Football in Greece

Football in Greece
Country	Greece
Governing body	Hellenic Football Federation
National team(s)	Greece
First played	1906; 118 years ago (1906) (Unofficial) 1927–1928; 96 years ago (1928) (Official)
Clubs	about 2,500
National competitions
Greek Cup Greek Amateur Cup Greek Super Cup Greek League Cup (defunct)
Club competitions
Superleague 1 Superleague 2 Football League (defunct) Gamma Ethniki Delta Ethniki (defunct) Local championships
International competitions
Conference League UEFA Super Cup FIFA Club World Cup FIFA World Cup (national team) UEFA European Championship (national team) UEFA Nations League (national team)
Audience records
Single match	Olympiacos F.C. vs. Hamburger SV 3 November 1982 Athens Olympic Stadium 75,263 spectators

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History of Greek football

The Ancient Greeks are known to have played many ball games, some of which involved the use of the feet. The Roman game harpastum is believed to have been adapted from a Greek team game known as "ἐπίσκυρος" (Episkyros)^[1][2] or "φαινίνδα" (phaininda),^[3] which is mentioned by a Greek playwright, Antiphanes (388–311 BC) and later referred to by the Christian theologian Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.215 AD). These games appear to have resembled rugby football.^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

In the modern era, however, association football was introduced to the Greeks by expatriate

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League system

The first league of professional football in Greece was officially established as the

Superleague Greece is the top-flight professional football division within Greece. The league contains 14 clubs, with the winners of the league becoming the Champions of Greece. The team with the most national championships is Olympiacos, who have won 47 times - 13 Super League titles, 19 Alpha Ethniki titles and 15 Panhellenic Championships.^[10] Two other P.O.K. clubs also dominate the history of Greek football; Panathinaikos with 20 titles and AEK Athens with 13 titles.^[10]

Cup competitions

There is currently one major cup competition in Greek football, the

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International

UEFA competitions

1971 European Cup Final

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Club sides may qualify to play in European tournaments under the jurisdiction of

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.

The only Greek team to have reached the final of a UEFA competition is

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National team

UEFA Euro 2004 Final

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The Greek national team's first match came on April 7, 1929, in a 1–4 loss to

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Women's football

A national league for women has existed since 1987. Now known as the

have dominated the league.

Greek footballers

Records

Professional seasons in Greek football

1950s:	1959–60
1960s:	1960–61	1961–62	1962–63	1963–64	1964–65	1965–66	1966–67	1967–68	1968–69	1969–70
1970s:	1970–71	1971–72	1972–73	1973–74	1974–75	1975–76	1976–77	1977–78	1978–79	1979–80
1980s:	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90
1990s:	1990–91	1991–92	1992–93	1993–94	1994–95	1995–96	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99	1999–00
2000s:	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10
2010s:	2010–11	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19	2019–20
2020s:	2020–21	2021–22	2022–23

See also

• Episkyros
• Greek football clubs in European competitions
• List of football stadiums in Greece
• Sport in Greece

References