It’s a very popular sport in Greece. Therefore, in expectation of World Cup 2018 in Russia, the editorial board decided to start a series of publications on football in Greece

History of football in Greece

Around 2000 BC the ancient Greeks invented a game with a ball. The game was called episkyros or phaininda, is mentioned by the Greek playwright Antiphanes (388-311 BC) and later by the Christian theologian Clement of Alexandria (about 150-215). Most likely, these games resembled modern rugby.

It was played mostly by men. Regardless of gender, the Greeks used to play naked. One of granite relieves of the Athenian State Museum of Archeology depicts a Greek athlete holding the ball on his knee, possibly showing a maneuver to a boy standing beside him.

The Greek game episkyros was later adopted by the Romans, who changed it and renamed harpastum. The Romans called the ball “follis” because that was the name for the money bag made of leather (and also for their coin): at first the balls were made of flax or wool, wrapped in rope, and they practically did not bounce, but Roman balls like “follis” were made from the swollen bladder of a pig, tightly wrapped in leather of the pig or in suede. Another ball making required shredding sea sponges and wrapping them with cloth and ropes.

In modern time, football became known and popular in Greece, mainly with the help of the British. During the 1890s the first Greek teams were established in ottoman Smyrna (now Izmir) inhabited mainly by the Greeks. At the end of the Second Greek-Turkish war Panionios (Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis – the Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna) and Apollon Smyrni (Gymnastics Society Apollon of Smyrna) were transferred to Athens and thus have been saved from the death that befell many residents of the city during the Smyrna massacre, organized by the Turks after the retreat of the Greek troops: the bishop of the city was burned alive.

Greek clubs play in tournaments of the UEFA-Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The only Greek club that has ever reached a final match of the European competition is Panathinaikos. It lost 2-0 to Netherlands Ajax in the final play of 1970/71 European Champions Cup.

As to the Greek national team, its first match took place on April 7, 1929 when it lost 1:4 to Italy. Its first participation in a major international tournament did not succeed in gaining the final play of the European Championships in 1980, and its debut in the World Cup final in 1994 has also ended in failure. The biggest success of the team is the victory at the European Championships in 2004, where the Greeks have won without conceding a goal for 358 minutes during the games.

Football leagues

The system of Greek football leagues consists of 4 levels.

1. The Greek Super League is the highest professional football league in Greece, so its winner becomes the Champion of Greece. 16 teams compete today in it, playing two matches with each other: one at home, another away. According to results of the season the teams, occupying 2 last places, leave the Super League, and their places are taken by 2 best teams from the second league.

In the current season only one team from Crete participates in it: Athlitikos Omilos Platania Chanion (commonly referred to as Platanias, meaning plane trees in Greek), a football club based in Platanias, Chania.   

2. Second league in Greece (Football League – www.footballleague.gr) was previously called Beta Ethniki and consists of 18 teams. The top 2 teams of it get automatic promotion to the Super League. The worst 4 go into the Gamma Ethniki league.

Nowadays there are 2 Cretan clubs in this league:

A.O.Chania – Kissamikos F.C., a club from Kissamos in Chania and

Omilos Filathon Irakleiou, a club from Heraklion. Outside Greece, the club is usually known as OFI Crete.

3. Gamma Ethniki is the third football league (amateur division).

The season 2017-18 is for Gamma Ethniki the 35^th since its official creation. It begins on October 1, 2017. In accordance with geographical criteria, 97 teams are divided into 8 groups, and the winners in each of them, divided then into two groups, will participate in a playoff round to determine 4 teams for their move into the second football league.

In the new season, 6 teams from Crete will play in the 8tn group: Atsalenios (Heraklion), OF Ierapetra (Ierapetra in Lasithi), AE Mylopotamos (Mylopotamos in Rethymno), Irodotos (Nea Alikarnassos in Ierapetra), Palaiochora (Palaiochora in Chania), Ermis Zoniana (Zoniana in Rethymno).

Until 2013, there was a Delta Ethniki, the 4^th League, the lowest national division, created in 1982.

4. The local football championships are only for amateur clubs from Greek cities and villages. There are 53 football associations in Greece, and each of them has its own championship. Then the winners, divided in four territorial groups, take part in the Championship of Local Football Associations. 2 best teams from each group advance into the Gamma Ethniki.

Crete consists of 4 regional units and accordingly, 4 football associations have been created on it (Heraklion FCA – 1929, Chania FCA – 1950, Rethymno FCA – 1951, Lasithi FCA – 1951).  

The Soccer Association of Heraklion is responsible for the management of soccer in the regional unit of Heraklion. Located in the city of Heraklion and being a member of the Football Federation of Greece it’s responsible for championships of adults, and youth teams inside of the unit. The Association is currently one of the largest in Greece. It includes more than 85 clubs divided into 4 groups (A1, A2, B and C). The champion of the top division A1 is the Champion of the Heraklion Soccer Association.

 

Football championship

The first professional football championship in Greece was officially created in 1927 under the name Panhellenic championship and was held much earlier, in 1906, but was considered unofficial. The Panhellenic championship was run by various organizations: from 1906 till 1913 by the Hellenic Association of Amateur Athletics (SEGAS, the predecessor of the Hellenic Football Federation – EPO), from 1922 till 1927 by the Union of Greek Football Associations (EPSE) and since 1927 by the EPO.

The Hellenic Football Federation (Ελληνική Ποδοσφαιρική Ομοσπονδία – EPO), created in 1926, is the organizer and controller of football in Greece, member of FIFA since 1927 and of UEFA since 1954. The national Championship and the Greek Cup are held under the auspices of it, and activities of national football teams are also managed by EPO, whose office is located in Athens (web link www.epo.gr).

In 1959 the Panhellenic championship was replaced by the Alpha Ethniki (the highest football league) one. Unlike the Panhellenic championship, the number of teams increased this time, and it raised the interest of the nation to the tournament. Prior to this, only football teams from the mainland have competed in the Panhellenic championship – such as Ahtens, Piraeus, Thessaloniki and Patras. Since its creation, Alpha Ethniki was an amateur league, which acquired the professional status only in 1959.

The Greek Football Super League (Σούπερ Λίγκα Ελλάδα) was created in 2006 and has replaced Alpha Ethniki on the top of the national system of football leagues. The champion and the second prize winner of the Super League have the right to participate in the UEFA Champions League.

Since the season of 1927-28, the first after the creation of the Panhellenic championship, only six clubs managed to become champions. They were the “big three” from Athens (“Olympiakos”, “Panathinaikos” and “AEK Athens”), which constantly dominate the championship, as well as the football clubs “PAOK”, “Aris”, and “Larisa”. The current champion is “Olympiakos”, one of the most titled clubs in the league: it became the champion of Greece 44 times.

Currently another major annual competition takes place in Greek football – the Greek Cup with participation of teams from all football leagues. Teams of the lower leagues have a chance to defeat strong clubs, but they rarely get to the final. In May 2017 the Greek Cup was won by the PAOK team, and it automatically gets the right to participate in the UEFA Europa League matches.

Sometimes the Greek Super Cup is held: a match between the winner of the Championship and the winner of the Cup. If it’s one and the same team, then it will be a match with the team that lost the final play of the Greek Cup. The first such play took place in 1987, and the last was in 2008.

December 2017