Cypriot First Division

Cyprus League by Stoiximan

Organising body	Cyprus Football Association
Founded	1934; 92 years ago (1934)
Country	Cyprus
Confederation	UEFA
Number of clubs	14
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Cypriot Second Division
Domestic cups	Cypriot Cup Cypriot Super Cup
International cup(s)	UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Conference League
Current champions	Pafos (1st title) (2024–25)
Most championships	APOEL (29 titles)
Top scorer	Sotiris Kaiafas (1967–1984) (261 goals)
Broadcaster(s)	Cytavision Cablenet
Sponsor(s)	Stoiximan
Website	www.cfa.com.cy
Current: 2025–26 Cypriot First Division

The Cypriot First Division (Greek: Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Football Association,[1] the league is contested by fourteen teams and runs from August to May, with the three lowest-placed teams being relegated to the Cypriot Second Division, and replaced by the top three teams in that division.

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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.

Anorthosis Famagusta FC was founded in 1911, after which many other clubs were established. In 1932, the annual Cypriot Championship began, at first unofficially. Every season, the championship was organised by a different football club, which caused conflict among 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. In September 1934, the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) was formed and the Cypriot Championship and Cup began to take place annually.[2] 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 championships in a row until 1940. Like other championships throughout the world, the Cypriot Championship was interrupted due to World War II from 1941 until 1945.[citation needed]

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, along with other Turkish Cypriot teams, established the Cyprus Turkish Football Association, 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 recognised, and none of its teams was permitted to play in international competitions.

Cypriot independence in 1960 was followed by full UEFA membership for the Cyprus Football Association in 1962. From 1963, the champions of Cyprus could compete in the European Cup and the Cup winners in the European Cup Winners Cup. The runners-up in the Greek Cypriot First Division began to compete in the UEFA Cup in 1971. From 1967 until 1974, the Greek Cypriot Champions were promoted to the Greek First National Division. Greek Cypriot teams were relegated every season from the Alpha Ethniki, apart from 1973–74, when APOEL managed to remain in the Greek Championship, which meant that Cyprus would have two teams in Greek top tier. However, due to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus that year, APOEL and Omonia (the 1973–74 Cypriot champions) withdrew from the League.[citation needed]

From the beginning of the 2000s, the Cypriot First Division started to improve in quality which leaded to some surprising runs to the Champions League by teams like Anorthosis Famagusta, APOEL Nicosia and most recently Paphos. The Cyprus national team couldn't benefit from this success, as most game time among most teams in the Cypriot First Division go to foreign players.

As of the 2022-23 season, 14 clubs compete in the league, and are ranked based on the point system 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 as goal difference, goals scored, etc. are retained during the transition from first to second round. Similarly to the first round, every club plays the other sides twice, for a total of 10 or 14 games for each club, in Group A and Group B respectively.

At the end of the second round, the club ranked 1st in Group A is declared the winner of the league. The champion qualifies for the UEFA Champions League, while the second and third placed teams enter the UEFA Europa Conference League. If the cup winners finish in third or above, the fourth placed team also enters the UEFA Europa Conference League. Meanwhile, the bottom three teams in Group B are relegated to the Second Division.

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.[citation needed]

The point system of the Cypriot First Division has changed throughout the years:

1. 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.[3]
2. 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.[3]
3. 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.[4]
4. Since the 1991–92 season, teams are awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a defeat.[5]

In the event that two or more teams have the same number of points, they are ranked based on:

1. Points gained in games between the teams, in both rounds.
2. Goal difference in games between the teams, in both rounds.
3. Most away goals scored in games between the teams, in both rounds.
4. Goal difference across all games, in both rounds.
5. Most goals scored across all games, in both rounds.

The 14 teams which participate in the 2025-26 season of the Cypriot First Division are: [6]

The table presents all the winners and runner-ups since the 1934–35 season, when the competition officially began.[7]

Key to list of winners

‡	Winning team won the Domestic Double (League title and Cypriot Cup)
(#)	Number of trophy won by club

Season Winner[8][9] Runner-up 1934–35 Trust ‡ (1) Çetinkaya Türk 1935–36 APOEL (1) Trust 1936–37 APOEL ‡ (2) Trust 1937–38 APOEL (3) Trust 1938–39 APOEL (4) EPA Larnaca [10] 1939–40 APOEL (5) Pezoporikos Larnaca [10] 1940–41 AEL Limassol (1) APOEL 1941–42 Suspended due to World War II 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 EPA Larnaca [10] ‡ (1) APOEL 1945–46 EPA Larnaca [10] ‡ (2) APOEL 1946–47 APOEL ‡ (6) EPA Larnaca [10] 1947–48 APOEL (7) AEL Limassol 1948–49 APOEL (8) Anorthosis Famagusta 1949–50 Anorthosis Famagusta (1) EPA Larnaca [10] 1950–51 Çetinkaya Türk (1) APOEL 1951–52 APOEL (9) EPA Larnaca [10] 1952–53 AEL Limassol (2) Pezoporikos Larnaca [10] 1953–54 Pezoporikos Larnaca [10] (1) APOEL 1954–55 AEL Limassol (3) Pezoporikos Larnaca [10] 1955–56 AEL Limassol (4) APOEL 1956–57 Anorthosis Famagusta (2) Pezoporikos Larnaca [10] 1957–58 Anorthosis Famagusta (3) Pezoporikos Larnaca [10] 1958–59 Not held 1959–60 Anorthosis Famagusta (4) Omonia 1960–61 Omonia (1) Anorthosis Famagusta 1961–62 Anorthosis Famagusta ‡ (5) Omonia 1962–63 Anorthosis Famagusta (6) APOEL 1963–64 Championship abandoned 1964–65 APOEL (10) Olympiakos Nicosia 1965–66 Omonia (2) Olympiakos Nicosia 1966–67 Olympiakos Nicosia (1) APOEL 1967–68 AEL Limassol (5) Omonia 1968–69 Olympiakos Nicosia (2) Omonia 1969–70 EPA Larnaca [10] (3) Pezoporikos Larnaca [10] 1970–71 Olympiakos Nicosia (3) Digenis Morphou 1971–72 Omonia ‡ (3) EPA Larnaca [10] 1972–73 APOEL ‡ (11) Olympiakos Nicosia 1973–74 Omonia ‡ (4) Pezoporikos Larnaca [10] 1974–75 Omonia (5) Enosis Neon Paralimni 1975–76 Omonia (6) APOEL 1976–77 Omonia (7) APOEL 1977–78 Omonia (8) APOEL 1978–79 Omonia (9) APOEL 1979–80 APOEL (12) Omonia 1980–81 Omonia ‡ (10) APOEL 1981–82 Omonia ‡ (11) Pezoporikos Larnaca [10] 1982–83 Omonia ‡ (12) Anorthosis Famagusta 1983–84 Omonia (13) Apollon Limassol

Season Winner[8][9] Runner-up 1984–85 Omonia (14) APOEL 1985–86 APOEL (13) Omonia 1986–87 Omonia (15) APOEL 1987–88 Pezoporikos Larnaca [10] (2) APOEL 1988–89 Omonia (16) Apollon Limassol 1989–90 APOEL (14) Omonia 1990–91 Apollon Limassol (1) Anorthosis Famagusta 1991–92 APOEL (15) Anorthosis Famagusta 1992–93 Omonia (17) Apollon Limassol 1993–94 Apollon Limassol (2) Anorthosis Famagusta 1994–95 Anorthosis Famagusta (7) Omonia 1995–96 APOEL ‡ (16) Anorthosis Famagusta 1996–97 Anorthosis Famagusta (8) Apollon Limassol 1997–98 Anorthosis Famagusta ‡ (9) Omonia 1998–99 Anorthosis Famagusta (10) Omonia 1999–2000 Anorthosis Famagusta (11) Omonia 2000–01 Omonia (18) Olympiakos Nicosia 2001–02 APOEL (17) Anorthosis Famagusta 2002–03 Omonia (19) Anorthosis Famagusta 2003–04 APOEL (18) Omonia 2004–05 Anorthosis Famagusta (12) APOEL 2005–06 Apollon Limassol (3) Omonia 2006–07 APOEL (19) Omonia 2007–08 Anorthosis Famagusta (13) APOEL 2008–09 APOEL (20) Omonia 2009–10 Omonia (20) APOEL 2010–11 APOEL (21) Omonia 2011–12 AEL Limassol (6) APOEL 2012–13 APOEL (22) Anorthosis Famagusta 2013–14 APOEL ‡ (23) AEL Limassol 2014–15 APOEL ‡ (24) AEK Larnaca 2015–16 APOEL (25) AEK Larnaca 2016–17 APOEL (26) AEK Larnaca 2017–18 APOEL (27) Apollon Limassol 2018–19 APOEL (28) AEK Larnaca 2019–20 Championship cancelled 2020–21 Omonia (21) Apollon Limassol 2021–22 Apollon Limassol (4) AEK Larnaca 2022–23 Aris Limassol (1) APOEL 2023–24 APOEL (29) AEK Larnaca 2024–25 Pafos (1) Aris Limassol 2025–26

Notes:

• Following a decision by the Executive Committee of the Cyprus Football Association (CFA/KOP), upon the opinion of its legal advisor, on 19th June 2025, a request by AEK Larnaca was approved for the recognition of the titles of EPA Larnaca and Pezoporikos Larnaca in the name of AEK Larnaca.[11]

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning seasons
APOEL	29	21	1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1951–52, 1964–65, 1972–73, 1979–80, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1995–96, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2023–24
Omonia	21	16	1960–61, 1965–66, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1992–93, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2009–10, 2020–21
Anorthosis	13	10	1949–50, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2004–05, 2007–08
AEL Limassol	6	2	1940–41, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1967–68, 2011–12
AEK Larnaca[a]	5	19	1944–45, 1945–46, 1953–54, 1969–70, 1987–88
Apollon Limassol	4	6	1990–91, 1993–94, 2005–06, 2021–22
Olympiakos Nicosia	3	4	1966–67, 1968–69, 1970–71
Trust	1	3	1934–35
Aris Limassol	1	1	2022–23
Çetinkaya Türk	1	1	1950–51
Pafos	1	—	2024–25
Digenis Morphou	—	1	–
Enosis Neon Paralimni	—	1	–

Notes:

• Following a decision by the Executive Committee of the Cyprus Football Association (CFA/KOP), upon the opinion of its legal advisor, on 19th June 2025, a request by AEK Larnaca was approved for the recognition of the titles of EPA Larnaca and Pezoporikos Larnaca in the name of AEK Larnaca.[11]

The below table indicates the total number of seasons each club has participated in the Cypriot First Division, up to and including the 2025/26 season.[12]

46 teams have played at least one season in the Cypriot First Division.

Teams in bold are participating in the 2025-26 Cypriot First Division.

Team Participations AEL Limassol 85 APOEL FC 85 Anorthosis Famagusta FC 80 Olympiakos Nicosia 72 AC Omonia 70 Apollon Limassol 67 Nea Salamis Famagusta FC 63 Aris Limassol FC 58 Enosis Neon Paralimni FC 52 EPA Larnaca FC 50 Pezoporikos Larnaca FC 49 Alki Larnaca FC 43 Ethnikos Achna FC 37 AEK Larnaca FC 31 Doxa Katokopias FC 20 APOP Paphos FC 19 Çetinkaya Türk S.K. 18

Team Participations Evagoras Paphos 18 Digenis Akritas Morphou FC 15 Omonia Aradippou 15 Ermis Aradippou FC 14 AYMA 11 AEP Paphos FC 10 Pafos FC 10 ASIL Lysi 8 Anagennisi Deryneia FC 7 APEP FC 7 APOP Kinyras FC 5 Karmiotissa FC 5 Ayia Napa FC 4 Keravnos Strovolou FC 4 Orfeas Nicosia 4 Enosis Neon Trust 4 Ethnikos Assia FC 3

Team Participations AEZ Zakakiou 2 Akritas Chlorakas 2 Alki Oroklini 2 Chalkanoras Idaliou 2 Othellos Athienou FC 2 AEK Kouklia 1 Atromitos Yeroskipou 1 Enosis Neon THOI Lakatamia 1 Krasava ENY Ypsonas FC 1 Onisilos Sotira 1 PAC Omonia 29M 1 PAEEK 1

Notes:

• The 1963–64 Cypriot First Division, where the championship was abandoned, is not included in the table.
• Çetinkaya's total includes 12 when competing as Lefkosa Turk Spor Kulubu
• APEP Pitsilia total includes one as APEP Limassol

The All-time Cypriot First Division table is a ranking of all Cypriot football clubs based on their performance in the Cypriot First Division, from its debut in 1934–35 until 2024–25.[13] The points are the sum of the points of all seasons, despite the point system of the season. The 1963–64 Cypriot First Division season is not included because the championship was abandoned.

Rank	Club	Seasons	Points	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	APOEL FC	84	3646	2020	1191	444	385	4373	1994	2379
2	AC Omonia	69	3418	1859	1120	383	356	3879	1784	2095
3	Anorthosis Famagusta FC	79	3271	2009	999	505	505	3545	2311	1234
4	Apollon Limassol	66	2871	1823	837	473	513	3060	2185	875
5	AEL Limassol	84	2778	2026	839	486	701	3233	2796	437
6	Nea Salamis Famagusta FC	63	2054	1681	561	429	691	2290	2556	-266
7	Olympiakos Nicosia	71	1828	1632	530	398	703	2369	2954	-585
8	Enosis Neon Paralimni FC	51	1623	1421	468	403	550	1833	1954	-121
9	Pezoporikos Larnaca FC	49	1432	1062	444	318	300	1719	1326	393
10	Aris Limassol FC	57	1551	1451	405	360	686	1899	2773	-874
11	AEK Larnaca FC	30	1447	870	411	214	281	1445	1095	350
12	Ethnikos Achna FC	36	1263	1063	342	266	455	1415	1645	-230
13	EPA Larnaca FC	50	1222	1052	362	277	413	1570	1641	-71
14	Alki Larnaca FC	43	1202	1128	309	284	535	1400	1986	-586
15	Doxa Katokopias FC	20	625	641	160	145	336	704	1160	-456
16	Pafos FC	9	462	307	129	81	97	426	339	87
17	APOP Paphos FC	19	406	502	105	126	271	501	1007	-506
18	Ermis Aradippou FC	14	404	446	106	90	250	471	893	-422
19	Evagoras Paphos	18	371	480	90	136	254	431	906	-475
20	Digenis Akritas Morphou FC	15	339	396	94	110	192	397	690	-293
21	AEP Paphos FC	10	315	278	81	72	125	376	478	-102
22	Omonia Aradippou	14	267	390	74	97	219	347	744	-397
23	Çetinkaya Türk S.K.	18	189	209	77	35	97	393	503	-110
24	Karmiotissa FC	5	183	189	46	45	98	208	357	-149
25	ASIL Lysi	8	180	198	37	40	121	169	430	-261
26	APOP Kinyras FC	5	161	148	44	29	75	201	275	-74
27	Orfeas Nicosia	4	134	90	24	16	50	110	180	-70
28	Anagennisi Deryneia FC	7	123	186	31	35	120	163	409	-247
29	Armenian Young Men's Association	11	121	176	23	27	126	256	593	-337
30	APEP FC	7	101	192	25	34	133	158	460	-302
31	Keravnos Strovolou FC	4	84	108	28	28	52	111	167	-56
32	Enosis Neon Trust	4	68	44	30	8	6	129	54	75
33	Ayia Napa FC	4	64	110	12	28	70	90	218	-128
34	Ethnikos Assia FC	3	60	78	17	9	52	102	184	-82
35	Othellos Athienou FC	2	58	72	13	19	40	75	119	-44
36	Alki Oroklini	2	52	68	21	11	36	83	131	-48
37	Chalkanoras Idaliou	2	43	60	16	11	33	59	116	-57
38	Akritas Chlorakas	1	34	40	9	7	24	37	73	-36
39	AEZ Zakakiou	2	29	66	3	20	43	60	163	-103
40	AEK Kouklia FC	1	23	36	6	5	25	34	94	-60
41	PAEEK	1	17	32	3	8	21	25	61	-36
42	PAC Omonia 29M	1	14	33	3	5	25	23	65	-42
43	Onisilos Sotira	1	13	26	3	4	19	22	63	-41
44	Atromitos Yeroskipou	1	7	26	1	4	21	19	69	-50
45	Enosis Neon THOI Lakatamia	1	7	26	1	4	21	15	75	-60

Longest unbeaten run in the First Division

	Team	Played	Period
			First Matchday	Last Matchday
1	Omonia	46	1983–84 (16th Matchday)	1985–86 (8th Matchday)
2	APOEL	40	1945–46 (6th Matchday)	1949–50 (1st Matchday)
3	Omonia	40	1976–77 (16th Matchday)	1977–78 (25th Matchday)
4	Anorthosis	38	1998–99 (9th Matchday)	1999–00 (20th Matchday)
5	Anorthosis	38	2006–07 (26th Matchday)	2008–09 (5th Matchday)
Source:[14]

Most wins in a row in the First Division

	Team	Played	Period
			First Matchday	Last Matchday
1	APOEL	20	1947–48 (4th Matchday)	1949–50 (1st Matchday)
2	APOEL	19	1945–46 (6th Matchday)	1947–48 (2nd Matchday)
3	Omonia	16	1986–87 (5th Matchday)	1986–87 (20th Matchday)
4	APOEL	16	2008–09 (14th Matchday)	2008–09 (29th Matchday)
5	Omonia	15	1981–82 (6th Matchday)	1981–82 (20th Matchday)
Source:[14]

• Cypriot First Division top goalscorers
• List of foreign football players in Cypriot First Division

• Γαβριηλίδης, Μιχάλης; Παπαμωυσέως, Στέλιος (2001). Ένας αιώνας Κυπριακό ποδόσφαιρο. Λευκωσία: Ο Συγγραφέας. ISBN 9963-8720-1-8.

• Official website
• Top Scorers per season
• Cypriot First Division summary – Soccerway