| Association football in Greece | |
|---|---|
| Country |  Greece |
| Governing body | Hellenic Football Federation |
| National teams | |
| First played |
|
| Clubs | |
| National competitions | |
| Club competitions | |
| International competitions | |
UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Conference League UEFA Super Cup UEFA Youth League FIFA Club World Cup FIFA Women's Club World Cup UEFA Women's Champions League UEFA Women's Europa Cup FIFA World Cup (national team) UEFA European Championship (national team) UEFA Nations League (national team) FIFA Women's World Cup (national team) UEFA Women's Championship (national team) UEFA Women's Nations League (national team) | |
| Audience records | |
| Single match | Olympiacos Piraeus vs.Hamburger 3 November 1982 Athens Olympic Stadium 75,263 spectators |
Association football is the most popularsport inGreece, followed bybasketball. Over half of the people in Greece are interested in football.[4]
TheAncient Greeks are known to have played many ball games, some of which involved the use of the feet. The Roman gameharpastum is believed to have been adapted from aGreek team game known as "ἐπίσκυρος" (Episkyros)[5][6] or "φαινίνδα" (phaininda),[7] which is mentioned by a Greek playwright,Antiphanes (388–311B.C.) and later referred to by theChristian theologianClement of Alexandria (c.150–c.215A.D.). These games appear to have resembledrugby football.[8][9][10][11][12]
In the modern era, however, association football was introduced to the Greeks by expatriateBritish 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 ofAthens andThessaloniki, as well as among the large Greek communities of the Ottoman Empire, such asConstantinople andSmyrna, in the early 1900s. After theAsia Minor Disaster of 1922 which resulted in a large resettlement of Greeks from Turkey to Greece, several clubs, such asPanionios andApollon Smyrnis, were transplanted, while many athletes of other clubs, likePera, formed new organizations in their new home (e.g.AEK,PAOK).
The first league of professional football in Greece was officially established as thePanhellenic Championship in 1927. The league ran until 1959, when it was replaced by theAlpha Ethniki which ran until 2006 when it was then replaced bySuper League Greece. According toFIFPRO, an organization that represents professional players, nearly 70 percent of players complained in a 2011 survey of problems with not being paid.[13]
Superleague Greece is the top-flight professional football division within Greece. The league contains 14 clubs, with the winners of the league becoming theChampions of Greece. The team with the most national championships isOlympiacos, who have won 48 times - 14 Super League titles, 19 Alpha Ethniki titles and 15 Panhellenic Championships.[14] Two otherP.O.K. clubs also dominate the history of Greek football;Panathinaikos with 20 titles andAEK Athens with 13 titles.[14]
There is currently one major cup competition in Greek football, theGreek Cup. It includes clubs from the 2 professional leagues in Greece, Super League 1 and Super League 2. Until 2008, another major cup competition was theGreek Super Cup, an annual game held between the winner of theGreek Super League andGreek Cup that will be reinstated from 2025-2026 season and there will be again two major cup competitions in Greek football from then on.
Club sides may qualify to play in European tournaments under the jurisdiction ofUEFA. The champions of Super League qualify for the group stage of the following season'sUEFA Champions League. The teams finishing in second to fifth position qualify for around-robinplayoff, the winner of which will enter the Champions League at the Third Qualifying Round. The other three teams will qualify for the following season'sUEFA 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 theGreek 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.[15][16]
Olympiacos became the first and only Greek team to lift a UEFA trophy, winning theUEFA Conference League in the2023–24 season, defeatingFiorentina in thefinal. Additionally, the Olympiacosyouth team had won theUEFA Youth League in thesame season, beatingAC Milan in the final.[6][7][17]
The Greek national team's first match came on April 7, 1929, in a 1–4 loss toItaly. Greece have qualified for theFIFA World Cup three times, in1994, in2010 and in2014. Greece have qualified for theEuropean Championship four times, their first in1980, their second in2004, their third in2008 and their fourth in2012.2004 was their most successful run as theybecame champions by defeating hosts Portugal in the finals.
A national league for women has existed since 1989. Now known as theWomen's Alpha Ethniki, it was started in 1989 as theWomen's Panhellenic Championship. In recent yearsPAOK have dominated the league.
| Overview | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National teams |
| ||||
| League competitions |
| ||||
| Cup competitions |
| ||||
| Miscellaneous | |||||
