# 2015–16 Cypriot First Division

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 league expanded from 12 to 14 teams this season, comprised eleven teams from the 2014–15 season and three promoted teams from the 2014–15 Second Division. APOEL were crowned champions for the 25th time and a fourth time in a row, securing the title after beating title rivals AEK Larnaca 2–0 at home on 28 April 2016.

## Teams
### Promotion and relegation (pre-season)

Othellos Athienou was relegated at the end of the second-phase of the 2014–15 season after finishing in the last place of the relegation group table.
The relegated team was replaced by 2014–15 Second Division champions Enosis Neon Paralimni, runners-up Pafos FC and third-placed team Aris Limassol.

### Stadia and locations

    Note: Table lists clubs in alphabetical order.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| AEK | Larnaca | GSZ Stadium | 13,032 |
| AEL | Limassol | Tsirion Stadium | 13,331 |
| Anorthosis | Larnaca | Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium | 10,230 |
| APOEL | Nicosia | GSP Stadium | 22,859 |
| Apollon | Limassol | Tsirion Stadium | 13,331 |
| Aris | Limassol | Tsirion Stadium | 13,331 |
| Ayia Napa | Ayia Napa | Tasos Markou Stadium | 5,800 |
| Doxa | Peristerona | Makario Stadium | 16,000 |
| Enosis | Paralimni | Tasos Markou Stadium | 5,800 |
| Ermis | Aradippou | Ammochostos Stadium | 5,500 |
| Ethnikos | Achna, Famagusta | Dasaki Stadium | 7,000 |
| Nea Salamina | Larnaca | Ammochostos Stadium | 5,500 |
| Omonia | Nicosia | GSP Stadium | 22,859 |
| Pafos | Paphos | Pafiako Stadium | 9,394 |

### Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| AEK | Demetris Demetriou (Caretaker) | David Català | Puma | Cytavision |
| AEL | Pambos Christodoulou | Marco Airosa | Nike | Cytavision |
| Anorthosis | Neophytos Larkou | Christos Marangos | Macron | Cytamobile-Vodafone |
| APOEL | Georgios Kostis (Caretaker) | Constantinos Charalambides | Puma | Mora Thavmata |
| Apollon | Pedro Emanuel | Giorgos Vasiliou | Puma | Cyta |
| Aris | Kostas Kaiafas | Christos Charalabous | Legea | Cytanet |
| Ayia Napa | Panikos Protopapas (Caretaker) | Michael Felgate | Eldera | Cyta |
| Doxa | Loukas Hadjiloukas | Edmar | Joma | Cytanet |
| Enosis | Ronny Van Geneugden | Kostadin Bashov | Nike | Cyta |
| Ermis | Nicos Panayiotou | Paulo Pina | Legea | Cyta |
| Ethnikos | Danilo Dončić | Christos Poyiatzis | Nike | Cyta |
| Nea Salamina | Giorgos Lagkaditis (Caretaker) | Giannis Skopelitis | GEMS | Cytamobile-Vodafone |
| Omonia | Vladan Milojević | Nuno Assis | Nike | Cytamobile-Vodafone |
| Pafos | Apostolos Makrides | Giorgos Sielis | Pafos FC | Cyta |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| APOEL | Gustavo Manduca | End of tenure as caretaker | End of 2014–15 season | Pre-season | Domingos Paciência | 21 May 2015 |
| Aris | Akis Agiomamitis | End of contract | End of 2014–15 season | Pre-season | Jane Nikolovski | 3 June 2015 |
| Doxa | Nikos Andreou | End of contract | End of 2014–15 season | Pre-season | Loukas Hadjiloukas | 3 June 2015 |
| Nea Salamina | Floros Nicolaou | End of tenure as caretaker | End of 2014–15 season | Pre-season | Jan de Jonge | 9 June 2015 |
| Apollon | Ton Caanen | End of contract | End of 2014–15 season | Pre-season | Pedro Emanuel | 9 June 2015 |
| Ermis | Michalis Markou | End of tenure as caretaker | End of 2014–15 season | Pre-season | Pavlos Dermitzakis | 12 June 2015 |
| Aris | Jane Nikolovski | Resigned | 18 July 2015 | Pre-season | Akis Agiomamitis | 21 July 2015 |
| APOEL | Domingos Paciência | Sacked | 28 August 2015 | 1st | Temur Ketsbaia | 28 August 2015 |
| Ermis | Pavlos Dermitzakis | Sacked | 3 September 2015 | 11th | Apostolos Makrides | 3 September 2015 |
| Aris | Akis Agiomamitis | Mutual consent | 14 September 2015 | 13th | Eugen Neagoe | 15 September 2015 |
| AEL | Christakis Christoforou | Mutual consent | 19 October 2015 | 10th | Makis Chavos | 27 October 2015 |
| Ermis | Apostolos Makrides | Resigned | 22 October 2015 | 12th | Nicos Panayiotou | 22 October 2015 |
| Omonia | Kostas Kaiafas | Resigned | 2 November 2015 | 5th | Vladan Milojević | 11 November 2015 |
| Enosis | Nikos Karageorgiou | Mutual consent | 5 November 2015 | 9th | Ronny Van Geneugden | 10 November 2015 |
| Pafos | Sofoklis Sofokleous | Sacked | 9 November 2015 | 9th | José Manuel Roca | 17 November 2015 |
| Ethnikos | Borce Gjurev | Resigned | 23 November 2015 | 13th | Danilo Dončić | 24 November 2015 |
| Pafos | José Manuel Roca | Mutual consent | 14 December 2015 | 12th | Apostolos Makrides | 16 December 2015 |
| Ayia Napa | Giorgos Kosma | Mutual consent | 28 January 2016 | 14th | Antonis Mertakkas | 28 January 2016 |
| Aris | Eugen Neagoe | Mutual consent | 4 February 2016 | 8th | Kostas Kaiafas | 8 February 2016 |
| AEL | Makis Chavos | Sacked | 7 February 2016 | 10th | Pambos Christodoulou | 8 February 2016 |
| Ayia Napa | Antonis Mertakkas | Resigned | 14 February 2016 | 14th | Panikos Protopapas (Caretaker) | 16 February 2016 |
| Anorthosis | André Paus | Sacked | 18 February 2016 | 3rd | Zoran Milinković | 18 February 2016 |
| Anorthosis | Zoran Milinković | Sacked | 23 March 2016 | 5th | Neophytos Larkou | 23 March 2016 |
| APOEL | Temur Ketsbaia | Mutual consent | 21 April 2016 | 1st | Georgios Kostis (Caretaker) | 21 April 2016 |
| Nea Salamina | Jan de Jonge | Mutual consent | 22 April 2016 | 6th | Giorgos Lagkaditis (Caretaker) | 22 April 2016 |
| AEK | Thomas Christiansen | Sacked | 29 April 2016 | 2nd | Demetris Demetriou (Caretaker) | 30 April 2016 |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | APOEL | 26 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 72 | 18 | +54 | 62 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 2 | AEK Larnaca | 26 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 47 | 17 | +30 | 61 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 3 | Anorthosis Famagusta | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 48 | 22 | +26 | 52 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 4 | Omonia | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 46 | 24 | +22 | 49 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 5 | Apollon Limassol | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 41 | 24 | +17 | 49 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 6 | Nea Salamis Famagusta | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 37 | 52 | −15 | 33 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 7 | Aris Limassol | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 29 | 31 | −2 | 31 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 8 | AEL Limassol | 26 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 22 | 32 | −10 | 31 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 9 | Doxa Katokopias | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 31 | 41 | −10 | 30 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 10 | Pafos FC | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 35 | 47 | −12 | 27 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 11 | Ethnikos Achna | 26 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 27 | 43 | −16 | 24 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 12 | Ermis Aradippou | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 22 | 40 | −18 | 24 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 13 | Enosis Neon Paralimni (R) | 26 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 28 | 47 | −19 | 20 | Relegation to the Cypriot Second Division |
| 14 | Ayia Napa (R) | 26 | 0 | 6 | 20 | 17 | 64 | −47 | 6 | Relegation to the Cypriot Second Division |
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Omonia 0–0 Apollon, Apollon 0–0 Omonia.
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: AEL 1–2 Aris, Aris 0–1 AEL.
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Ethnikos 2–2 Ermis, Ermis 1–2 Ethnikos.

### Results

| Home \ Away | AEK | AEL | ANO | APOE | APOL | ARI | AYN | DOX | ENP | ERM | ETH | NSL | OMO | PAF |
| AEK Larnaca | | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 |
| AEL Limassol | 0–1 | | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Anorthosis Famagusta | 1–1 | 2–0 | | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 5–1 |
| APOEL | 1–2 | 6–0 | 0–2 | | 0–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 6–1 | 2–0 | 6–2 |
| Apollon Limassol | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 5–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Aris Limassol | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Ayia Napa | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–7 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–4 | | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Doxa Katokopias | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 |
| Enosis Neon Paralimni | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–5 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 2–1 |
| Ermis Aradippou | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–5 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Ethnikos Achna | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Nea Salamis Famagusta | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–9 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| Omonia Nicosia | 3–1 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 5–3 | | 6–0 |
| Pafos FC | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | |

## Championship round
### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | APOEL (C) | 36 | 26 | 5 | 5 | 91 | 26 | +65 | 83 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | AEK Larnaca | 36 | 23 | 6 | 7 | 61 | 34 | +27 | 75 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Apollon Limassol | 36 | 19 | 11 | 6 | 61 | 36 | +25 | 68 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Omonia | 36 | 20 | 7 | 9 | 63 | 34 | +29 | 67 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Anorthosis Famagusta | 36 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 57 | 41 | +16 | 59 | |
| 6 | Nea Salamis Famagusta | 36 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 44 | 72 | −28 | 37 | |
* ↑ Apollon Limassol qualified for the Europa League third qualifying round by winning the 2015–16 Cypriot Cup.

### Results

| Home \ Away | AEK | ANO | APOE | APOL | NSL | OMO |
| AEK Larnaca | | 3–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 |
| Anorthosis Famagusta | 0–1 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 |
| APOEL | 2–0 | 2–2 | | 2–2 | 4–1 | 2–1 |
| Apollon Limassol | 2–2 | 4–1 | 1–0 | | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| Nea Salamis Famagusta | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | | 1–2 |
| Omonia Nicosia | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | |

## Relegation round
### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
| 7 | AEL Limassol | 36 | 14 | 7 | 15 | 38 | 43 | −5 | 47 | |
| 8 | Ermis Aradippou | 36 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 36 | 52 | −16 | 42 | |
| 9 | Doxa Katokopias | 36 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 46 | 59 | −13 | 41 | |
| 10 | Aris Limassol | 36 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 43 | 46 | −3 | 41 | |
| 11 | Ethnikos Achna | 36 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 43 | 57 | −14 | 39 | |
| 12 | Pafos FC (R) | 36 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 41 | 58 | −17 | 36 | Relegation to the Cypriot Second Division |
* ↑ On 8 April 2016, AEL Limassol were deducted two points by Cyprus Football Association after failing to meet the financial criteria of UEFA.
* 1 2 Doxa ahead of Aris on head-to-head away goals scored: Doxa–Aris 2–1, Aris–Doxa 1–1, Doxa–Aris 1–1, Aris–Doxa 4–3.

### Results

| Home \ Away | AEL | ARI | DOX | ERM | ETH | PAF |
| AEL Limassol | | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 5–2 | 1–0 |
| Aris Limassol | 0–1 | | 4–3 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 |
| Doxa Katokopias | 1–2 | 1–1 | | 2–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 |
| Ermis Aradippou | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Ethnikos Achna | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | | 3–0 |
| Pafos FC | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

    Including matches played on 15 May 2016; Source: Cyprus Football Association
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Fernando Cavenaghi | APOEL | 19 |
| 1 | André Alves | AEK | 19 |
| 1 | Dimitar Makriev | Nea Salamina | 19 |
| 4 | Dino Ndlovu | Anorthosis | 17 |
| 5 | Tomás De Vincenti | APOEL | 15 |
| 5 | Cillian Sheridan | Omonia | 15 |
| 5 | André Schembri | Omonia | 15 |
| 8 | Alhassane Keita | Ermis | 13 |
| 9 | Georgios Efrem | APOEL | 11 |
| 9 | Nassir Maachi | Pafos | 11 |

### Hat-tricks

| # | Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| 1. | Dino Ndlovu | Anorthosis | Nea Salamina | 1–3 | 29 August 2015 |
| 2. | Fernando Cavenaghi | APOEL | AEL Limassol | 6–0 | 17 October 2015 |
| 3. | Anton Maglica | Apollon | Pafos | 3–1 | 20 February 2016 |

### Scoring

* First goal of the season: 2 minutes and 40 seconds – Koullis Pavlou (Nea Salamina) against Omonia (19:02 EET, 22 August 2015)
* Fastest goal of the season: 0 minutes and 34 seconds – Nikos Englezou (AEK) against Enosis (26 September 2015)
* Latest goal of the season: 96 minutes and 20 seconds – Joël Damahou (Pafos) against Nea Salamina (18 January 2016)
* First scored penalty kick of the season: 93 minutes and 38 seconds – Cillian Sheridan (Omonia) against Nea Salamina (20:48 EET, 22 August 2015)
* First own goal of the season: 73 minutes and 8 seconds – Aritz López Garai (Doxa) for Ethnikos (20:28 EET, 23 August 2015)
* Most goals scored in a match by one player: 3 goals
** Dino Ndlovu (Anorthosis) against Nea Salamina (29 August 2015)
** Fernando Cavenaghi (APOEL) against AEL (17 October 2015)
** Anton Maglica (Apollon) against Pafos (20 February 2016)
* Most scored goals in a single fixture – 30 goals (Fixture 8)
** Fixture 8 results: Ayia Napa 0–3 Apollon, Omonia 6–0 Pafos, Anorthosis 4–0 Ermis, Ethnikos 0–2 AEK, Doxa 2–1 Enosis, AEL 1–2 Aris, Nea Salamina 0–9 APOEL.
* Highest scoring game: 9 goals
** Nea Salamina 0–9 APOEL (26 October 2015)
* Largest winning margin: 9 goals
** Nea Salamina 0–9 APOEL (26 October 2015)
* Most goals scored in a match by a single team: 9 goals
** Nea Salamina 0–9 APOEL (26 October 2015)
* Most goals scored by a losing team: 3 goals
** Omonia 5–3 Nea Salamina (22 August 2015)
** Aris 4–3 Doxa (15 May 2016)

### Discipline

* First yellow card of the season: 6 minutes – Ivan Ćurjurić for Nea Salamina against Omonia (19:06 EET, 22 August 2015)
* First red card of the season: 70 minutes – Levan Khmaladze for Pafos against AEK (20:25 EET, 22 August 2015)
* Most yellow cards in a single match: 12
** AEK 1–2 Nea Salamina – 5 for AEK (Toño Ramírez (2), Albert Serrán (2), Jorge Monteiro) and 7 for Nea Salamina (Marko Andić, Aldo Adorno, China (2), Ioannis Kousoulos, Giannis Skopelitis, Dimitar Makriev) (19 October 2015)
** Omonia 0–2 APOEL – 6 for Omonia (Ivan Runje, Giorgos Economides, Renato Margaça, Nuno Assis, George Florescu, Carlitos) and 6 for APOEL (Iñaki Astiz, Nuno Morais, Tomás De Vincenti (2), Constantinos Charalambides, Giannis Gianniotas) (23 April 2016)
* Most red cards in a single match: 3
** AEK 1–2 Nea Salamina – 2 for AEK (Albert Serrán, Toño Ramírez) and 1 for Nea Salamina (China) (19 October 2015)