Football in Greece

Association football () is the most popular sport in Greece, followed by basketball. Over half of the people in Greece are interested in football.

History of Greek football

The Ancient Greeks are known to have played many ball games, some of which involved the use of the feet. The Roman game harpastum is believed to have been adapted from a Greek team game known as "ἐπίσκυρος" (Episkyros)ἐπίσκυρος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital LibraryThe New Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007 Edition: "In ancient Greece a game with elements of football, episkuros, or harpaston, was played, and it had migrated to Rome as harpastum by the 2nd century BC". or "φαινίνδα" (phaininda),φαινίνδα, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library which is mentioned by a Greek playwright, Antiphanes (388–311 B.C.) and later referred to by the Christian theologian Clement of Alexandria (c.150–c.215 A.D.). These games appear to have resembled rugby football.Nigel Wilson, Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece, Routledge, 2005, p. 310Nigel M. Kennell, The Gymnasium of Virtue: Education and Culture in Ancient Sparta (Studies in the History of Greece and Rome), The University of North Carolina Press, 1995, on Google BooksSteve Craig, Sports and Games of the Ancients: (Sports and Games Through History), Greenwood, 2002, on Google BooksDon Nardo, Greek and Roman Sport, Greenhaven Press, 1999, p. 83Sally E. D. Wilkins, Sports and games of medieval cultures, Greenwood, 2002, on Google books

In the modern era, however, association football was introduced to the Greeks by expatriate British communities and military personnel. The first Greek football teams were created as part of long-established athletic and gymnastic clubs in the major port cities of Athens and Thessaloniki, as well as among the large Greek communities of the Ottoman Empire, such as Constantinople and Smyrna, in the early 1900s. After the Asia Minor Disaster of 1922 which resulted in a large resettlement of Greeks from Turkey to Greece, several clubs, such as Panionios and Apollon Smyrnis, were transplanted, while many athletes of other clubs, like Pera, formed new organizations in their new home (e.g. AEK, PAOK).

League system

The first league of professional football in Greece was officially established as the Panhellenic Championship in 1927. The league ran until 1959, when it was replaced by the Alpha Ethniki which ran until 2006 when it was then replaced by Super League Greece. According to FIFPRO, an organization that represents professional players, nearly 70 percent of players complained in a 2011 survey of problems with not being paid.Another Victim of Global Financial Crisis: Pro Soccer Players, New York Times, March 24, 2014.

Superleague Greece is the top-flight professional football division within Greece. The league contains 14 clubs, with the winners of the league becoming the Champions of Greece. The team with the most national championships is Olympiacos, who have won 48 times - 14 Super League titles, 19 Alpha Ethniki titles and 15 Panhellenic Championships. Two other P.O.K. clubs also dominate the history of Greek football; Panathinaikos with 20 titles and AEK Athens with 14 titles.

Cup competitions There are currently two major cups competitions in Greek football, the Greek Cup, which includes clubs from the 2 professional leagues in Greece, Super League 1 and Super League 2 and the Greek Super Cup, an annual game held between the winner of the Greek Super League and Greek Cup.

International UEFA competitions

Club sides may qualify to play in European tournaments under the jurisdiction of UEFA. The champions of Super League qualify for the group stage of the following season's UEFA Champions League. The teams finishing in second to fifth position qualify for a round-robin playoff, the winner of which will enter the Champions League at the Third Qualifying Round. The other three teams will qualify for the following season's UEFA Europa League, at the Play-off, Third Qualifying or Second Qualifying Round stage, dependent on their performance in the national level playoff. The winner of the Greek Cup also qualifies for the Europa League. If this club has already qualified for a UEFA competition then the place is given to the runners-up.

Olympiacos became the first and only Greek team to lift a UEFA trophy, winning the UEFA Conference League in the 2023–24 season, defeating Fiorentina in the final. Additionally, the Olympiacos youth team had won the UEFA Youth League in the same season, beating AC Milan in the final.

National team

The Greek national team's first match came on April 7, 1929, in a 1–4 loss to Italy. Greece have qualified for the FIFA World Cup three times, in 1994, in 2010 and in 2014. Greece have qualified for the European Championship four times, their first in 1980, their second in 2004, their third in 2008 and their fourth in 2012. 2004 was their most successful run as they became champions by defeating hosts Portugal in the finals.

Women's football

A national league for women has existed since 1989. Now known as the Women's Alpha Ethniki, it was started in 1989 as the Women's Panhellenic Championship. In recent years PAOK have dominated the league.

Greek footballers

Records

Professional seasons in Greek football 1970s: 1979–80 1980s: 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990s: 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000s: 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–102010s: 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020s: 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26 2026–27

Attendances The average attendance per top-flight football league season and the club with the highest average attendance:

Season League average Best club Best club average 2024–25 6,412 Olympiacos 26,969 2023–24 5,365 AEK 21,343 2022–23 7,186 AEK 27,603 2021–22 — — — 2020–21 — — — 2019–20 6,408 Olympiacos 20,501 2018–19 5,416 Olympiacos 21,073 2017–18 3,906 Olympiacos 14,016 2016–17 3,932 Olympiacos 18,044 2015–16 4,039 Olympiacos 18,154 2014–15 3,141 Olympiacos 17,221 2013–14 3,966 Olympiacos 16,856 2012–13 4,900 Olympiacos 20,918 2011–12 5,064 Olympiacos 21,529 2010–11 6,308 Olympiacos 22,099 2009–10 7,510 Panathinaikos 27,531 2008–09 7,534 Olympiacos 25,368 2007–08 6,526 Olympiacos 24,196 2006–07 6,183 Olympiacos 22,412 2005–06 5,679 Olympiacos 21,270 2004–05 6,010 AEK 27,647 2003–04 2,892 Panathinaikos 8,857 2002–03 3,232 Panathinaikos 8,093 2001–02 5,642 Olympiacos 20,279 2000–01 3,626 Olympiacos 11,989 1999–2000 3,980 Olympiacos 14,335 1998–99 4,119 Olympiacos 11,092 1997–98 4,509 Olympiacos 16,237 1996–97 4,467 Olympiacos 16,935 1995–96 4,326 Panathinaikos 11,662 1994–95 4,128 Panathinaikos 11,709 1993–94 3,763 AEK 11,384 1992–93 4,921 Panathinaikos 16,215 1991–92 5,874 Olympiacos 18,388 1990–91 6,373 Olympiacos 18,363 1989–90 6,563 Panathinaikos 19,554 1988–89 9,462 Olympiacos 35,460 1987–88 11,256 Olympiacos 38,604 1986–87 9,102 Olympiacos 32,056 1985–86 14,103 Panathinaikos 45,000 1984–85 11,958 Panathinaikos 37,024 1983–84 10,235 Panathinaikos 22,417 1982–83 7,681 Olympiacos 23,508 1981–82 8,255 Olympiacos 22,046 1980–81 8,676 Olympiacos 24,759 1979–80 9,422 Olympiacos 24,791 1978–79 8,302 Olympiacos 24,552 1977–78 6,593 AEK 15,572 1976–77 10,338 Olympiacos 26,209 1975–76 9,732 Olympiacos 22,089 1974–75 9,135 Olympiacos 24,959 1973–74 9,586 Olympiacos 29,526 1972–73 10,869 Olympiacos 36,817 1971–72 10,558 Olympiacos 32,471 1970–71 10,098 Olympiacos 27,640 1969–70 9,172 Olympiacos 24,228 1968–69 8,441 Olympiacos 23,329 1967–68 7,756 Olympiacos 21,703 1966–67 8,367 Olympiacos 27,591 1965–66 7,542 Olympiacos 27,770 1964–65 8,630 Olympiacos 26,472 1963–64 7,084 Olympiacos 21,806 1962–63 7,575 Panathinaikos 19,160 1961–62 6,238 Panathinaikos 17,393 1960–61 5,698 Panathinaikos 15,998 1959–60 5,437 Panathinaikos 13,394

Source:

See also List of football clubs in Greece List of football clubs in Greece by major honours won Greek football clubs in European competitions List of football stadiums in Greece Episkyros Sport in Greece

References

External links