Football in Greece

Sport overview
country = Greece
sport = football


imagesize = 120px
caption =
union = Hellenic Football Federation
nickname =
first = 1905 (Unofficial) [http://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A0%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B5%CE%BB%CE%BB%CE%AE%CE%BD%CE%B9%CE%BF_%CF%80%CF%81%CF%89%CF%84%CE%AC%CE%B8%CE%BB%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%B1_%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%B4%CE%BF%CF%83%CF%86%CE%B1%CE%AF%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%85_%CE%B1%CE%BD%CF%84%CF%81%CF%8E%CE%BD_1905-1906]
1929 (Official)
registered =
clubs = about 2,500
match = 75.256 - (Nov. 3 1983) Olympiakos Piraeus vs Hamburger SV (ECC)
league =
national1 = Super League Greece
national2 = Beta Ethniki
national3 = Gamma Ethniki
national4 = Delta Ethniki
national5 = Local championships
national6 = Greek Cup
national7 = Greek Football Amateur Cup
national8 = Greek Super Cup
national9 = Greek League Cup (defunct)
country

Football is the national sport of Greece.

League system

The first league of professional football in Greece was established as the Panhellenic Championship in 1927. The league ran until 1959, when it was replaced by the Alpha Ethniki which ran until 2006 when it was then replaced by Super League Greece.

uper League Greece

The Super League Greece is the top-flight professional football division within Greece. The league contains 16 clubs, with the champion given an automatic spot into the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League. Panathinaikos is the most successful Greek club participating in the competition. The most successful team in Super League Greece is Olympiacos having won the championship 35 times, in second comes Panathinaikos (19) and in third AEK Athens (11).

The league was founded in 2006 as a replacement to the Alpha Ethniki. This league ushered in clubs from all over Greece to compete with each other. Currently, clubs finishing in the top four places in the league are put into qualifying rounds of European competitions, while the winner of the Greek Cup, if not one of the top four, is also given a spot. The three teams with the fewest points at the end of the season are relegated to the Second Division.

The top two teams are put into UEFA Champions League second and third qualifying round while 3rd place is put into UEFA Cup qualifying and 4th place is put into the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Cup competitions

There are currently two major cup competitions in Greek football. They are the Greek Cup and Greek Super Cup. The Greek Cup includes clubs from every division of football in Greece, while the Super Cup is an annual game held between the winner of the Greek Super League and Greek Cup.

Qualification for European competitions

In addition, once in a European competition, it becomes possible to qualify for others:
* All the winners of the Champions League Third Qualifying Round go forward to the Champions League
* All the losers of the Champions League Third Qualifying Round go forward to the UEFA Cup
* All the winners of the UEFA Cup Second Qualifying Round go forward to the UEFA Cup
* All the winners in the Intertoto Cup Final Round go forward to the UEFA Cup Second Qualifying Round
* Any clubs playing in the Champions League that finish third in the group stage go into the UEFA Cup Third Round

The Greek national team

The Greek national team's first match came on April 7, 1929 in a 1-4 loss to the Italian national football team. Greece have qualified for the FIFA World Cup once, in 1994. Greece have qualified for thee Euorpian Championship three times, there first in 1980, they finished champions in 2004 surprising the footballing world with a 0-1 win over hosts Portugal in the final.They have recently qualified for UEFA Euro 2008 where they will have a chance to retain their European crown.

Women's football

History of Greek football

easons in Greek football

ee also

*Sport in Greece