APOEL's greatest moment in European competition occurred in the2011–12 season, when they advanced out of thegroup stage of the UEFA Champions League (winning a group that includedFC Porto,Shakhtar Donetsk, andZenit St. Petersburg), then eliminatedOlympique Lyonnais in thelast 16, to become the first Cypriot team to reach thequarter-finals of the Champions League.[2] APOEL's European competitions highlights also include appearances in the group stages of the2009–10 and2014–15UEFA Champions League and the group stages of the2013–14,2015–16, and2016–17UEFA Europa League. They marked their most successful UEFA Europa League campaign during the2016–17 season, when they managed to top their group (along withOlympiacos,Young Boys, andAstana) and eliminatedAthletic Bilbao in theround of 32, to reach thelast 16 of the competition for the first time in their history.[3][4] APOEL is the only Cypriot club who have reached the group stages (and the knockout stages) of both major UEFA competitions (UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League). In the 2016–17 season, APOEL drew an average home league attendance of 7,126 and their highest league attendance was 15,462. Both were the highest in the league.[5]
APOEL FC is part of theAPOELmulti-sport club, which was founded in 1926 and maintains departments for several sports including football,basketball,volleyball,futsal, table tennis, bowling, cycling, archery, swimming and water polo. APOEL is one of the founding members of theCyprus Football Association[6] and also an ordinary member of theEuropean Club Association, an organization that replaced the previousG-14 which consists of major football clubs in Europe.
History
1926–1929: The early years
The club was formed as POEL (Greek:ΠΟΕΛ; Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας,Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias, Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia) on 8 November 1926. The club's formation came about when a group of forty people, with a common vision, met and set the foundations for creating a football club that would represent theGreek residents of thecapital and express their deep desire for Cyprus' incorporation (enosis) into Greece. The meeting took place at a traditional confectionery, owned by Charalambos Hadjioannou, downtown inLedra Street and the first president of the club was Giorgos Poulias.[6] The first clubhouse was the "Athenians Club" (Λέσχη Αθηναίων) at the end of Ledra Street.[6]
After a journey to the football club inAlexandria, Egypt in 1927 the General Assembly of 1928 decided the players showed that they were not just good footballers but also excellent track and field athletes. Hence it was decided to create a track and field team in addition to the football team. The name APOEL was adopted to reflect this, with the 'A' standing for 'Athletic'. Soon after a volleyball team and a table tennis team were established.
The 1930s : The first league titles
Cyprus did not have any country-wide league until 1932. Football clubs of the time played friendly matches only. In 1932,Pezoporikos Larnaca organised an unofficial league, the first island-wide league, and it was won by APOEL after defeatingAEL Limassol in the final by 4–0. In 1934, there was a disagreement betweenTrust andAnorthosis Famagusta on the organisation of the fourth unofficial league. APOEL andAEL Limassol organised a meeting for the foundation of a country-wide governing body and an official country-wide league. The meeting took place in APOEL's clubhouse on 23 September and the establishment of theCyprus Football Association was agreed. Two years later the APOEL football team celebrated its firstchampionship title of the officialCyprus football league. APOEL also won the championship for the following four years, making this a very successful period for the club with 5 consecutivechampionships (1936–1940).[6]
The 1948 conflicts
Politics, however, would soon spark conflict within the team. On 23 May 1948 the board of the club send a telegram to theHellenic Association of Amateur Athletics (Greek:Σ.Ε.Γ.Α.Σ.), with the opportunity of the annual Panhellenic Track and Field Competition, which included wishes that "the rebellion" is finished. Several leftist club members perceived the telegram as a political comment on theGreek Civil War and they distanced themselves from the club.[7] A few days later, on 4 June 1948, they foundedAC Omonia, which until today is the archrival of APOEL and there has been a traditional animosity between the fans of the two teams.[7]
More conflicts led to further struggles for APOEL. Athletes belonging to the club frequently participated in national clashes. During the 1955–59 national uprising against the British, many of APOEL's athletes and members of the club were active members ofEOKA (the National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters), the most outstanding example being the club's track and field athleteMichalakis Karaolis who was hanged by the British colonial authorities. During this period the football team had their closest brush with relegation as most football players were actively taking part in the national struggle.
Triumph in the 1963–64 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The football team were quickly back to full strength and made their debut in European Competitions (the first not only for APOEL but for any Cypriot team) in 1963, when they faced theNorwegian teamSK Gjøvik-Lyn in theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Two victories for APOEL over both legs (6–0, 1–0) marked APOEL's successful European debut, as they became the firstHellenic team to progress in a European Competition. The next round against the tournament winnersSporting Clube de Portugal met APOEL with their heaviest defeat ever (16–1) and put an end to APOEL's European debut.[8]
The successful participation in pan-Hellenic Greek Championship
Other triumphs followed in the early 1970s. In 1973 the domestic double was achieved with coach Panos Markovic. The following year APOEL became the only Cypriot team to avoid relegation from thepan-Hellenic Greek Championship. That was also the last season that the Cypriot champion played in the Greek Football League the following year due to the volatile situation in Cyprus during 1974.[9]
The 1980s: European Cup 1986–87 withdrawal
The 1980s were a relatively fruitless period for APOEL. They have only won twochampionships (1980,1986), onecup (1984) and twosuper cups (1984, 1986). In 1986 APOEL was drawn againstBeşiktaş J.K. for the second round of theEuropean Cup. This was the first time that a Cypriot team faced a Turkish team in a European football competition. The Cypriot government prohibited APOEL from playing against the Turkish team, so APOEL was punished with two years disqualification from anyUEFA competition.[10] This penalty was later reduced to one-year.
The 1990s: The unbeaten "double" in 1995–96
The 1990s[11] were a successful decade for APOEL with 3championships (1990, 1992, 1996), 5cups (1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999) and 4super cups (1992, 1993, 1996, 1999). The most successful season in the 1990s was 1995–96 in which APOEL achieved a celebratory double while remaining undefeated in the league. Thebasketball team won a double on the same season, making this the ideal season for a 70th anniversary celebration.
The formation of APOEL FC Company
APOEL Football (Public) Ltd was established in May 1997, after the decision of APOEL committee.[12] This had a significant effect on the club because it separated the activities of the football team from those of thesports club.[13] The formation of the company was necessitated by the financial difficulties the team faced at the time. The company began its operations with a capital of CY £600,000.
2000s–2010s: Domestic domination
APOEL is the most successful football team in Cyprus since the 2000s. In seventeen years, the club won twelvechampionships (2002, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), fourcups (2006, 2008, 2014, 2015) and sevensuper cups (2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2019). In the 2013–14 season, APOEL achieved a historical domestictreble by winning all the Cypriot competitions trophies, the league, the cup, and the super cup. The next season (2014–15), the club won their second consecutivedouble. In the 2016–17 season, APOEL managed to win their fifth consecutiveleague title and equalled the club's record which was set 77 years before (1936–1940).
2020s
The 2020–21 season marked the end of APOEL's dominance in Cyprus as they failed to make the championship playoffs for the first time in the club's history. The following season, APOEL finished third, missing out onChampions League qualification in the last matchday, and instead qualifying for theEuropa Conference League. They missed out on the 2022–23 championship, finishing in second place, despite being first at the end of the regular season. APOEL returned to domestic glory in 2024, winning the championship for a record-extending 29th time. It has been revealed that APOEL has debts of 50+ million euros and so far they are trying to find investors in order to save the club from debts, unsuccessfully.
The football department of APOEL is legally owned by APOEL Football (Public) Ltd (Greek:ΑΠΟΕΛ Ποδόσφαιρο (Δημόσια) Λτδ), apublic limited company,[13] since 1997. The company's main activity is the management, operation and commercial exploitation of APOEL Football club. The company owns all the rights for the football department under an agreement withAPOEL sports club and pays the club CY£100,000 annually for the privilege.[11] The agreement between the company and the club is renewed every five years. The company has 1745 shareholders[13] and besides the football club, also maintains a team boutique (Orange Shop), the APOELFC (Greek:ΑΠΟΕΛFC) magazine and theapoelfc.com.cy website among others.
Youth Academy
APOEL's youth academy is a separate legal entity from the football club. They are responsible for the under 21 teams for football, basketball and volleyball and they have their own board of directors and budget. The football academy has produced many quality Cypriot players over the years. Players started from the academy and had great contribution APOEL are:Marinos Satsias,Constantinos Charalambides,Nektarios Alexandrou,Michalis Morfis andMarios Antoniades. All of them have also competed at international level with theCyprus national football team while Charalambides and Alexandrou have played for teams in theGreek Super League in the past.
APOEL's U19 team participated for the first time in theUEFA Youth League group stage during2014–15 season, drawn in Group F alongsideBarcelona,Paris Saint-Germain andAjax.[14] APOEL managed to collect only one point after drawing 0–0 withAjax at home[15] and lost their other five Group F matches. They lost twice toBarcelona (2–3 at home, 0–3 away), lost twice toParis Saint-Germain (0–3 at home, 0–6 away) and also lost toAjax 1–4 away, finishing fourth in their group.
APOEL's colours are blue and yellow. Blue symbolizesGreece and yellow symbolizesByzantium.[16][17] The logo is a blue and yellow shield with the name of the club written diagonally in blue. After the club won their 20th championship (2008–09 season), two stars were added above the logo to symbolize the 20 championship titles (one star for every ten championships won). Other than that, the badge has remained the same since the establishment of the club.
APOEL's home ground since 23 October 1999, is the 22,859 seaterGSP Stadium. It is the largest stadium in Cyprus and they share it with local rivalsOmonia andOlympiakos Nicosia.[18]
APOEL is one of the most popular teams in Cyprus.[19] APOEL fans are right-wing in their majority but there are no strong ties between the organised fans and any political party.[16] That wasn't always the case but during the past years they have actively avoided association with any political party.[16]
The main supporter group is PAN.SY.FI (Greek:ΠΑΝ.ΣΥ.ΦΙ). PAN.SY.FI was founded in 1979[20] and has branches in all major cities inCyprus and also in other countries. The PAN.SY.FI (and most ultras) wear orange jackets (or T-shirts). The first game they sported the orange jackets was during the first-round game of the 1992–93 championship againstAEL Limassol inMakario Stadium.[20] APOEL have reserved the shirt number 79 in honour of PAN.SY.FI. (APOEL Ultras), to denote the year the group was founded, 1979.[21]
The club record for ticket sales in a single season is 141,268[22] (15 matches, home league games only) during the2010–11 season. The club record for average league games attendance in a single season is 9,582 (13 matches, home league games only) during the2012–13 season.[23] The club's season tickets sales record was set on season 2014–15, in which more than 8,000 season tickets were sold.[24]
APOEL holds the record of the highest home attendance forCyprus First Division in the game againstOmonia with 23,043[25] tickets for2002–03 season. The match was held atGSP Stadium on 7 December 2002 and ended in a goalless draw.
During the 2009–10 season APOEL sold in total 244,977 tickets for its home matches in all competitions (Championship,Cup,Champions League), which is the biggest number of tickets sold by a Cypriot club in a single season.
TheNicosia derby (or theDerby of the eternal enemies) refers to theNicosia'slocal derby,football matches played between APOEL andOmonia. It is the classic rivalry of the Cypriot football, as the two teams are the most successful and most popular football clubs of the island. The rivalry is also indicative of social, cultural and political differences and originates from 1948 when the board of APOEL sent a telegram to theHellenic Association of Amateur Athletics (Greek: Σ.Ε.Γ.Α.Σ.), with the opportunity of the annual Panhellenic Track and Field Competition stating its wish for the "communist mutiny" to be ended. Club's players considering this action as a political comment on theGreek Civil War distanced themselves or were expelled from APOEL and a month later they formedOmonia.[30] The first derby was played on 12 December 1953 and ended in a goalless draw.[31]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
APOEL has had numerous presidents over the course of their history. Since the establishment of APOEL Football Ltd, the presidents of the board of directors of the company (chairmen) have assumed all presidential duties for the football club. Here are complete lists of both:
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