Founded | 1934 |
---|---|
Country | Cyprus |
Confederation | UEFA |
Number of teams | 14 |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | Cypriot Second Division |
Domestic cup(s) | |
International cup(s) | UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Conference League |
Current champions | Aris Limassol (1st title) (2022–23) |
Most championships | APOEL (28 titles) |
Top goalscorer | Sotiris Kaiafas (1967–1984) (261 goals) |
TV partners | Cytavision PrimeTel Cablenet |
Website | www |
Current: 2023–24 Cypriot First Division |
The Cypriot First Division (Greek : Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας), known as the Cyta Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the top-tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. [1]
The league is contested by 14 teams and runs from August to May, with the three lowest-placed teams being relegated to the Cypriot Second Division, and replaced by the top three teams in that division.
This section includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(October 2017) |
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.
Anorthosis Famagusta FC was founded in 1911, after which many other clubs were established. In 1932, the annual Cypriot Championship began, at first unofficially. Every season, the championship was organised by a different football club, which caused conflict among 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. 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 championships in a row until 1940. Like other championships throughout the world, the Cypriot Championship was interrupted due to World War II from 1941 until 1945.[ citation needed ]
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, along with other Turkish Cypriot teams, established the Cyprus Turkish Football Association, with its own competitions. The reason behind this was political, as the Turkish Cypriots were opposed to the anticolonial struggle of EOKA and union with Greece (enosis). However, this federation was never recognised, and none of its teams was permitted to play in international competitions.
Cypriot independence in 1960 was followed by full UEFA membership for the Cyprus Football Association in 1962. From 1963, the champions of Cyprus could compete in the European Cup and the Cup winners in the European Cup Winners Cup. The runners-up in the Greek Cypriot First Division began to compete in the UEFA Cup in 1971. 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 1973–74, when APOEL managed to remain in the Greek Championship, which meant that Cyprus would have two teams in Greek top tier. However, due to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus that year, APOEL and Omonia (the 1973–74 Cypriot champions) withdrew from the League.[ citation needed ]
As of the 2022-23 season, 14 clubs compete in the league, and are ranked based on the point system described below. Each club plays the other sides twice, home and away, for a total of 26 games for each club. This is referred to as the first round of the league. In the second round, the teams are divided into two groups; the teams ranked 1st to 6th play off for the title and European spots in Group A, while the bottom eight teams battle to avoid relegation in Group B. Group A is often referred to as the Championship Play-offs, while Group B is referred to as the Relegation Play-offs. Each team's points and criteria, such as goal difference, goals scored, etc. are retained during the transition from first to second round. Similarly to the first round, every club plays the other sides twice, for a total of 10 or 14 games for each club, in Group A and Group B respectively.
At the end of the second round, the club ranked 1st in Group A is declared the winner of the league. The champion qualifies for the UEFA Champions League, while the second and third placed teams enter the UEFA Europa Conference League. If the cup winners finish in third or above, the fourth placed team also enters the UEFA Europa Conference League. Meanwhile, the bottom three teams in Group B are relegated to the Second Division.
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 ]
The point system of the Cypriot First Division has changed throughout the years:
In the event that two or more teams have the same amount of points, they are ranked based on:
Club | Location | 2022–23 season |
---|---|---|
AEK Larnaca | Larnaca | 3rd |
AEL Limassol | Limassol | 9th |
AEZ | Limassol | Promoted from 2nd Div. |
Anorthosis | Famagusta | 7th |
APOEL | Nicosia | 2nd |
Apollon Limassol | Limassol | 5th |
Aris Limassol | Limassol | 1st |
Doxa Katokopias | Katokopia, Nicosia | 11th |
Ethnikos Achnas | Achna, Famagusta | Promoted from 2nd Div. |
Karmiotissa | Pano Polemidia, Limassol | 10th |
Nea Salamina | Famagusta | 8th |
Othellos | Athienou, Larnaca | Promoted from 2nd Div. |
Omonia | Nicosia | 6th |
Pafos FC | Paphos | 4th |
The below table indicates the total number of seasons each club has participated in the Cypriot First Division, up to and including the 2022/23 season. [8]
44 teams have played at least one season in First Division.
Teams in bold are participating in the 2023-24 Cypriot First Division.
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The All-time Cypriot First Division table is a ranking of all Cypriot football clubs based on their performance in the Cypriot First Division. [9] 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 |
Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia, commonly known as Omonia Nicosia, or simply Omonia, is a Cypriot professional multi-sport club, established on 4 June 1948 in Nicosia. It is best known for its football department, which has played in the Cypriot First Division since 1953. On 14 June 2018, the football department of AC Omonia became a professional for-profit football company, and is since known as Omonia FC.
APOEL FC is a Cypriot professional football club based in Nicosia, Cyprus. APOEL is the most successful football team in Cyprus with an overall tally of 28 national championships, 21 cups, and 13 super cups.
APOEL is a major Cypriot multi-sport club based in Nicosia.
Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou is a Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team.
AEK Larnaca FC is a Cypriot professional football club based in Larnaca. The club was formed in 1994 after a merger of two historical Larnaca clubs, EPA Larnaca and Pezoporikos. The club also has a men's basketball team, a women's volleyball team and a men's futsal team.
APOP Kinyras FC was a Cypriot football club from the village of Peyia of Paphos District. The club formed in 2003 following the merger of lower division outfits APOP Peyias FC and Kinyras Empas FC. The club's name APOP means Athlitikos Podosferikos Omilos Pegeias and Kinyras' name coming from the mythical king Kinyras who was the founder of Paphos. In the summer of 2012, after a large bankruptcy the club was dissolved.
The GSP Stadium is a football stadium in Strovolos, Nicosia District, Cyprus. Although small by international standards, it is the largest stadium in Cyprus, with a capacity of 22,859 and was opened in 1999. It serves as the home stadium for the 3 biggest football clubs of Nicosia APOEL, Olympiakos & Omonia. It is also the home stadium of the Cyprus national football team. A stadium under the same name, the old GSP Stadium, existed from 1902 until 1999 in the centre of Nicosia and had a capacity of 12,000.
The 2007-08 Cypriot First Division started on 1 September 2007. The defending champions were APOEL.
The Cypriot Second Division is the second highest football division of the Cypriot football league system. Administered by the Cyprus Football Association, it is contested by 16 teams, with the top two teams being promoted to the Cypriot First Division and the last four teams being relegated to the Cypriot Third Division.
The 2008–09 Cypriot First Division was the seventy season of top-tier football on Cyprus. It started on 30 August 2008 and ended on 10 May 2009. The defending champions were Anorthosis.
The 2009–10 Cypriot First Division was the 71st season of the Cypriot top-level football league. It started on 29 August 2009. APOEL were the defending champions.
Anorthosis Famagusta, commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Anorthosis Famagusta multi-sport club founded in 1911 in Varosha, Famagusta.
Nea Salamis Famagusta FC or Nea Salamina Famagusta FC is a Cypriot professional football club based in Ammochostos. It has been a refugee club since the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, when Turkey occupied the northern part of the island. The club is temporarily based in Larnaca.
APOEL Futsal is a professional futsal team based in the city of Nicosia, Cyprus and it is a part of the APOEL multi-sport club. APOEL is one of the most successful futsal clubs in Cyprus with an overall tally of 6 Championships, 5 Cups and 1 Super Cup.
The 2015–16 Cypriot First Division was the 77th season of the Cypriot top-level football league. It began on 22 August 2015 and ended on 15 May 2016. APOEL were the defending champions.
The 2016–17 Cypriot First Division was the 78th season of the Cypriot top-level football league. The season began on 20 August 2016 and ended on 21 May 2017. The fixtures were announced on 7 July 2016. APOEL were the defending champions.
The 2019–20 Cypriot First Division was the 81st season of the Cypriot top-level football league.
The 2021–22 Cypriot First Division was the 83rd season of the Cypriot top-level football league.
The 2022–23 Cypriot First Division was the 84th season of the Cypriot top-level football league.
The 2023–24 Cypriot First Division is the 85th season of the Cypriot top-level football league.