Cypriot First Division

Not to be confused with Cypriot First Division (women).

Cyta Championship

Founded	1934;86 years ago (1934)
Country	Cyprus
Confederation	UEFA
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 (28th title) (2018–19)
Most championships	APOEL (28 titles)
Top goalscorer	Sotiris Kaiafas (1967–1984) (261 goals)
TV partners	CytaVision PrimeTel Cablenet
Website	CFA
2019–20 Cypriot First Division

The Cypriot First Division (Greek : Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας); is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and thus officially known as Cyta Championship. ^[1] The league is contested by 12 teams and runs from August to May, with the three lowest-placed teams relegated to the Cypriot Second Division and replaced by the top three teams in that division. At the seasons 2018–19 and 2019–20, the league will be contested by 12 teams and will also be run from August to May, with the two lowest-placed teams relegated to the Cypriot Second Division and replaced by the top two teams in that division.

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. ^[2] The first Champions of Cyprus were Trust 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.^{[ citation needed ]}

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 Omonia (the champion of Cyprus for 1974) withdrew from the League.^{[ citation needed ]}

Format

Current format

As of the 2017/18 season, 12 clubs compete in the league. Each club plays the other sides twice, for a total of 22 games for each club. The bottom two teams (of the first round) are relegated directly to the Second Division. In the second round the teams ranked 1-6 play off for the title and European places, and teams finishing 7-12 play each other to avoid an additional relegation place. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. The league champions qualify for the UEFA Champions League. The runner-up and third placed team in the league enters the UEFA Europa League. If the cup winners finish in the regular European places, the fourth placed team of the league are granted a UEFA Europa League berth. ^[3]

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.^{[ citation needed ]}

Points system

The points system of the Cypriot First Division changed three times during the years:

1. From 1934–35 until 1959–60 season, teams were awarded two points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a defeat. ^[4]
2. From 1960–61 until 1969–70 season, teams were awarded three points for a win, two points for a draw and one point for a defeat. ^[4]
3. From 1970–71 until 1990–91 season, teams were awarded two points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a defeat. ^[5]
4. Since 1991–92 season (until present time), teams are awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a defeat. ^[6]

2019–20 Clubs

Map

AEK
Anorthosis
Nea Salamina

AEL
Apollon

APOEL
Omonia
Doxa
Olympiakos

ENP

Ethnikos

Pafos FC

Locations of the 2019–20 Cypriot First Division teams.

Club	Location	2018–19 season
AEK Larnaca	Larnaca	2nd
AEL Limassol	Limassol	4th
Anorthosis	Larnaca	7th
APOEL	Nicosia	1st
Apollon Limassol	Limassol	3rd
Doxa Katokopias	Katokopia	9th
Enosis Neon Paralimni	Paralimni	10th
Ethnikos Achna	Achna	2D, 1st
Nea Salamis Famagusta	Larnaca	5th
Olympiakos Nicosia	Nicosia	2D, 2nd
Omonia	Nicosia	6th
Pafos FC	Paphos	8th

Champions

Season	Winners [7] [8] (number of titles)	Runners-up
1934–35	Trust (1)	Çetinkaya Türk
1935–36	APOEL (1)	Trust
1936–37	APOEL (2)	Trust
1937–38	APOEL (3)	Trust
1938–39	APOEL (4)	EPA Larnaca
1939–40	APOEL (5)	Pezoporikos Larnaca
1940–41	AEL Limassol (1)	APOEL
1941–44	Suspended due to World War II
1944–45	EPA Larnaca (1)	APOEL
1945–46	EPA Larnaca (2)	APOEL
1946–47	APOEL (6)	EPA Larnaca
1947–48	APOEL (7)	AEL Limassol
1948–49	APOEL (8)	Anorthosis Famagusta
1949–50	Anorthosis Famagusta (1)	EPA Larnaca
1950–51	Çetinkaya Türk (1)	APOEL
1951–52	APOEL (9)	EPA Larnaca
1952–53	AEL Limassol (2)	Pezoporikos Larnaca
1953–54	Pezoporikos Larnaca (1)	APOEL
1954–55	AEL Limassol (3)	Pezoporikos Larnaca
1955–56	AEL Limassol (4)	APOEL
1956–57	Anorthosis Famagusta (2)	Pezoporikos Larnaca
1957–58	Anorthosis Famagusta (3)	Pezoporikos Larnaca
1958–59	Not Held
1959–60	Anorthosis Famagusta (4)	Omonia
1960–61	Omonia (1)	Anorthosis Famagusta
1961–62	Anorthosis Famagusta (5)	Omonia
1962–63	Anorthosis Famagusta (6)	APOEL
1963–64	Championship Abandoned
1964–65	APOEL (10)	Olympiakos Nicosia
1965–66	Omonia (2)	Olympiakos Nicosia
1966–67	Olympiakos Nicosia (1)	APOEL
1967–68	AEL Limassol (5)	Omonia
1968–69	Olympiakos Nicosia (2)	Omonia
1969–70	EPA Larnaca (3)	Pezoporikos Larnaca
1970–71	Olympiakos Nicosia (3)	Digenis Morphou
1971–72	Omonia (3)	EPA Larnaca
1972–73	APOEL (11)	Olympiakos Nicosia
1973–74	Omonia (4)	Pezoporikos Larnaca
1974–75	Omonia (5)	Enosis Neon Paralimni
1975–76	Omonia (6)	APOEL
1976–77	Omonia (7)	APOEL
1977–78	Omonia (8)	APOEL
1978–79	Omonia (9)	APOEL
1979–80	APOEL (12)	Omonia
1980–81	Omonia (10)	APOEL
1981–82	Omonia (11)	Pezoporikos Larnaca
1982–83	Omonia (12)	Anorthosis Famagusta
1983–84	Omonia (13)	Apollon Limassol
1984–85	Omonia (14)	APOEL
1985–86	APOEL (13)	Omonia
1986–87	Omonia (15)	APOEL
1987–88	Pezoporikos Larnaca (2)	APOEL
1988–89	Omonia (16)	Apollon Limassol
1989–90	APOEL (14)	Omonia
1990–91	Apollon Limassol (1)	Anorthosis Famagusta
1991–92	APOEL (15)	Anorthosis Famagusta
1992–93	Omonia (17)	Apollon Limassol
1993–94	Apollon Limassol (2)	Anorthosis Famagusta
1994–95	Anorthosis Famagusta (7)	Omonia
1995–96	APOEL (16)	Anorthosis Famagusta
1996–97	Anorthosis Famagusta (8)	Apollon Limassol
1997–98	Anorthosis Famagusta (9)	Omonia
1998–99	Anorthosis Famagusta (10)	Omonia
1999–2000	Anorthosis Famagusta (11)	Omonia
2000–01	Omonia (18)	Olympiakos Nicosia
2001–02	APOEL (17)	Anorthosis Famagusta
2002–03	Omonia (19)	Anorthosis Famagusta
2003–04	APOEL (18)	Omonia
2004–05	Anorthosis Famagusta (12)	APOEL
2005–06	Apollon Limassol (3)	Omonia
2006–07	APOEL (19)	Omonia
2007–08	Anorthosis Famagusta (13)	APOEL
2008–09	APOEL (20)	Omonia
2009–10	Omonia (20)	APOEL
2010–11	APOEL (21)	Omonia
2011–12	AEL Limassol (6)	APOEL
2012–13	APOEL (22)	Anorthosis Famagusta
2013–14	APOEL (23)	AEL Limassol
2014–15	APOEL (24)	AEK Larnaca
2015–16	APOEL (25)	AEK Larnaca
2016–17	APOEL (26)	AEK Larnaca
2017–18	APOEL (27)	Apollon Limassol
2018–19	APOEL (28)	AEK Larnaca
2019–20	Championship Abandoned due to COVID-19 pandemic

Performances

Performance by club

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning seasons
APOEL	28	20	1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1951–52, 1964–65, 1972–73, 1979–80, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1995–96, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19
Omonia	20	16	1960–61, 1965–66, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1992–93, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2009–10
Anorthosis	13	10	1949–50, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2004–05, 2007–08
AEL Limassol	6	2	1940–41, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1967–68, 2011–12
Apollon Limassol	3	5	1990–91, 1993–94, 2005–06
EPA Larnaca	3	5	1944–45, 1945–46, 1969–70
Olympiakos Nicosia	3	4	1966–67, 1968–69, 1970–71
Pezoporikos Larnaca	2	8	1953–54, 1987–88
Trust	1	3	1934–35
Çetinkaya Türk	1	1	1950–51
AEK Larnaca	–	4	–
Digenis Morphou	–	1	–
Enosis Neon Paralimni	–	1	–

Appearances in the top division

The below table indicates the total number of seasons each club has participated in the Cypriot First Division, up to the 2019/20 season: ^[9]

Team Participations APOEL Nicosia 79 AEL Limassol 78 Anorthosis Famagusta 74 Olympiakos Nicosia 68 Omonia Nicosia 64 Apollon Limassol 61 Nea Salamina Famagusta 58 Aris Limassol 53 EPA Larnaca 50 Pezoporikos Larnaca 49 Enosis Neon Paralimni 48

Team Participations Alki Larnaca 43 Ethnikos Achna 32 AEK Larnaca 25 APOP Paphos 19 Evagoras Paphos 18 Çetinkaya Türk 18 Doxa Katokopias 16 Digenis Akritas Morphou 15 Ermis Aradippou 13 Omonia Aradippou 13 AYMA 11

Team Participations AEP Paphos 10 ASIL Lysi 8 Anagennisi Dherynia 7 APEP Pitsilia 7 APOP Kinyras Pegeia 5 Keravnos Strovolou 4 Orfeas Nicosia 4 Trast AC 4 Ayia Napa 4 Pafos FC 4

Team Participations Ethnikos Assia 3 Alki Oroklini 2 Chalkanoras Idaliou 2 AEK Kouklia 1 Atromitos Yeroskipou 1 THOI Lakatamia 1 Onisilos Sotira 1 Othellos Athienou 1 AEZ Zakakiou 1 Karmiotissa Pano Polemidion 1

• The 1963–64 Cypriot First Division, where the championship was abandoned, is not included in the table.
• Çetinkaya total includes 12 when competing as Lefkosa Turk Spor Kulubu
• APEP Pitsilia total includes one as APEP Limassol

All-time Cypriot First Division table (1934–35 until 2017–18)

The All-time Cypriot First Division table is a ranking of all Cypriot football clubs based on their performance in the Cypriot First Division. ^[10] 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	Ssn	Points	GP	W	D.	L.	GF.	GA.	GD.
1	APOEL FC	77	3227	1785	1072	382	331	4001	1787	2072
2	AC Omonia	62	3021	1628	1005	331	292	3536	1552	1984
3	Anorthosis Famagusta FC	72	2910	1777	896	447	434	3218	2044	1175
4	Apollon Limassol	59	2468	1589	722	415	452	2691	1946	745
5	AEL Limassol	77	2435	1791	740	440	611	2922	2486	436
6	Nea Salamis Famagusta FC	56	1790	1467	490	381	596	2026	2224	-198
7	Olympiakos Nicosia	67	1688	1501	496	360	645	2243	2775	-532
8	Enosis Neon Paralimni FC	46	1459	1253	426	365	462	1663	1699	-36
9	Pezoporikos Larnaca FC	49	1432	1062	444	318	300	1719	1326	393
10	Aris Limassol FC	53	1287	1311	329	324	658	1668	2648	-980
11	EPA Larnaca FC	50	1222	1052	362	277	413	1570	1641	-71
12	Alki Larnaca FC	43	1202	1128	309	284	535	1400	1986	-586
13	Ethnikos Achna FC	31	1078	895	296	219	380	1201	1370	-169
14	AEK Larnaca FC	23	1039	675	295	154	226	1100	876	224
15	Doxa Katokopias FC	14	419	434	108	95	231	503	848	-345
16	APOP Paphos FC	19	406	502	105	126	271	501	1007	-506
17	Evagoras Paphos	18	371	480	90	136	254	431	906	-475
18	Ermis Aradippou FC	12	353	374	94	75	205	402	767	-365
19	Digenis Akritas Morphou FC	15	339	396	94	110	192	397	690	-293
20	AEP Paphos FC	10	315	278	81	72	125	376	478	-102
21	Omonia Aradippou	13	232	357	64	92	201	315	686	-371
22	Çetinkaya Türk S.K.	18	189	209	77	35	97	393	503	-110
23	ASIL Lysi	8	180	198	37	40	121	169	430	-261
24	APOP Kinyras FC	5	161	148	44	29	75	201	275	-74
25	Orfeas Nicosia	4	134	90	24	16	50	110	180	-70
26	Anagennisi Deryneia FC	7	123	186	31	35	120	163	409	-247
27	Armenian Young Men's Association	11	121	176	23	27	126	256	593	-337
28	APEP FC	7	101	192	25	34	133	158	460	-302
29	Keravnos Strovolou FC	4	84	108	28	28	52	111	167	-56
30	Pafos FC	2	78	72	19	21	32	77	109	-32
31	Enosis Neon Trust	4	68	44	30	8	6	129	54	75
32	Ayia Napa FC	4	64	110	12	28	70	90	218	-128
33	Ethnikos Assia FC	3	60	78	17	9	52	102	184	-82
34	Chalkanoras Idaliou	2	43	60	16	11	33	59	116	-57
35	Alki Oroklini	1	39	36	11	6	19	48	73	-25
36	Karmiotissa FC	1	37	36	10	7	19	47	71	-24
37	Othellos Athienou FC	1	25	32	5	10	17	26	42	-16
38	AEK Kouklia FC	1	23	36	6	5	25	34	94	-60
39	Onisilos Sotira	1	13	26	3	4	19	22	63	-41
40	AEZ Zakakiou	1	11	26	1	8	17	20	63	-43
41	Atromitos Yeroskipou	1	7	26	1	4	21	19	69	-50
42	Enosis Neon THOI Lakatamia	1	7	26	1	4	21	15	75	-60

See also

• Cypriot First Division top goalscorers
• List of foreign football players in Cypriot First Division

References

1. "Πρωτάθλημα Cyta" μέχρι το 2019 (συμφωνία ΚΟΠ – Cyta) ["Cyta Championship until 2019] (in Greek). cfa.com.cy. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
2. "HISTORY OF CFA". CFA. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
3. Xaris Xarilaou (31 August 2017). "Cyprus 2016/17". RSSSF. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
4. Γαβριηλίδης & Παπαμωυσέως 2001 , p. 71 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFΓαβριηλίδηςΠαπαμωυσέως2001 (help)
5. Γαβριηλίδης & Παπαμωυσέως 2001 , p. 88 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFΓαβριηλίδηςΠαπαμωυσέως2001 (help)
6. Γαβριηλίδης & Παπαμωυσέως 2001 , p. 130 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFΓαβριηλίδηςΠαπαμωυσέως2001 (help)
7. "Cyprus - List of Champions". RSSSF. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
8. "Πρωταθλήτριες Ομάδες". CFA. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
9. "Cyprus - Participations per club at Cypriot First Division". RSSSF. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
10. "Cyprus - All-Time Table". RSSSF. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2017.

External links

• Top Scorers per season

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cypriot First Division .