The Cyprus Basketball Federation (CBF) (
Greek: Κυπριακή Ομοσπονδία Καλαθοοσφαίρισης (ΚΟΚ)) is the governing body for
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
on the island of
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
and is a division of the Cyprus Sport Organisation (ΚΟΑ-Κυπριακός Οργανισμός Αθλητισμού). It was established in 1966 and became a full member of
FIBA
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...
in 1974.
It is responsible for representing
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
on the international stage and for running the
national teams that represent Cyprus at all levels.
Currently it runs:
* Three national men's leagues:
:
OPAP Basket League
: Division B1
: Division B2
* The yearly
Cypriot Basketball Cup
The Cypriot Basketball Cup is an annual professional basketball national cup competition, organized by the Cyprus Basketball Federation since 1969.
Format
Starting in 2007, the Cypriot Cup competition's format changed to where only teams from th ...
(that employs a knockout format)
* The yearly
Cypriot Super Cup
The Cypriot Super Cup is a Cypriot football trophy, contested in an annual match between the previous season's Cypriot First Division champions, and the Cypriot Cup winners. The match is contested at the beginning of the football season, and is u ...
(Champion vs Cup Winner match)
* One national Women's League
History of Basketball in Cyprus
Cyprus has a total population of around 800,000 most of whom follow the sport of basketball. In terms of popularity and spectator following, basketball only comes second to
football.
The history of basketball in Cyprus can be roughly categorized into 3 periods (1966 to 1974, 1974 to 1988 and 1988 to today). Up to and including 1974 the most successful teams on the island were
Digenis Morphou and
PAEEK. As a direct result of the
Turkish invasion both teams were expelled from their home towns; an event which had obvious catastrophic consequences.
The immediate aftermath of the invasion was a period of economic suffering for all aspects of society including sport and basketball itself. Investment in sport development, infrastructure and foreign expertise (players and coaches) became of secondary importance. However, the triumph of
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
in the
Eurobasket 1987 tournament sparked a renewed interest in the sport which brought in young players and the beginnings of a much needed investment. Foreign players soon followed and new arenas were constructed to cover the thousands of fans flocking to the top division games.
Until the early 80's most games were held on open courts with a tarmac floor and a wooden backboard. But by the end of the decade KOA (Cyprus Sports Authority) had invested in several modern indoor arenas. Stadiums were erected in every city and venues such as the Eleftheria" in
Nicosia, “Kition” in
Larnaca, AEL arena and Apollon stadium in
Limassol now meet modern international standards where
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
an competition matches are regularly held.
Except of the men's championship there is also a teenager's league (U-20). The teams that take part in the men's league also take part in the U-20 league. There is also women's championship with 6 teams, U-16 boys and girl's championship. Most of the teams also have basketball academies were young children go and learn the game.
Basketball in Cyprus is an expanding sport. More and more people are coming close to the game and the interest form the press and fans is going rapidly.
National team
Leagues
Cyprus Basketball Division A
Ten teams have won the league so far:
*
AEL (13)
*
APOEL (11)
*
Achilleas (5)
*
Keravnos
Keravnos B.C. (Greek: Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Στροβόλου «Ο Κεραυνός»), also known as Keravnos Strovolou, is a professional basketball club based in Strovolos, Nicosia, Cyprus. It plays its home games in the ...
(5)
*
Pezoporikos (4)
*
Digenis (3)
*
PAEEK (3)
*
ENAD
ENAD (Enosis Neon Agiou Dometiou, Union of Youth of Agios Dometios), (Greek: Ε.Ν.Α.Δ. Ένωσις Νέων Αγίου Δομετίου) is a first division basketball team based in the Agios Dometios district of Nicosia, Cyprus. It was foun ...
(2)
*
ETHA (2)
*
AEK (4)
Cups
Cypriot Basketball Cup
Eight teams have won the cup so far:
*
APOEL (11)
*
AEL (9)
*
Keravnos
Keravnos B.C. (Greek: Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Στροβόλου «Ο Κεραυνός»), also known as Keravnos Strovolou, is a professional basketball club based in Strovolos, Nicosia, Cyprus. It plays its home games in the ...
(9)
*
Achilleas (7)
*
Pezoporikos (5)
*
ETHA (2)
*
Apollon (2)
*
ENAD
ENAD (Enosis Neon Agiou Dometiou, Union of Youth of Agios Dometios), (Greek: Ε.Ν.Α.Δ. Ένωσις Νέων Αγίου Δομετίου) is a first division basketball team based in the Agios Dometios district of Nicosia, Cyprus. It was foun ...
(1)
*
AEK
Cypriot Basketball Super Cup
Nine teams have won the super cup so far:
*
APOEL (9)
*
AEL (8)
*
Achilleas (4)
*
Keravnos
Keravnos B.C. (Greek: Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Στροβόλου «Ο Κεραυνός»), also known as Keravnos Strovolou, is a professional basketball club based in Strovolos, Nicosia, Cyprus. It plays its home games in the ...
(3)
*
AEK (1)
*
ETHA (1)
*
Apollon (1)
*
Pezoporikos (1)
*
ENAD
ENAD (Enosis Neon Agiou Dometiou, Union of Youth of Agios Dometios), (Greek: Ε.Ν.Α.Δ. Ένωσις Νέων Αγίου Δομετίου) is a first division basketball team based in the Agios Dometios district of Nicosia, Cyprus. It was foun ...
(1)
References
External links
Official websiteCyprusat FIBA site
• Basketball News Website in Cyprus
rebound.com.cy
{{National Members of the International Basketball Federation
Sports organizations established in 1966
Basketball in Cyprus
Basketball Federation
Basketball governing bodies in Europe
1966 establishments in Cyprus