Super League Greece

Superleague Greece
	File:SuperLeagueGreecelogo.jpg
Founded	1959 (16 July 2006 in its current format)
Country	Greece
Confederation	UEFA
Number of teams	16
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Football League
Domestic cup(s)	Greek Cup; Greek Super Cup
International cup(s)	UEFA Champions League; UEFA Europa League
Current champions	Panathinaikos ; (2009–10)
Most championships	Olympiacos (37 titles)
TV partners	Nova Sports; NET
Website	superleaguegreece.net
	Current: 2010–11 Super League Greece

The Superleague Greece (Greek: Σούπερ Λίγκα Ελλάδα) is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each. As of May 2009, Superleague Greece is ranked 12th in the UEFA ranking of leagues, based on performances in European competitions over the last five-years.

Since the foundation of the first Panhellenic Championship in season 1927–28, only six clubs have won the title, with the "big three" of Athens (Olympiacos, Panathinaikos and AEK Athens) dominating and only PAOK, Aris and Larissa managing to break their dominance on a few occasions. The current champions are Panathinaikos, who have won in total 20 titles.

History

In 2006, the Superleague Greece replaced Alpha Ethniki as the highest Greek professional football league. Alpha Ethniki had held the position as the highest level of Greek football since 1959. Up to then, the highest league was the Panhellenic Championship, open only to the largest football associations of Athens, Piraeus, Thessaloniki and Patras. The title was contended between the champions of the aforementioned local associations in a play-off format.

In 1979, Alpha Ethniki, which had been an amateur and semi-amateur competition from its inception, turned professional.

Structure

At present, sixteen clubs compete in the Superleague, playing each other in a home and away series. At the end of the season, the bottom three clubs are relegated to Football League^[1]. In their place, the top three teams from Football League are promoted.

The Superleague is entitled to two entrants into the UEFA Champions League. The Superleague champion directly enters the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. The second through fifth place teams in the Superleague enter a play-off for the second Greek entry. The play-off winner enters the UEFA Champions League's third qualifying round, a two-legged tie from which the winner advances to the play offs of the UEFA Champions League. The winner of the Greek Cup automatically qualifies for the UEFA Europa League, as well as the runners-up of the Superleague play-off.

In the play-off for the UEFA Champions League, the teams play each other in a home and away round robin. However, they do not all start with 0 points. Instead, a weighting system applies to the teams' standing at the start of the play-off mini-league. The team finishing fifth in the Superleague will start the play off with 0 points. The fifth place team’s end of season tally of points is used to calculate the sum of the points that other teams will have. The point difference of each of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th team from the fifth place team is then divided by five(if the result is a decimal number it is then rounded to a full number, with .5 or more being rounded up) and the resulting number respectively for each team is the number of points with which they will start the mini-league.^[2]

Superleague Greece 2010–11 members

Club	Position in 2009–10	First season after most recent promotion	Stadium	Capacity
AEK Athens	3rd (4th after regular season)	Never been relegated	Athens Olympic Stadium	71,030
Aris	4th (5th after regular season)	2006–07	Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium	22,800
Asteras Tripolis	12th	2007–08	Asteras Stadium	6,200
Atromitos Athens	7th	2009–10	Peristeri Stadium	10,200
Ergotelis	11th	2006–07	Pankritio Stadium	26,240
Iraklis	10th	1981–82	Kaftanzoglio Stadium	27,770
Kavala	6th	2009–10	Kavala Stadium	12,500
Kerkyra	2nd; Beta Ethniki	2010–11	Kérkyras Stadium	2,685
Larissa	8th	2005–06	AEL Arena	16,118
Olympiacos	5th (2nd after regular season)	Never been relegated	Karaiskakis Stadium	33,334
Olympiakos Volou	1st; Beta Ethniki	2010–11	Panthessaliko Stadium	23,200
Panathinaikos	Champion	Never been relegated	Athens Olympic Stadium	71,030
Panionios	9th	1997–98	Nea Smyrni Stadium	11,700
Panserraikos	5th; Beta Ethniki	2010–11	Stadium of Serres	10,000
PAOK	2nd (3rd after regular season)	Never been relegated	Toumba Stadium	28,701
Skoda Xanthi	13th	1989–90	Skoda Xanthi Arena	7,361

The final positions for the teams occupying rank 2 – 5 in regular season is being determined by the playoffs.^[3]
* AEK, Olympiacos , Panathanaikos and PAOK were founder members of Alpha Ethniki in 1959 and have never been relegated.

Champions

1927–28 to 1958–59: Panhellenic Championship
1959–60 to 2005–06: Alpha Ethniki
2006–07 to present: Superleague Greece

Season	Champion
1927–28	Aris
1928–29	not held
1929–30	Panathinaikos
1930–31	Olympiacos
1931–32	Aris
1932–33	Olympiacos
1933–34	Olympiacos
1934–35	not held
1935–36	Olympiacos
1936–37	Olympiacos
1937–38	Olympiacos
1938–39	AEK Athens
1939–40	AEK Athens
1940–41	not finished due to World War II
1941–42	not held due to World War II
1942–43	not finished due to World War II
1943–44	not held due to World War II
1944–45	not held due to World War II
1945–46	Aris
1946–47	Olympiacos
1947–48	Olympiacos
1948–49	Panathinaikos
1949–50	not finished
1950–51	Olympiacos
1951–52	not finished
1952–53	Panathinaikos
1953–54	Olympiacos
1954–55	Olympiacos
1955–56	Olympiacos
1956–57	Olympiacos
1957–58	Olympiacos
1958–59	Olympiacos

Season	Champion
1959–60	Panathinaikos
1960–61	Panathinaikos
1961–62	Panathinaikos
1962–63	AEK Athens
1963–64	Panathinaikos
1964–65	Panathinaikos
1965–66	Olympiacos
1966–67	Olympiacos
1967–68	AEK Athens
1968–69	Panathinaikos
1969–70	Panathinaikos
1970–71	AEK Athens
1971–72	Panathinaikos
1972–73	Olympiacos
1973–74	Olympiacos
1974–75	Olympiacos
1975–76	PAOK
1976–77	Panathinaikos
1977–78	AEK Athens
1978–79	AEK Athens
1979–80	Olympiacos
1980–81	Olympiacos
1981–82	Olympiacos
1982–83	Olympiacos
1983–84	Panathinaikos
1984–85	PAOK
1985–86	Panathinaikos
1986–87	Olympiacos
1987–88	Larissa
1988–89	AEK Athens
1989–90	Panathinaikos
1990–91	Panathinaikos

Season	Champion
1991–92	AEK Athens
1992–93	AEK Athens
1993–94	AEK Athens
1994–95	Panathinaikos
1995–96	Panathinaikos
1996–97	Olympiacos
1997–98	Olympiacos
1998–99	Olympiacos
1999-00	Olympiacos
2000–01	Olympiacos
2001–02	Olympiacos
2002–03	Olympiacos
2003–04	Panathinaikos
2004–05	Olympiacos
2005–06	Olympiacos
2006–07	Olympiacos
2007–08	Olympiacos
2008–09	Olympiacos
2009–10	Panathinaikos

Performance by club

Club	Champions	Winning years
Olympiacos	37	1931, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1947, 1948, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1966, 1967, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Panathinaikos	20	1930, 1949, 1953, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1977, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 2004, 2010
AEK Athens	11	1939, 1940, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1978, 1979, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994
Aris	3	1928, 1932, 1946
PAOK	2	1976, 1985
Larissa	1	1988

Statistics

Statistics in Superleague Greece since the 1959–60 season, when the championship was established in its current form.

Top three ranking

Ranking by top three appearances in Superleague Greece.

Club	1st	2nd	3rd
Olympiacos	22	14	8
Panathinaikos	17	13	14
AEK Athens	9	16	12
PAOK	2	2	7
Larissa	1	1	–
Aris	–	1	4
OFI	–	1	2
Panionios	–	1	1
Apollon Athens	–	–	1
Iraklis	–	–	1

Seasons in Superleague Greece

The number of seasons that each team (in alphabetical order) has played in the top division until 2010–11. AEK, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos and PAOK are the only teams to have played in the top division in every season since the league's inception in its modern form. The teams in bold participate in the current Superleague season (2010–11).

Seasons	Clubs
52	AEK, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, PAOK
51	Iraklis
50	Aris, Panionios
37	Apollon Athens
36	Ethnikos, OFI
26	Panachaiki, Larissa
23	Egaleo, Panserraikos
22	Skoda Xanthi
20	Apollon Kalamaria, Doxa Drama
19	Kavala
16	Ionikos, PAS Giannina, Pierikos
15	Proodeftiki
12	Veria
10	Kastoria, Levadiakos
9	Athinaikos, Atromitos, Olympiakos Volos
7	Fostiras, Kalamata, Paniliakos, Trikala
6	Panegialios
5	Edessaikos, Ergotelis, Korinthos, Niki Volos
4	Akratitos, Asteras Tripolis, Ethnikos Asteras, Kallithea, Rodos, Vyzas
3	Diagoras, Olympiakos Nicosia, Panelefsiniakos, Kerkyra
2	Panetolikos, Panthrakikos
1	AEL Limassol, APOEL*, Atromitos Piraeus, Chalkida, EPA Larnaca, Makedonikos, Pierikos F.C., Naoussa, Olympiakos Chalkida, Omonia Nicosia, Thermaikos, Thrasyvoulos

APOEL avoided relegation in the 1973–1974 season, but were forced to play in the Cypriot A Division the following season due to the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus. Hence they are the only team to have played a single season in the Greek league and not been relegated.

Per geographic region

All the geographic regions of Greece have been represented by at least one club in the first national division. Attica has had the strongest presence with 21 clubs overall, followed by Macedonia and the Peloponnese. The regions of Epirus and the Ionian islands have been represented by only one club each.

Regions	Τotal	Teams
Attica	21	AEK Athens, Olympiacos Piraeus, Panathinaikos, Panionios, Apollon Athens, Ethnikos Piraeus, Egaleo, Ionikos, Proodeftiki, Athinaikos, Atromitos, Fostiras, Vyzas, Akratitos, Ethnikos Asteras, Kallithea, Panelefsiniakos, Chalkidon Near East, Thrasyvoulos, A.E. Nikaia, Atromitos Piraeus
Macedonia	15	PAOK, Iraklis, Aris, Panserraikos, Doxa Drama, Kavala, Pierikos, Veria, Kastoria, Edessaikos F.C., Megas Alexandros Katerini, Naoussa F.C., Apollon Kalamaria, Thermaikos, Makedonikos
Peloponnese	7	Panachaiki, Kalamata, Paniliakos, Panegialios, Korinthos, Asteras Tripoli, Pankorinthiakos
Cyprus	5	Olympiakos Nicosia, AEL Limassol, EPA Larnaca, APOEL, Omonia Nicosia
Thessalia	4	Larissa, Olympiakos Volos, Trikala, Niki Volos
Sterea Ellada	4	Levadiakos, Panetolikos, Chalkida, Olympiakos Chalkida
Crete	2	OFI, Ergotelis
Thrace	2	Skoda Xanthi, Panthrakikos
Aegean Islands	2	Rodos, Diagoras
Epirus	1	PAS Giannina
Ionian Islands	1	Kerkyra

UEFA ranking

At of 16 September 2010, The Greek Super League ranks 11th in the UEFA coefficient Database, with 30.366 points.^[4]

Broadcasting rights

Nova Sports (premium channel) have taken the broadcasting rights for 14 of the 16 teams of the Superleague Greece for €176 million until 2014.^[5], also NET (Greek public broadcaster) have the broadcasting rights of Olympiacos and Skoda Xanthi home games.

References

^ ^a ^b http://www.epae.org/entry.fds?entryID=1067&pageCode=05.07&tablePageID=47&pageID=46&langid=1
^ http://www.superleaguegreece.net/index.htm
^ Official playoff regulation
^ http://www.xs4all.nl/~kassiesa/bert/uefa/data/method4/crank2011.html
^ "Συμφωνία 176 εκατ.ευρώ με Nova για 4 χρόνια". enet.gr News. enet.gr. 5 October 2010.

External links

[new_name_beta_gamma_ethniki-1] ttp://www.epae.org/entry.fds?entryID=1067&pageCode=05.07&tablePageID=47&pageID=46&langid=1

[2] ttp://www.superleaguegreece.net/index.htm

[3] Official playoff regulation

[4] ttp://www.xs4all.nl/~kassiesa/bert/uefa/data/method4/crank2011.html

[5] "Συμφωνία 176 εκατ.ευρώ με Nova για 4 χρόνια". enet.gr News. enet.gr. 5 October 2010.

[1]

[2]

[3]

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[5]

v t e Football in Greece
Overview	Hellenic Football Federation List of Unions Awards By number of titles List of clubs List of venues
National teams	Greece men U-23 U-21 U-20 U-19 U-18 U-17 Greece women W U–19 W U–17 Greece Beach Soccer men Military football team
League competitions	Super League 1 Super League 2 Football League (defunct) Gamma Ethniki Delta Ethniki (defunct) Local Championships FCA Winners' Championship Panhellenic Championship (defunct) Champions Youth Leagues Top goalscorers Super League Football League Women's top division
Cup competitions	Greek Cup Super Cup League Cup (defunct) Gamma Ethniki Cup Amateurs' Super Cup Amateurs Cup Women's Cup
Miscellaneous	P.O.K. Greek football clubs in European competitions

v t e Super League Greece seasons
SEGAS Championship	1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1910–11 1911 1912 1914
FCA Championship	1921–22 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27
EPSE Championship	1922–23
Panhellenic Championship	1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59
Alpha Ethniki	1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06
Super League Greece	2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

v t e Top-level men's football leagues of Europe (UEFA)
Current	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark England Estonia Faroe Islands Finland France Georgia Germany Gibraltar Greece Hungary Iceland Israel Italy Kazakhstan Kosovo Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Northern Ireland Norway Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Russia San Marino Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales
Defunct	Austria Tagblatt Pokal Gauliga Ostmark Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Republic State Czechoslovakia Denmark East Germany England Finland Germany Bezirksliga Bayern Gauliga Kreisliga Bayern Hessen Nordmain Odenwald Pfalz Saar Südmain Südwest Württemberg Nordkreis-Liga Oberliga Berlin Oberliga Nord Oberliga Süd Oberliga Südwest Oberliga West Südkreis-Liga Westkreis-Liga Gibraltar Herzeg-Bosnia Mandatory Palestine Scotland Premier Division Premier League Saarland Serbia and Montenegro Soviet Union Turkey Turkish Championship National Division Yugoslavia
Liechtenstein is the only UEFA member association without a national league.

v t e Super League Greece
2024–25 clubs	AEK Athens Aris Asteras Tripolis Atromitos Kallithea Lamia Levadiakos OFI Olympiacos Panathinaikos Panetolikos Panserraikos PAOK Volos
Former clubs	AEL Akratitos Apollon Kalamarias Apollon Smyrnis Aspida Xanthi Athinaikos Atromitos Piraeus Chalkida Chalkidona Diagoras Doxa Drama Edessaikos Egaleo Ergotelis Ethnikos Asteras Ethnikos Athens^* Ethnikos Piraeus Fostiras Ionikos Iraklis Kalamata Kalloni Kastoria Kavala Kerkyra Kifisia Korinthos Makedonikos Megas Alexandros Megas Alexandros Katerini Naoussa Niki Volos Olympiacos Volos Panachaiki Panargiakos Panegialios Panelefsiniakos Panionios Paniliakos Panthrakikos PAS Giannina Peiraikos Syndesmos^* Pierikos Platanias Proodeftiki Rodos Thermaikos Thrasyvoulos Trikala Veria Vyzas Megara Xanthi *only in pre-HFF championships
Former clubs (from Cyprus)	AEL Limassol APOEL EPA Larnaca Olympiacos Nicosia Omonia
Competition	Clubs Seasons & winners Players foreign Managers Stadia Broadcasters Referees
Statistics and awards	Records All-time table PSAP Awards Top Scorers Golden Star Foreign Player of the Season Greek Player of the Season Young Player of the Season Goalkeeper of the Season Manager of the Season Referee of the Season
Associated competitions	Greek Cup UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Europa Conference League Super League Greece Youth Leagues
Category

v t e Super League Greece seasons
SEGAS Championship	1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1910–11 1911 1912 1914
FCA Championship	1921–22 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27
EPSE Championship	1922–23
Panhellenic Championship	1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59
Alpha Ethniki	1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06
Super League Greece	2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25