History
Football was introduced to Cyprus early in the 20th century by the British. Initially played in the island's schools, it proved hugely popular and a number of clubs were duly formed. Since 1911, when Anorthosis Famagusta FC was founded, many clubs were established and in 1932 the Cypriot Championship began annually at first unofficially. Every season, the championship was organized by a different football club which caused some conflicts between some of the teams. As football became more established, the clubs were united in agreeing that an official body was needed to regulate the sport. And in September 1934, the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) was formed and the Cypriot Championship and Cup began to take place annually. The first Champions of Cyprus were Trust in 1935 but the club folded three years later. The 1930s were dominated by APOEL, who won five championship in a row until 1940. Like other Championships in the World, the Cypriot Championship was interrupted, due to World War II from 1941 until 1945. The Cypriot Championship unification, lasted for only two seasons. In 1955, Çetinkaya Türk S.K., who had been the only Turkish Cypriot team playing in the Cypriot First Division since 1934–35, withdrew from the Championship and with other Turkish Cypriot teams, established the Cyprus Turkish Football Federation, with its own competitions. The reason behind this was political, as the Turkish Cypriots were opposed to the anticolonial struggle of EOKA and union with Greece ( Enosis). However, this Federation was never recognized and no team of that federation could play in international competitions. The independence of Cyprus in 1960, was followed by full membership for the Cyprus Football Association to UEFA in 1962. From 1963, the champions of the Cyprus, could compete in the European Champions Cup and the Cup winners in the European Cup Winners Cup. SinceFormat
Current format
As of the 2022-23 season, 14 clubs compete in the league, and are ranked based on the Point System, as described below. Each club plays the other sides twice, home and away, for a total of 26 games for each club. This is referred to as the first round of the league. In the second round, the teams are divided into two groups; The teams ranked 1st to 6th play-off for the title and European spots in Group A, while the bottom eight teams battle to avoid relegation in Group B. Group A is often referred to as the Championship Play-offs, while Group B is referred to as the Relegation Play-offs. Each team's points and criteria such asPrevious formats
From 2007–08 until 2012–13 season, in the second round the first 12 (out of 14) teams were separated into three groups of four teams according to their position at the end of the first round. For the 2013–14 season, in the second round the first 12 (out of 14) teams were separated into two groups of six teams according to their position at the end of the first round. The last two teams of the first round were relegated directly to the B1 Division and the bottom two teams of the relegation group also. The points from the first round were carried to the second round and the teams played each other twice.Point System
The point system of the Cypriot First Division has changed throughout the years: # From 1934–35 until 1959–60, teams were awarded two points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a defeat. # From 1960–61 until 1969–70, teams were awarded three points for a win, two points for a draw and one point for a defeat. # From 1970–71 until 1990–91, teams were awarded two points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a defeat. # Since the 1991–92 season, teams are awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a defeat. In the event that two or more teams have the same amount of points, they are ranked based on: # Points gained in games between the teams, in both rounds. # Goal difference in games between the teams, in both rounds. # Most away goals scored in games between the teams, in both rounds. # Goal difference across all games, in both rounds. # Most goals scored across all games, in both rounds.2022–23 Clubs
Champions
Performances
Performance by club
Appearances in the top division
The below table indicates the total number of seasons each club has participated in the Cypriot First Division, up to and including the 2022/23 season. 44 teams have played at least one season in First Division. Teams in bold are participating in theAll-time Cypriot First Division table (1934–35 until 2017–18)
The All-time Cypriot First Division table is a ranking of all Cypriot football clubs based on their performance in the Cypriot First Division. The points are the sum of the points of all seasons, despite the point system of the season. TheSee also
* Cypriot First Division top goalscorers *References
Bibliography
*External links