Football in Greece


Association football is the most popular sport in Greece, followed by basketball. Over half of the people in Greece are interested in football.

History of Greek football

The Ancient Greeks are known to have played many ball games, some of which involved the use of the feet. The Roman game harpastum is believed to have been adapted from a Greek team game known as "ἐπίσκυρος" or "φαινίνδα", which is mentioned by a Greek playwright, Antiphanes and later referred to by the Christian theologian Clement of Alexandria. These games appear to have resembled rugby football.
In the modern era, however, association football was introduced to the Greeks by expatriate British communities and military personnel. The first Greek football teams were created as part of long-established athletic and gymnastic clubs in the major port cities of Athens and Thessaloniki, as well as among the large Greek communities of the Ottoman Empire, such as Constantinople and Smyrna, in the early 1900s. After the Asia Minor Disaster of 1922 which resulted in a large resettlement of Greeks from Turkey to Greece, several clubs, such as Panionios and Apollon Smyrnis, were transplanted, while many athletes of other clubs, like Pera, formed new organizations in their new home.

League system

The first league of professional football in Greece was officially 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. According to FIFPRO, an organization that represents professional players, nearly 70 percent of players complained in a 2011 survey of problems with not being paid.
Superleague Greece is the top-flight professional football division within Greece. The league contains 14 clubs, with the winners of the league becoming the Champions of Greece. The team with the most national championships is Olympiacos, who have won 48 times - 14 Super League titles, 19 Alpha Ethniki titles and 15 Panhellenic Championships. Two other P.O.K. clubs also dominate the history of Greek football; Panathinaikos with 20 titles and AEK [Athens F.C.|AEK Athens] with 13 titles.

Cup competitions

There is currently one major cup competition in Greek football, the Greek Cup. It includes clubs from the 2 professional leagues in Greece, Super League 1 and Super League 2. Until 2008, another major cup competition was the Greek Super Cup, an annual game held between the winner of the Greek Super League and Greek Cup that will be reinstated from 2025-2026 season and there will be again two major cup competitions in Greek football from then on.

International

UEFA competitions

Club sides may qualify to play in European tournaments under the jurisdiction of UEFA. The champions of Super League qualify for the group stage of the following season's UEFA Champions League. The teams finishing in second to fifth position qualify for a round-robin playoff, the winner of which will enter the Champions League at the Third Qualifying Round. The other three teams will qualify for the following season's UEFA Europa League, at the Play-off, Third Qualifying or Second Qualifying Round stage, dependent on their performance in the national level playoff. The winner of the Greek Cup also qualifies for the Europa League. If this club has already qualified for a UEFA competition then the place is given to the runners-up.
Olympiacos became the first and only Greek team to lift a UEFA trophy, winning the UEFA Conference League in the 2023–24 season, defeating Fiorentina in the 2024 [UEFA Europa Conference League final|final]. Additionally, the Olympiacos youth team had won the UEFA Youth League in the same season, beating AC Milan in the final.

National team

The Greek national team's first match came on April 7, 1929, in a 1–4 loss to Italy. Greece have qualified for the FIFA World Cup three times, in 1994, in 2010 and in 2014. Greece have qualified for the European Championship four times, their first in 1980, their second in 2004, their third in 2008 and their fourth in 2012. 2004 was their most successful run as they UEFA [Euro 2004 final|became champions by defeating hosts Portugal in the finals].

Women's football

A national league for women has existed since 1989. Now known as the Women's Alpha Ethniki, it was started in 1989 as the Women's Panhellenic Championship. In recent years PAOK have dominated the league.

Attendances

The average attendance per top-flight football league season and the club with the highest average attendance:
SeasonLeague averageBest clubBest club average
2024–256,412Olympiacos26,969
2023–245,365AEK21,343
2022–237,186AEK27,603
2021–22———
2020–21———
2019–206,408Olympiacos20,501
2018–195,416Olympiacos21,073
2017–183,906Olympiacos14,016
2016–173,932Olympiacos18,044
2015–164,039Olympiacos18,154
2014–153,141Olympiacos17,221
2013–143,966Olympiacos16,856
2012–134,900Olympiacos20,918
2011–125,064Olympiacos21,529
2010–116,308Olympiacos22,099
2009–107,510Panathinaikos27,531
2008–097,534Olympiacos25,368
2007–086,526Olympiacos24,196
2006–076,183Olympiacos22,412
2005–065,679Olympiacos21,270
2004–056,010AEK27,647
2003–042,892Panathinaikos8,857
2002–033,232Panathinaikos8,093
2001–025,642Olympiacos20,279
2000–013,626Olympiacos11,989
1999–20003,980Olympiacos14,335
1998–994,119Olympiacos11,092
1997–984,509Olympiacos16,237
1996–974,467Olympiacos16,935
1995–964,326Panathinaikos11,662
1994–954,128Panathinaikos11,709
1993–943,763AEK11,384
1992–934,921Panathinaikos16,215
1991–925,874Olympiacos18,388
1990–916,373Olympiacos18,363
1989–906,563Panathinaikos19,554
1988–899,462Olympiacos35,460
1987–8811,256Olympiacos38,604
1986–879,102Olympiacos32,056
1985–8614,103Panathinaikos45,000
1984–8511,958Panathinaikos37,024
1983–8410,235Panathinaikos22,417
1982–837,681Olympiacos23,508
1981–828,255Olympiacos22,046
1980–818,676Olympiacos24,759
1979–809,422Olympiacos24,791
1978–798,302Olympiacos24,552
1977–786,593AEK15,572
1976–7710,338Olympiacos26,209
1975–769,732Olympiacos22,089
1974–759,135Olympiacos24,959
1973–749,586Olympiacos29,526
1972–7310,869Olympiacos36,817
1971–7210,558Olympiacos32,471
1970–7110,098Olympiacos27,640
1969–709,172Olympiacos24,228
1968–698,441Olympiacos23,329
1967–687,756Olympiacos21,703
1966–678,367Olympiacos27,591
1965–667,542Olympiacos27,770
1964–658,630Olympiacos26,472
1963–647,084Olympiacos21,806
1962–637,575Panathinaikos19,160
1961–626,238Panathinaikos17,393
1960–615,698Panathinaikos15,998
1959–605,437Panathinaikos13,394

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