in the league. Each club played the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, which made a total of 22 games for each club. In the second round the 12 teams were separated into two groups of six teams according to their position at the end of the first round. The points from the first round were carried to the second round and the teams played each other twice (10 more matches). At the end of the second round, the bottom team of the relegation group was relegated to the Second Division.

2015–16 Clubs

Club Location 2014–15 season
AEK Larnaca Larnaca 2nd
AEL Limassol Limassol 8th
Anorthosis Larnaca 5th
APOEL Nicosia 1st
Apollon Limassol Limassol 3rd
Aris Limassol Limassol 2D, 3rd
Ayia Napa Ayia Napa 10th
Doxa Katokopias Katokopia 11th
Enosis Neon Paralimni Paralimni 2D, 1st
Ermis Aradippou Larnaca 6th
Ethnikos Achna Achna 7th
Nea Salamina Larnaca 9th
Omonia Nicosia 4th
Pafos FC Paphos 2D, 2nd

League name history

  • 1934–2007 : Pancypriot Championship
  • 2007–2012 : Marfin Laiki League
  • 2012 00000: Laiki Bank League
  • 2012–2013 : First Division Championship
  • 2013–2014 : Glafcos Clerides Championship
  • 2014– 0000: First Division Championship

Champions

Season Winner Runner-up
1934–35 Trast AC Çetinkaya Türk
1935–36 APOEL Trast AC
1936–37 APOEL Trast AC
1937–38 APOEL Trast AC
1938–39 APOEL EPA Larnaca
1939–40 APOEL Pezoporikos Larnaca
1940–41 AEL Limassol APOEL
1941–44
Suspended due to World War II
1944–45 EPA Larnaca APOEL
1945–46 EPA Larnaca APOEL
1946–47 APOEL EPA Larnaca
1947–48 APOEL AEL Limassol
1948–49 APOEL Anorthosis Famagusta
1949–50 Anorthosis Famagusta EPA Larnaca
1950–51 Çetinkaya Türk APOEL
1951–52 APOEL EPA Larnaca
1952–53 AEL Limassol Pezoporikos Larnaca
1953–54 Pezoporikos Larnaca APOEL
1954–55 AEL Limassol Pezoporikos Larnaca
1955–56 AEL Limassol APOEL
1956–57 Anorthosis Famagusta Pezoporikos Larnaca
1957–58 Anorthosis Famagusta Pezoporikos Larnaca
1958–59
Not Held
1959–60 Anorthosis Famagusta Omonia
1960–61 Omonia Anorthosis Famagusta
1961–62 Anorthosis Famagusta Omonia
1962–63 Anorthosis Famagusta APOEL
1963–64
Championship Abandoned
1964–65 APOEL Olympiakos Nicosia
1965–66 Omonia Olympiakos Nicosia
1966–67 Olympiakos Nicosia APOEL
1967–68 AEL Limassol Omonia
1968–69 Olympiakos Nicosia Omonia
1969–70 EPA Larnaca Pezoporikos Larnaca
1970–71 Olympiakos Nicosia Digenis Morphou
1971–72 Omonia EPA Larnaca
1972–73 APOEL Olympiakos Nicosia
1973–74 Omonia Pezoporikos Larnaca
1974–75 Omonia Enosis Neon Paralimni
1975–76 Omonia APOEL
1976–77 Omonia APOEL
1977–78 Omonia APOEL
1978–79 Omonia APOEL
1979–80 APOEL Omonia
1980–81 Omonia APOEL
1981–82 Omonia Pezoporikos Larnaca
1982–83 Omonia Anorthosis Famagusta
1983–84 Omonia Apollon Limassol
1984–85 Omonia APOEL
1985–86 APOEL Omonia
1986–87 Omonia APOEL
1987–88 Pezoporikos Larnaca APOEL
1988–89 Omonia Apollon Limassol
1989–90 APOEL Omonia
1990–91 Apollon Limassol Anorthosis Famagusta
1991–92 APOEL Anorthosis Famagusta
1992–93 Omonia Apollon Limassol
1993–94 Apollon Limassol Anorthosis Famagusta
1994–95 Anorthosis Famagusta Omonia
1995–96 APOEL Anorthosis Famagusta
1996–97 Anorthosis Famagusta Apollon Limassol
1997–98 Anorthosis Famagusta Omonia
1998–99 Anorthosis Famagusta Omonia
1999-00 Anorthosis Famagusta Omonia
2000–01 Omonia Olympiakos Nicosia
2001–02 APOEL Anorthosis Famagusta
2002–03 Omonia Anorthosis Famagusta
2003–04 APOEL Omonia
2004–05 Anorthosis Famagusta APOEL
2005–06 Apollon Limassol Omonia
2006–07 APOEL Omonia
2007–08 Anorthosis Famagusta APOEL
2008–09 APOEL Omonia
2009–10 Omonia APOEL
2010–11 APOEL Omonia
2011–12 AEL Limassol APOEL
2012–13 APOEL Anorthosis Famagusta
2013–14 APOEL AEL Limassol
2014–15 APOEL AEK Larnaca

Performances

Performance by club

Club Winners Runners-up Winning seasons
APOEL
24
20
 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1965, 1973, 1980, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015
Omonia
20
16
 1961, 1966, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1993, 2001, 2003, 2010
Anorthosis
13
10
 1950, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2008
AEL Limassol
6
2
 1941, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1968, 2012
EPA Larnaca
3
5
 1945, 1946, 1970
Olympiakos Nicosia
3
4
 1967, 1969, 1971
Apollon Limassol
3
4
 1991, 1994, 2006
Pezoporikos Larnaca
2
8
 1954, 1988
Trast AC
1
3
 1935
Çetinkaya Türk
1
1
 1951
AEK Larnaca
–
1
 –
Digenis Morphou
–
1
 –
Enosis Neon Paralimni
–
1
 –

Performance by city

City Winners Club(s)
Nicosia
49
 APOEL (24)
Omonia (20)
Olympiakos Nicosia (3)
Trast AC (1)
Çetinkaya Türk (1)
Famagusta
13
 Anorthosis (13)
Limassol
9
 AEL Limassol (6)
Apollon Limassol (3)
Larnaca
5
 EPA Larnaca (3)
Pezoporikos Larnaca (2)

Participations per club

So far, 39 different teams participated in the Cypriot First Division. Neither team has participated in all leagues (77 in total, including the period 2015–16) for various reasons (participation in the Greek league, relegation at the Second Division, teams dissolution and merge or leaving Cyprus Football Association).

Fifteen of the 39 teams are no longer in the Cypriot leagues. Among them is the only Turkish-Cypriot team that participated in the first division, Çetinkaya which left the Cyprus Football Association, but also the Armenian AYMA and Orfeas Nicosia that participate now in the amateur tournaments. Pezoporikos and EPA merged creating AEK Larnaca, Evagoras and APOP merged creating AEP Paphos, AEK Kouklia and AEP Paphos merged creating Pafos FC. Keravnos disbanded its football section, APOP Kinyras, Atromitos Yeroskipou, Onisilos Sotira and Alki Larnaca dissolved due to financial problems and the first champion of Cyprus Trast AC ceased to exist.

Team Participations
APOEL 75
AEL Limassol 75
Anorthosis Famagusta 70
Olympiakos Nicosia 66
Omonia 60
Apollon Limassol 57
Nea Salamina 54
Aris Limassol 51
EPA Larnaca 50
Pezoporikos Larnaca 49
Team Participations
Enosis Neon Paralimni 46
Alki Larnaca 43
Ethnikos Achna 29
AEK Larnaca 21
APOP Paphos 19
Evagoras Paphos 18
Çetinkaya Türk 18
Digenis Akritas Morphou 15
Omonia Aradippou 13
Doxa Katokopias 12
Team Participations
AYMA 11
AEP Paphos 10
Ermis Aradippou 10
ASIL Lysi 8
APEP 7
Anagennisi Dherynia 6
APOP Kinyras 5
Keravnos 4
Orfeas Nicosia 4
Trast AC 4
Team Participations
Ayia Napa 4
Ethnikos Assia 3
Chalkanoras Idaliou 2
AEK Kouklia 1
Atromitos Yeroskipou 1
THOI Lakatamia 1
Onisilos Sotira 1
Othellos Athienou 1
Pafos FC 1

League or status at 2015–16:

2015–16 Cypriot First Division
2015–16 Cypriot Second Division
2015–16 Cypriot Third Division
Amateur Leagues
No longer affiliated with CFA
Clubs that no longer exist

All-time Cypriot First Division table (1934–35 until 2014–15)

The All-time Cypriot First Division table is a ranking of all Cypriot football clubs based on their performance in the Cypriot First Division. The points are the sum of the points of all seasons, despite the point system of the season. The 1963–64 Cypriot First Division season is not included because the championship was abandoned.

Rank Club Years Points G W D. L. GF. GA. GD.
1 APOEL 74 2975 1676 994 364 318 3596 1702 1894
2 Omonia 59 2850 1520 954 313 253 3347 1401 1946
3 Anorthosis Famagusta 69 2735 1669 849 413 407 3060 1932 1128
4 AEL Limassol 74 2262 1682 690 417 575 2784 2366 418
5 Apollon Limassol 56 2245 1481 657 387 437 2469 1854 615
6 Olympiakos Nicosia 66 1664 1465 491 351 623 2209 2694 -485
7 Nea Salamina 53 1660 1359 455 356 548 1896 2053 -157
8 Enosis Neon Paralimni 45 1436 1227 422 354 451 1637 1650 -13
9 Pezoporikos Larnaca 49 1432 1062 444 318 300 1719 1326 393
10 EPA Larnaca 50 1222 1052 362 277 413 1570 1641 -71
11 Alki Larnaca 43 1202 1128 309 284 535 1400 1986 -586
12 Aris Limassol 50 1189 1213 305 298 610 1559 2488 -929
13 Ethnikos Achna 28 991 797 275 195 327 1087 1192 -105
14 AEK Larnaca 20 820 567 230 130 207 899 775 124
15 APOP Paphos 19 406 502 105 126 271 501 1007 -506
16 Evagoras Paphos 18 371 480 90 136 254 431 906 -475
17 Digenis Akritas Morphou 15 339 396 94 110 192 397 690 -293
18 AEP Paphos 10 315 278 81 72 125 376 478 -102
19 Doxa Katokopias 11 295 326 74 73 179 363 674 -311
20 Omonia Aradippou 13 232 357 64 92 201 315 686 -371
21 Çetinkaya Türk 18 189 209 77 35 97 393 503 -110
22 ASIL Lysi 8 180 198 37 40 121 169 430 -261
23 Ermis Aradippou 9 217 266 55 56 155 265 590 -325
24 APOP Kinyras 5 161 148 44 29 75 201 275 -74
25 Orfeas Nicosia 4 134 90 24 16 50 110 180 -70
26 AYMA 11 121 176 23 27 126 256 593 -337
27 Anagennisi Dherynia 6 116 160 31 28 101 144 351 -207
28 APEP 7 101 192 25 34 133 158 460 -302
29 Keravnos 4 84 108 28 28 52 111 167 -56
30 Trast AC 4 68 44 30 8 6 129 54 75
31 Ethnikos Assia 3 60 78 17 9 52 102 184 -82
32 Chalkanoras Idaliou 2 43 60 16 11 33 59 116 -57
33 Ayia Napa 3 58 84 12 22 50 73 154 -81
34 Othellos Athienou 1 25 32 5 10 17 26 42 -16
35 AEK Kouklia 1 23 36 6 5 25 34 94 -60
36 Onisilos Sotira 1 13 26 3 4 19 22 63 -41
37 Atromitos Yeroskipou 1 7 26 1 4 21 19 69 -50
38 THOI Lakatamia 1 7 26 1 4 21 15 75 -60
Total 28248 22196 8380 5436 380 33901 33901 0

Final places (1934–35 until 2014–15)

↓Team / Place→ 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th Total
APOEL 24 20 15 3 4 1 3 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 74
AEL Limassol 6 2 6 16 12 7 6 5 4 4 2 3 0 1 0 0 74
Anorthosis Famagusta 13 10 8 7 14 5 8 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 69
Olympiakos Nicosia 3 4 2 4 4 7 6 7 5 6 11 3 3 1 0 0 66
Omonia 20 16 10 8 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 59
Apollon Limassol 3 4 6 5 9 13 5 1 4 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 56
Nea Salamina 0 0 4 3 5 6 6 6 4 6 3 3 6 0 1 0 53
EPA Larnaca 3 5 4 2 4 3 4 8 4 7 4 1 1 0 0 0 50
Aris Limassol 0 0 0 4 4 1 3 7 1 7 8 7 3 5 0 0 50
Pezoporikos Larnaca 2 8 14 6 5 5 4 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 49
Enosis Neon Paralimni 0 1 2 3 3 5 6 12 5 4 2 1 1 0 0 0 45
Alki Larnaca 0 0 1 1 0 4 3 2 6 6 6 7 3 3 1 0 43
Ethnikos Achna 0 0 0 3 1 8 2 0 6 2 2 0 2 2 0 0 28
AEK Larnaca 0 1 0 6 2 0 4 3 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 20
APOP Paphos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 5 3 5 0 0 19
Çetinkaya Türk 1 1 4 3 6 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18
Evagoras Paphos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 6 3 4 1 0 18
Digenis Akritas Morphou 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 2 1 1 1 3 0 2 1 15
Omonia Aradippou 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 2 2 2 2 0 13
AYMA 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 3 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 11
Doxa Katokopias 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 3 0 3 1 0 0 11
AEP Paphos 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 10
Ermis Aradippou 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 4 0 1 9
ASIL Lysi 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 1 1 8
APEP 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 5 0 0 7
Anagennisi Dherynia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 6
APOP Kinyras 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 5
Trast AC 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
Orfeas Nicosia 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 4
Keravnos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 4
Ayia Napa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 3
Ethnikos Assia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 3
Chalkanoras Idaliou 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2
AEK Kouklia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Othellos Athienou 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Onisilos Sotira 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Atromitos Yeroskipou 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
THOI Lakatamia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

See also

References

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External links

it:Campionato cipriota di calcio

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