Cypriot First Division

The Cypriot Championship First Division () () is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus. As of 2007 it is sponsored by Marfin Popular Bank and is hence officially known as Marfin Laiki League (Greek: Πρωτάθλημα Marfin Laiki).
==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. Since 2007-08 the league has a second round. In the second round the first 12 teams are separated into groups of 4 teams according to their position at the end of the first round. The last two teams are relegated to the second division. The points from the first round are carried to the second round and the teams play the other teams twice.
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 first qualifying round. The winner of the Cypriot Cup and runner-up in the league automatically enters the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round. The third placed team enters the UEFA Europa League on the first 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.
The First Division has had 14 teams since the 1989-90 season, apart from the 1994-95 season when the league was reduced temporarily to 13 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.
==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. The first Champions of Cyprus were Trast AC in 1935 but the club folded three years later. The 1930s were dominated by , 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 AC Omonia was accepted into the First Division. And due to the addition of more clubs that season, relegation and promotion begun 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.
AC 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.
Anorthosis Famagusta FC was the first ever team from Cyprus to compete in the UEFA Champions League during the season 2008-09. Few gave chances for qualification to the next round, although the Famagusta side caused quite a stir against favorites Inter Milan, Werder Bremen and Panathinaikos. Anorthosis finished with six points in the group stage.
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==2010–11==
===2010-11 Clubs===
Club 	Location 	2009-10 season
AE Paphos 	Paphos 	10th
AEK Larnaca 	Larnaca 	2D 2nd
AEL 	Limassol 	5th
Alki 	Larnaca 	2D 1st
Anorthosis 	Famagusta	3rd
APOEL 	Nicosia 	2nd
Apollon Limassol 	Limassol 	4th
APOP Kinyras Peyias 	Peyia 	8th
Doxa Katokopias 	Katokopia	11th
Enosis Neon Paralimni	Paralimni	6th
Ermis Aradippou 	Aradippou	9th
Ethnikos Achnas 	Achna 	7th
Olympiakos 	Nicosia 	2D 3rd
Omonia 	Nicosia 	1st
==Champions==
*1934/35-2006/07 Pancypriot Championship
*2007/08-present Marfin Laiki League
Season 	Winner
1934-35	Trast AC
1935-36	APOEL
1936-37	APOEL
1937-38	APOEL
1938-39	APOEL
1939-40	APOEL
1940-41	AEL Limassol
1941-44	League suspended due to World War II
1944-45	EPA Larnaca
1945-46	EPA Larnaca
1946-47	APOEL
1947-48	APOEL
1948-49	APOEL
1949-50	Anorthosis Famagusta
1950-51	Çetinkaya
1951-52	APOEL
1952-53	AEL Limassol
1953-54	Pezoporikos Larnaca
1954-55	AEL Limassol
1955-56	AEL Limassol
1956-57	Anorthosis Famagusta
1957-58	Anorthosis Famagusta
1958-59	not held
1959-60	Anorthosis Famagusta
1960-61	AC Omonoia
1961-62	Anorthosis Famagusta
1962-63	Anorthosis Famagusta
1963-64	championship abandoned
1964-65	APOEL
1965-66	AC Omonoia
1966-67	Olympiakos Nicosia
1967-68	AEL Limassol
1968-69	Olympiakos Nicosia
1969-70	EPA Larnaca
1970-71	Olympiakos Nicosia
1971-72	AC Omonoia
1972-73	APOEL
1973-74	AC Omonoia
1974-75	AC Omonoia
1975-76	AC Omonoia
1976-77	AC Omonoia
1977-78	AC Omonoia
1978-79	AC Omonoia
1979-80	APOEL
1980-81	AC Omonoia
1981-82	AC Omonoia
1982-83	AC Omonoia
1983-84	AC Omonoia
1984-85	AC Omonoia
1985-86	APOEL
1986-87	AC Omonoia
1987-88	Pezoporikos Larnaca
1988-89	AC Omonoia
1989-90	APOEL
1990-91	Apollon Limassol
1991-92	APOEL
1992-93	AC Omonoia
1993-94	Apollon Limassol
1994-95	Anorthosis Famagusta
1995-96	APOEL
1996-97	Anorthosis Famagusta
1997-98	Anorthosis Famagusta
1998-99	Anorthosis Famagusta
1999-00	Anorthosis Famagusta
2000-01	AC Omonoia
2001-02	APOEL
2002-03	AC Omonoia
2003-04	APOEL
2004-05	Anorthosis Famagusta
2005-06	Apollon Limassol
2006-07	APOEL
2007-08	Anorthosis Famagusta
2008-09	APOEL
2009-10	AC Omonoia
===Performance by club===
Club 	Winners	Winning seasons
APOEL 	20 	1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1965, 1973, 1980, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2009
Omonia 	20 	1961, 1966, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1993, 2001, 2003, 2010
Anorthosis 	13 	1950, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2008
AEL Limassol 	5 	1941, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1968
Olympiakos 	3 	1967, 1969, 1971
Apollon Limassol 	3 	1991, 1994, 2006
EPA Larnaca 	3 	1945, 1946, 1970
Pezoporikos Larnaca	2 	1954, 1988
Trast AC 	1 	1935
Çetinkaya Türk S.K.	1 	1951
==Top goalscorers==
This is a list of the top goalscorers of Cyprus by season since 1960.
Season 	Top scorer 	Club 	Goals
1960/61	Panikos Krystallis 	Apollon Limassol 	26
1961/62	Michalis Shialis 	Anorthosis 	22
1962/63	Panikos Papadopoulos 	AEL Limassol 	24
1963/64	Championship abandoned 	 	
1964/65	Kostakis Pieridis 	Olympiakos Nicosia 	21
1965/66	Panikos Efthymiades 	Olympiakos Nicosia 	20
1966/67	Andreas Stylianou 	APOEL 	29
1967/68	Charalambos Papadopoulos 	AEL Limassol 	31
1968/69	Panikos Efthymiades 	Olympiakos Nicosia 	17
1969/70	Tasos Constantinou 	EPA Larnaca 	24
1970/71	Andreas Stylianou Kostas Vasiliades Panikos Efthymiades	APOEL Apollon Limassol Olympiakos Nicosia	11 11 11
1971/72	Sotiris Kaiafas 	Omonia 	24
1972/73	Lakis Theodorou 	EPA Larnaca 	17
1973/74	Sotiris Kaiafas 	Omonia 	20
1974/75	Andros Savva 	Omonia 	21
1975/76	Sotiris Kaiafas 	Omonia 	39
1976/77	Sotiris Kaiafas 	Omonia 	44
1977/78	Andreas Kanaris 	Omonia 	20
1978/79	Sotiris Kaiafas 	Omonia 	28
1979/80	Sotiris Kaiafas 	Omonia 	23
1980/81	Sotiris Kaiafas 	Omonia 	14
1981/82	Sotiris Kaiafas 	Omonia 	19
1982/83	Panikos Hadjiloizou 	Aris Limassol 	17
1983/84	Sylvester Vernon Lenos Kittos 	Pezoporikos Ermis Aradippou 	14
1984/85	Giorgos Savvidis 	Omonia 	24
1985/86	Yiannos Ioannou 	APOEL 	22
1986/87	Spas Dzhevizov 	Omonia 	32
1987/88	Tasos Zouvanis 	E.N. Paralimni 	23
1988/89	Nigel McNeal 	Nea Salamis Famagusta 	19
1989/90	Siniša Gogić 	APOEL 	19
1990/91	Suad Besirević Panikos Xiourouppas 	Apollon Limassol Omonia 	19
1991/92	József Dzurják 	Omonia 	21
1992/93	Sladjan Šcepovic 	Apollon Limassol 	25
1993/94	Siniša Gogić 	Anorthosis 	26
1994/95	Pambis Andreou 	Nea Salamis Famagusta 	25
1995/96	József Kiprich 	APOEL 	25
1996/97	Michalis Konstantinou 	E.N. Paralimni 	17
1997/98	Rainer Rauffmann 	Omonia 	42
1998/99	Rainer Rauffmann 	Omonia 	35
1999/00	Rainer Rauffmann 	Omonia 	34
2000/01	Rainer Rauffmann 	Omonia 	30
2001/02	Wojciech Kowalczyk 	Anorthosis 	22
2002/03	Marios Neophytou 	Anorthosis 	33
2003/04	Łukasz Sosin Jozef Kožlej 	Apollon Limassol Omonia 	21
2004/05	Łukasz Sosin 	Apollon Limassol 	21
2005/06	Łukasz Sosin 	Apollon Limassol 	28
2006/07	Esteban Solari 	APOEL 	20
2007/08	David Da Costa Łukasz Sosin 	Doxa KatokopiaAnorthosis 	16
2008/09	Luis Serjão 	Doxa Katokopia 	24
2009/10	Joeano Pinto Chaves José Semedo 	Ermis Aradippou APOP Kinyras 	22
==Notable foreign players==
 
; Albania
* Arjan Beqaj
* Klodian Duro
* Altin Haxhi
* Isli Hidi
* Blerim Rrustemi
* Rudi Vata
; Argentina
* Francisco Aguirre
* Luciano De Bruno
* Federico Dominguez
* Daniel Quinteros
* Gastón Sangoy
* Esteban Solari
; Armenia
* Armen Ambartsumyan
* Romik Khachatryan
* Arthur Voskanyan
; Australia
* Oscar Crino
* Paul Okon
; Belgium
* Stijn Vreven
; Brazil
* Clayton
* Emerson
* Mário Jardel
* Veridiano Marcelo
* Sávio
* Zé Elias
* Marcelo Pletsch
* André Caldeira
* Magno Mocelin
* Silva
* Paulo Vogt
* Serjão
; Bulgaria
* Spas Djevizov
* Rosen Kirilov
* Nikolay Todorov
* Ilian Kiriakov
* Hristo Yovov
* Adalbert Zafirov
; Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulend Biščević
* Adnan Gušo
* Radmilo Mihajlović
* Nedim Tutić
; Colombia
* Hamilton Ricard
* Jairo Castillo
; Costa Rica
* Steven Bryce
* Rónald Gómez
; Czech Republic
* Josef Obajdin
* Tomáš Votava
* Petr Vlček
* David Kobylik
; France
* Cédric Bardon
* Bark Seghiri
* Hilaire Muñoz
* Vincent Laban
; Egypt
* Amir Azmy
; Hungary
* József Kiprich
* József Sebők
* Kálmán Kovács
* István Kozma
* Géza Mészöly
; Georgia
* Temuri Ketsbaia
* Georgi Kinkladze
* Gocha Jamarauli
; Germany
* Rainer Rauffmann
* Paulo Rink
* Timo Wenzel
; Ghana
* Emmanuel Pappoe
* Imoro Lukman
* Daniel Edusei
* Koffi Amponsah
* Peter Ofori-Quaye
; Greece
* Christos Patsatzoglou
* Nikos Machlas
* Michalis Kapsis
* Kostas Frantzeskos
* Nikolaos Michopoulos
* Alexandros Alexandris
* Traianos Dellas
* Spiros Livathinos
* Nikolaos Frousos
* Marinos Ouzounidis
* Giannis Skopelitis
* Nikos Katsavakis
; Israel
*Avraham Tikva
*Lior Asulin
*Erez Mesika
*Baruch Dego
*Yuval Shpungin
*Haim Megrelashvili
*Yaniv Azran
*Moshe Mishaelof
*Yehiel Tzagai
; Iran
*Ferydoon Zandi
; Iraq
*Haidar Obeid Jassim
*Hawar Mulla Mohammed
*Mohammad Nasser
*Mahdi Karim
*Jassim Swadi Arig
; Kazakhstan
* Viktor Zubarev
* Oleg Litvinenko
; Latvia
* Marian Pahars
; Lithuania
* Edgaras Jankauskas
; Macedonia
* Milan Stojanovski
* Jane Nikolovski
* Petar Miloševski
* Vlatko Grozdanovski
; Mali
* Mahamadou Sidibè
; Malta
* Luke Dimech
; Montenegro
* Duško Đurišić
* Siniša Dobrasinović
* Dragoje Leković
; Netherlands
* Jeffrey Leiwakabessy
* Joost Broerse
* John van Loen
* Nordin Wooter
; Nigeria
* Haruna Babangida
* Mutiu Adepoju
* Michael Obiku
; Northern Ireland
* Tommy Cassidy
; Poland
* Radosław Kałużny
* Wojciech Kowalczyk
* Radosław Michalski
* Emmanuel Olisadebe
* Łukasz Sosin
* Marcin Żewłakow
* Kamil Kosowski
* Maciej Zurawski
; Portugal
* Nuno Morais
* Ricardo Sousa
* Luís Loureiro
* Paulo Costa
; Qatar
* Hussain Yasser Abdulrahman
; Romania
* Adrian Mihalcea
* Narcis Răducan
* Aurel Ţicleanu
* Adrian Iencsi
* Daniel Florea
* Marian Ivan
* Mihai Mocanu
* Daniel Bălan
* Claudiu Răducanu
; Russia
* Aleksandr Filimonov
; Rwanda
* Hamad Ndikumana
; Scotland
* Ian Alexander
* David Hannah
* Paul Ritchie
; Serbia
* Siniša Gogić
* Vesko Mihajlović
* Saša Drakulić
* Nenad Mirosavljević
* Mladen Milinkovic
; Senegal
* Cheikh Gadiaga
* Lamine Sakho
; Slovakia
* Jozef Kožlej
* Dušan Tittel
; Slovenia
* Saša Gajser
* Marko Simeunovič
* Miran Pavlin
; Spain
* Antonio Soldevilla
; Togo
* Jean-Paul Abalo
; Tunisia
* Salema Kasdaoui
; Ukraine
* Oleg Blokhin
* Hennadiy Litovchenko
; Uruguay
* Edgardo Adinolfi
* Ignacio Risso
; Venezuela
* Héctor Gonzalez
* José Manuel Rey
* Enrique Andrés Rouga
* Fernando de Ornelas
==Notable former foreign managers==
 
* Juan Ramón Rocha
* Kurt Jara
* Rolf Fringer
* Helmut Senekowitsch
* Stéphane Demol
* Nenad Starovlah
* Nedim Tutić
* Eduard Eranosyan
* Hristo Bonev
* Georgi Vasilev
* Asparuh Nikodimov
* Stanko Poklepović
* Dušan Uhrin
* František Cipro
* Svatopluk Pluskal
* Stuart Baxter
* Jesse Carver
* Alan Dicks
* Neil Franklin
* Mike Ferguson
* Martti Kuusela
* Temuri Ketsbaia
* Werner Lorant
* Bernd Stange
* Thomas von Heesen
* Marinos Ouzounidis
* Nikos Alefantos
* Alexandros Alexandris
* Giorgos Foiros
* Takis Lemonis
* Ioannis Matzourakis
* Georgios Paraschos
* Gyula Zsengellér
* Béla Guttmann
* Ronnie Whelan
* Nir Klinger
* Eli Guttman
* Yossi Mizrahi
* Čedomir Janevski
* Toni Savevski
* Miodrag Božović
* Arie Haan
* Henk Houwaart
* Gerard van der Lem
* Jerzy Engel
* Janusz Wójcik
* Franciszek Smuda
* Jacek Gmoch
* Ioan Andone
* Ilie Dumitrescu
* Anghel Iordănescu
* Mihai Stoichiţă
* Dumitru Dumitriu
* Peter Cormack
* Ivan Jovanović
* Momčilo Vukotić
* Dragomir Okuka
* Igor Netto
* Dušan Galis
* Jozef Jankech
* Bojan Prašnikar
* Oleg Protasov
* Anatoliy Byshovets
* Jorge Barrios
* Mike Walker
|}
==External links==
* Champions
* Top Scorers per season
==References==
Category:Leagues