Football in Greece
Governing body	Hellenic Football Federation
National team	Greece
First played	1905 (Unofficial)[1] 1929 (Official)
Clubs	about 2,500
Competitions
National
- Super League Greece
- Beta Ethniki
- Gamma Ethniki
- Delta Ethniki
- Local championships
- Greek Cup
- Greek Football Amateur Cup
- Greek Super Cup
- Greek League Cup (defunct)
Audience records
Single match	75.256 - (Nov. 3 1983) Olympiacos Piraeus vs Hamburger SV (ECC)

Football is the national sport of Greece.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Super 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 and AEK Athens FC is the most successful Greek club participating in UEFA Cup.

The most successful team in Super League Greece is Olympiacos having won the championship 37 times, in second comes Panathinaikos (19) and in third AEK Athens (13).

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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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

[edit] 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 the European Championship three times, their first in 1980, their second in 2004 when they shocked the footballing world by becoming champions, and their third in 2008.

[edit] Women's football

[edit] History of Greek football

[edit] Greek footballers

[edit] Seasons in Greek football

[edit] See also

• Sport in Greece