The Cyprus football league system is
a series of interconnected
leagues for club football in Cyprus. The system has a hierarchical
format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels. The
top four leagues are organised by the Cyprus Football Association and the rest by the S.T.O.K.
(Greek: Σ.Τ.Ο.Κ. short for
Συνομοσπονδία Τοπικών Ομοσπονδιών Κύπρου, "Confederation of local
federations of Cyprus").
At the top is the Cypriot
First Division (which may be referred to as level 1 of the
league "pyramid"), a single-division league of 14 clubs. Below is
Cyprus lower leagues, which are divided into three divisions of 14 clubs each
(levels 2 to 4). Some of these 56 clubs are full-time professional while the
rest are all full-time semi-professional. Confusingly all 56 are often referred
to as "league" clubs because as there are only 4 leagues in Cyprus,
but no non-leagues. Clubs outside this group are referred to as
"non-league" clubs, although they all play most of their football in
cup competitions.
Only the Amateur leagues are referred as
non-league, which is on the same level (level 5) as the top divisions of a
large group of Amateur leagues such as the Nicosia First Division, and the
Nicosia Second Division.
Each of these leagues has a different
divisional set up, but they all have one thing in common: there are yet more
leagues below them, each covering smaller and smaller geographical levels.
These leagues are collectively known as the National
League System and they are controlled by S.T.O.K.
Each league sets its own rules, but all
follow the general standard of each club playing everyone else Once with three
points being awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. The league
table is always ordered with whoever has the most points at the top and the
least at the bottom (ways of distinguishing between clubs level on points
differ from league to league).
At the end of each season the top three clubs
from each league are promoted and the last three clubs are relegated. Promotion
to the fourth division is decided by the STOK (Greek: Σ.Τ.Ο.Κ.) play-offs.
Various degrees of promotion and relegation exist
between all the leagues and divisions, meaning that any team can theoretically
climb (or fall) to any level. However, minimum standards for grounds
(floodlighting, seating capacity, etc.) sometimes lead to clubs being denied
promotion even though their league position would allow it.
The table below shows the current structure
of the system. For each division, its official name, sponsorship name (which
often differs radically from its official name) and number of clubs is given.
Each division promotes to the division(s) that lie directly above it and
relegates to the division(s) that lie directly below it.
|
Level
|
League/Division(s)
|
|
1
|
(First Division)
14 clubs |
|
2
|
14 clubs
|
|
3
|
14 clubs
|
|
4
|
14 clubs
|
|
5
|
Local amateur football competitions
(S.T.O.K.)
261 clubs (approx.)
Promotion to Fourth Division through play-offs |
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น