Super League Greece

The Super League Greece () is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed in July 16 2006, and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each. As of May 2008, Super League Greece is ranked 14th in the UEFA ranking of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the last five-years. Since the foundation of the first Panhellenic Championship in season 1927-28, only six clubs have won the title, with the " big three" of Athens, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos and AEK Athens, dominating and only Aris, PAOK and Larissa managing to break their dominance on a few occasions. The current champions are Olympiacos, who are also the most successful team of the league having won 36 titles.

History

In 2006, the Super League Greece replaced Alpha Ethniki as the highest Greek professional football league. Alpha Ethniki had held the position as the highest level of Greek football since 1959 when it replaced the Panhellenic Championship. In 1959, Alpha Ethniki, which had been an amateur competition from its inception, turned professional. Up to then the Panhellenic Championship, a cup competition open only to the largest football associations of Athens, Piraeus, Thessaloniki and Patras, had served as the top Greek league. The Panhellenic Championship began in 1906 and ran until superseded by Alpha Ethniki in 1959. This move came as Alpha Ethniki had a larger number of clubs and a greater national interest than the Panhellenic Championship. During its fifty-three years, the Panhellenic Championship was run by several organizations in succession. From 1906 to 1913, Contact of Greek Gymnastic and Athletic Associations (SEGAS), the precursor of Hellenic Football Federation (EPO), had responsibility for the Championship. From 1922 to 1923, the Union of Football Associations of Greece (EPSE) ran it before the EPO took over in 1927. Up to then the Championship was considered an informal and unofficial competition. The first official champion was named in 1928.

Structure

At present, sixteen clubs compete in the Super League, playing each other in a home and away series. At the end of the season, the bottom three clubs are relegated to Beta Ethniki. In their place, the top three teams from Beta Ethniki are promoted. The Super League is entitled to two entrants into the UEFA Champions League. The Super League champion directly enters the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. The second through fifth place teams in the Super League enter a play-off for the second Greek entry. The play-off winner enters the UEFA Champions League's second qualifying round, a two-legged tie from which the winner advances to the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. The winner of the Greek Cup automatically qualifies for the UEFA Cup, as well as the runners-up of the Super League play-off. In the play-off for UEFA Champions League, the teams play each other in a home and away round robin. However, they do not all start with 0 points. Instead, a weighting system applies to the teams' standing at the start of the play-off mini-league. The team finishing fifth in the Super League will start the play off with 0 points. The fifth place team’s end of season tally of points is subtracted from the sum of the points that other teams have. This number is then divided by three to give the other teams the points with which they start the mini-league.

Super League Greece 2008-09 members

Champions

1927-28 to 1958-59: Panhellenic Championship
1959-60 to 2005-06: Alpha Ethniki
2006-07 to present: Super League Greece

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Performance by club

Statistics

Statistics in Super League Greece since the 1959-60 season, when the championship was established in its current form.

Top three ranking

Ranking by top three appearances in Super League Greece.

Records

Seasons in Super League Greece

The number of seasons that each team has played in the top division until 2008-09. Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, AEK Athens and PAOK are the only teams to have played Super League Greece football in every season. The teams in bold will take part in the Super League Greece 2008-09.

UEFA ranking

UEFA coefficients for national leagues including season 2008-09, which determines the number of teams from each country competing in the UEFA competitions of season 2010-11. Last update: 19 December 2008

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