Superleague Greece
| Countries | Greece |
|---|---|
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Founded | 1959 (16 July 2006 in its current format) |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Levels on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Football League[1] |
| 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 |
 2010–11 Super League Greece |
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The Superleague Greece (Greek: Σούπερ Λίγκα Ελλάδα) is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed in 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.
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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 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
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Performance by club
| Club | Champions | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| Olympiacos |
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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 |
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1930, 1949, 1953, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1977, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 2004, 2010 |
| AEK Athens |
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1939, 1940, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1978, 1979, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994 |
| Aris |
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1928, 1932, 1946 |
| PAOK |
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1976, 1985 |
| Larissa |
|
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, Ionikos, APOEL*, Atromitos Piraeus, Chalkida, EPA Larnaca, Makedonikos, Pierikos F.C., Naousa, 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 |
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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 |
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PAOK, Iraklis, Aris, Panserraikos, Doxa Drama, Kavala, Pierikos, Veria, Kastoria, Edessaikos F.C., Megas Alexandros Katerini, Naoussa F.C., Apollon Kalamaria, Thermaikos, Makedonikos |
| Peloponnese |
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Panachaiki, Kalamata, Paniliakos, Panegialios, Korinthos, Asteras Tripoli, Pankorinthiakos |
| Cyprus |
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Olympiakos Nicosia, AEL Limassol, EPA Larnaca, APOEL, Omonia Nicosia |
| Thessalia |
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Larissa, Olympiakos Volos, Trikala, Niki Volos |
| Sterea Ellada |
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Levadiakos, Panetolikos, Chalkida, Olympiakos Chalkida |
| Crete |
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OFI, Ergotelis |
| Thrace |
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Skoda Xanthi, Panthrakikos |
| Aegean Islands |
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Rodos, Diagoras |
| Epirus |
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PAS Giannina |
| Ionian Islands |
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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 (Private - Pay channel) have taken the broadcasting rights over most of the Superleague Greece, also NET (One of the free government's channels) have the broadcasting rights of Olympiacos and Skoda Xanthi home games.
See also
- Greek football champions
- Greek Superleague Top Goalscorer
- Greek Superleague Best Greek Player
- List of sports attendance figures — the Superleague in a global context
References
External links
- Superleague Greece Official Website
- Superleague Statistics
- Greek Top Scorers
- Greek Champions
- Super League 2010/2011
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