The Cypriot Fourth Division ( el, Τέταρτη Κατηγορία) was the fourth tier

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

league competition in Cyprus, ran by the

Cyprus Football Association The Cyprus Football Association (CFA; el, Κυπριακή Ομοσπονδία Ποδοσφαίρου (ΚΟΠ), Kypriakí Omospondía Podosfaírou (KOP)) is the governing body of football in Cyprus and is based in Nicosia. It organizes the footb ...

. Each year, the top finishing teams of the league were promoted to the

Cypriot Third Division The Cypriot Third Division (Greek: Πρωτάθλημα Γ΄ Κατηγορίας) is the third tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Each year, the top finishing teams of the league are promoted to th ...

, and the lowest finishing teams were relegated to the amateur leagues.

History

The Cypriot Fourth Division started the 1985–86 football season as the fourth level of the Cypriot football. The decision was taken by CFA on 23 July 1985. The first eight seasons the championship was split into three or four geographical groups, representing the

Districts of Cyprus Cyprus is divided into six districts ( gr, επαρχίες; tr, kaza), whose capitals share the same name. The districts are subdivided into municipalities and communities. The districts of Cyprus are listed in the table below. Note: Nor ...

. From 1993–94 season until 2014–15 season, the championship was held as a single division. In all seasons, all the teams played against each other twice, once at their home and once away. The 2014–15 season was the last one ever for the Cypriot Fourth Division, as the league was dissolved and replaced by the

STOK Elite Division The STOK Elite Division is the fourth tier and the last professional football league competition in Cyprus, run by the STOK Federation of the Cypriot levels. History The STOK Elite Division Championship was initiated by the Cyprus Football Associ ...

, which is conducted under the auspices of

Confederation of local federations of Cyprus A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

(STOK). The teams that were relegated from the Cypriot Fourth Division were taking part to the next season's amateur leagues. The teams that were promoted from the Cypriot Fourth Division were taking part to the next season's

. From 1986–87 season until 2007–08 season, the Fourth Division teams were participating in the

Cypriot Cup The Cypriot Cup () is the main cup competition in Cypriot football, run by the Cyprus Football Association (CFA). It began in 1934, the same season with the Cypriot Championship. It is the second most important competition for Cypriot club team ...

. From 2008–09 season, the Fourth Division teams were not allowed to participate in the Cypriot Cup, but they could take part in the

Cypriot Cup for lower divisions The Cypriot Cup for lower divisions is a domestic cup for the teams who participate in the Cypriot Third Division and in the STOK Elite Division (ex Fourth Division). Format It was created in the 2008–09 season by Cyprus Football Associatio ...

(participation in this cup was not compulsory).

Structure

The structure of the championship changed some times during the years. From 1985–86 until 1992–93, the championship was split into three or four geographical groups, depending from

each participated team came from. On some occasions, some teams participated in groups that did not correspond to their geographical origin due to the increased number of teams in the group of their geographical origin. In these cases, the teams which would participate in different geographical groups were determined by a draw. Initially, the championship was played in three regional groups:

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

Keryneia Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια ; tr, Girne ) is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. While there is evidence showing that the wider region ...

group,

Limassol Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population ...

Paphos Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of Pap ...

group, and

Larnaca Larnaca ( el, Λάρνακα ; tr, Larnaka) is a city on the south east coast of Cyprus and the capital of the district of the same name. It is the third-largest city in the country, after Nicosia and Limassol, with a metro population of 144 ...

Famagusta Famagusta ( , ; el, Αμμόχωστος, Ammóchostos, ; tr, Gazimağusa or ) is a city on the east coast of Geography of Cyprus, Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia District, Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. Duri ...

group. In the 1988–89 season, the championship was played in four regional groups. The championship was held for the first time as a single division in the 1993–94 season. All the teams played against each other twice, once at their home and once away. The team with the most points at the end of the season crowned champions. This was the league's current format until its last season.

Points system

The points system of the Cypriot Fourth Division changed during the years: # From 1985–86 until 1990–91 season, teams were awarded two points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a defeat. # From 1991–92 until 2014–15 season, teams were awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a defeat.

Winners

The table presents all the winners of the Cypriot Fourth Division from 1985–86 season to 1987–88 season when the championship was split to three geographical groups. The table presents the winners of the 1988–89 Cypriot Fourth Division when the championship was split to four geographical groups. The table presents all the winners of the Cypriot Fourth Division from 1989–90 season to 1992–93 season when the championship was split to three geographical groups. The table presents all the winners of the Cypriot Fourth Division from 1993–94 season to 2014–15 season when the championship was held as a single division.

Performance By club

* Group Champions

Number of participating, promoted and relegated teams per season

The number of the participated teams and the number of the teams that were promoted to the

and the teams that were relegated to the amateur leagues changed many times during the years.

Participations per club

130 teams had participated in the Cypriot Fourth Division. ¹ The team has one participation as Omonoia Oroklinis and one participation as Alki Oroklini.

References

{{UEFA fourth leagues 4 Defunct fourth level football leagues in Europe