Greece Football League
Josefina Polly
Football first appeared in Greece in 1894 and began to spread after the 1896 Olympiad, which was included in the games program. Many clubs started to establish football divisions while the first purely football clubs were also founded. The first years, until 1912, championship was organised by the Hellenic Association of Amateur Athletics (SEGAS). This championship was actually a local tournament among clubs from Athens and Piraeus.[4]
Time has been relentless for some teams that have participated in the first league of the Alpha Ethniki. The historic Ethnikos Piraeus, cup winner of Greece in 1933, participates in the Gamma Ethniki, as well as Proodeftiki while AE Nikaia participates in the local championship of Piraeus.Apollon Kalamaria, Doxa Drama and Iraklis are fighting in the Beta Ethniki, while Pankorinthiakos, a few years after joining Alpha Ethniki, merged with Aris Korinthos and created PAS Korinthos, which reached the Alpha Ethniki at the 1990s and is now participating in the Gamma Ethniki. Megas Alexandros Katerini is the ancestor of Pierikos. In 1961, they merged with Olympos Katerini and created Pierikos who plays in the Gamma Ethniki.[citation needed]
On 19 January 1979 a bill was passed in the Hellenic Parliament under which football clubs became Football Incorporated Companies (PAE or ΠΑΕ in Greek). The Association of Football Incorporated Companies (EPAE, ΕΠΑΕ in Greek), under the supervision of the HFF, has since held the responsibility to hold the championship, with Makis Ithakisios being elected its first president. Initially the shares were owned by the sports union to which the football club belonged. Yet soon after, prominent Greek businessmen (shipowners, oil magnates, bankers etc.) began acquiring the newly formed PAEs by buying the majority of their shares, and then increasing their share capital, thus turning Greek football into a fully commercialised and highly profitable business for the decades to come.[citation needed]
On 16 July 2006, was founded the copartnership Super League. Members of the copartnership are the PAE's that have the right to participate in the professional football championship of the First Division. The main activity of the copartnership is the organization and conduct of the First Division's Championship according to the regulations and decisions of the Hellenic Football Federation (HFF) and the supreme international football confederations (UEFA, FIFA).[citation needed]
The Super League is currently entitled to two entrants into the UEFA Champions League. The reigning champions currently enters the third qualifying round through the champion path, while the runners up enter the competition via the second qualifying round though the league route. The third-placed team enters the UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds. The three UEFA Europa Conference League spots go to the teams that finished 4th and 5th, with a European berth for the Greek Cup winner.[citation needed]
Local championships: The top team in each regional league qualifies for the promotional play-offs . Three top teams of each of 8 promotional play-offs' groups (24 total) are promoted to Gamma Ethniki.
In 1962-2019, the Football League was the second level of the league system, until 2010 as Beta Ethniki. After the formation of Superliga 2, in 2019/20 and 2020/21, the Football League was the third tier and Gamma Ethniki was the fourth tier. In 2010-2013 Gamma Ethniki as Football League 2.
Things have not been much better at club level with the greatest achievements being a Champions League Round of 16 knockout for Olympiacos in 2014. Off the pitch however, Greek Football delievers, for example in 2018 we saw PAOK's owner storms the field holding a gun and Panathinaikos banned from European Football for failing to pay players. You could write a book on all the crazy things that have happened in the Greek league but I'll leave that for your own research.
Super League 1 features 14 teams who play each other twice in a regular season, the table is then split, the top 6 clubs keep their points from the regular season and play each other another two times to determine the league winner. The bottom 8 clubs also keep their points from the regular season, but they only play each other once with the bottom team being relegated and the 2nd last team going into a play-off with the 2nd placed Super League 2 team.
Greek football is like a microcosm of the wider political landscape, as shady businessmen slug it out for a seat at the top of the table, each publicly expressing their innocence in the face of serious accusations while behind the scenes strategizing through their vast network of influence their next attempt to outdo their opponents.
Mini-empires have been created by the main players of the Greek Super League, with fundamental mechanisms to uphold their power: prosperous yet questionable business practices, owning media to control narratives, and political connections to avoid legal ramifications. Owning popular football clubs is the cherry on top, to desensitise the general public from their misdemeanours.
Super League Greece and Panini are proud to announce a new exclusive multi-year agreement that appoints the publisher as the only company officially authorised to produce collectible products of Super League, the top-tier football Championship in Greece.
The agreement between Super League Greece and Panini starts from the current season, 2023-24, with the objective to deliver the first officially licensed products of Super League Greece to collectors and to all Greek football fans over the next few months, within an extended publishing programme.
In parallel to our activities with the Super League, we will continue to work directly with the clubs on the development of further products and initiatives to promote Greek football both locally and internationally.
Super League Greece was founded in July 2006, in the form of a Limited Liability Association in accordance with the provisions of Greek Law 1667/1986 and Greek Law 3479/2006 on the "Establishment, organisation and operation of professional sports Associations and other provisions". The Members of the Association are the Professional Football Clubs (FCs) that have the right to participate in the professional football championship of the 1st National Division. The main activity of the Association is organising and staging the professional football championship of the 1st National Division, in accordance with the regulations and decisions of the HFF and the supervising international football confederations (UEFA, FIFA). -
(Bloomberg) -- Greece will ban fans from attending all football games of the Super League 1 championship for two months, and European matches on a case-by-case basis, as part of measures to combat violence.
Superleague Greece: Bottom two clubs are relegated to Football League.
Football League (may be changed): Top two clubs of Football League in the end are promoted to Superleague Greece. Bottom four relegated to Gamma Ethniki.
Gamma Ethniki: The champions of each group are promoted to Football League. The bottom twenty nine teams of are relegated to local championships.
Local championships: The top team in each regional league is entered into the promotional play-offs with other regions. The 2 winners of each group are promoted to the respective group in Gamma Ethniki
There are many things to take into consideration when speaking about Greek football. The passion for the game, the talent, the lack of proper playing grounds, the Euro 2004 success and its legacy, the situation with organised fan clubs, and other matters.
So, in order to be able to objectively define the position of the Greek league and how it compares with others in Europe, it would be necessary to talk about some, if not all, of these factors and see how they fare against their counterparts.
In conclusion, football in Greece is a work in progress. It most certainly does not have a place among the greats when it cannot even provide the necessary requirements for young players to thrive and evolve into who they can be before making the jump to a higher level.
"It will not start again without a new framework agreed by all," Vassiliadis said, adding that the government was in close contact with European football body UEFA, which he said had been "shocked" by the incident.
Olympiakos versus Panathinaikos, the so-called Derby of the Eternal Enemies, is among the most super-charged in European football. On Sunday, it was suspended with the scores level after Panathinaikos substitute Juan Carlos was struck by a firework.
It is just the latest troubling incident in Greek football, where the game has been threatened for over a decade now by violence in the stands, corruption trials in the courts, and the financial implications of a broken system. Everyone is tired of it. Even those involved.
It is not just that rivals Olympiakos have won 22 of the last 27 titles. Greek football has spent years mired in corruption and its consequences. "When fans are desperate and feel games are being stolen they become violent," he says.
This dominance of Olympiakos is the prism through which Panathinaikos have viewed football. Champions League money has fuelled the disparity. In 20 of these last 27 seasons, Olympiakos have played in its group stages, reaping the financial rewards.
"In football, you have to spend money to get things going. There is no other way. My business did better so I was able to put more money in. Initially, to pay off the debt. Then, to invest in the roster. I was able to bring in Ivan Jovanovic, a very good coach.
"The refereeing is better today. That is why you are seeing a renaissance in Greek football with four teams competing in European competition and a more competitive championship because before this there were people controlling the federation and the referees."
Arthur Wharton, born in Ghana in 1865, was the first black professional footballer to play in England. A world-class athlete and professional cricketer, he set a world record of 10 seconds for the 100-yards at Stamford Bridge in 1886. Racial prejudice ensured he never played for England.
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