1.
Kit (association football)
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In association football, kit is the standard equipment and attire worn by players. The sports Laws of the Game specify the minimum kit which a player must use, footballers generally wear identifying numbers on the backs of their shirts. Professional clubs also usually display players surnames or nicknames on their shirts, Football kit has evolved significantly since the early days of the sport when players typically wore thick cotton shirts, knickerbockers and heavy rigid leather boots. The Laws of the Game set out the equipment which must be worn by all players in Law 4. Five separate items are specified, shirt, shorts, socks, footwear, goalkeepers are allowed to wear tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts. While most players wear studded football boots, the Laws do not specify that these are required, shirts must have sleeves, and goalkeepers must wear shirts which are easily distinguishable from all other players and the match officials. Thermal undershorts may be worn, but must be the colour as the shorts themselves. Shin pads must be covered entirely by the stockings, be made of rubber, plastic or a similar material, and provide a reasonable degree of protection. The only other restriction on equipment defined in the Laws of the Game is the requirement that a player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player. In the event of a match between teams who would wear identical or similar colours the away team must change to a different colour. The England national team plays in red shirts even when it is not required. Many professional clubs also have a kit, ostensibly to be used if both their first-choice and away colours are deemed too similar to those of an opponent. Most professional clubs have retained the basic colour scheme for several decades. Teams representing countries in international competition generally wear national colours in common with other sporting teams of the same nation, shirts are normally made of a polyester mesh, which does not trap the sweat and body heat in the same way as a shirt made of a natural fibre. Depending on local rules, there may be restrictions on how large these logos may be or on what logos may be displayed, competitions such as the Premier League may also require players to wear patches on their sleeves depicting the logo of the competition. The captain of team is usually required to wear an elasticated armband around the left sleeve to identify him as the captain to the referee. Most current players wear specialist football boots, which can be either of leather or a synthetic material. Modern boots are cut slightly below the ankles, as opposed to the high-ankled boots used in former times, studs may be either moulded directly to the sole or be detachable, normally by means of a screw thread
2.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
3.
The Hague
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The Hague is a city on the western coast of the Netherlands, and the capital city of the province of South Holland. With a population of 520,704 inhabitants and more than one million including the suburbs, it is the third-largest city of the Netherlands. The Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Area, with a population of approximately 2.7 million, is the 12th-largest in the European Union and the most populous in the country. Located in the west of the Netherlands, The Hague is in the centre of the Haaglanden conurbation and lies at the southwest corner of the larger Randstad conurbation. The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government, parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State, but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands, which constitutionally is Amsterdam. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands plans to live at Huis ten Bosch and works at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, the Hague is also home to the world headquarters of Royal Dutch Shell and numerous other major Dutch companies. The Hague originated around 1230, when Count Floris IV of Holland purchased land alongside a pond, in 1248, his son and successor William II, King of the Romans, decided to extend the residence to a palace, which would later be called the Binnenhof. He died in 1256 before this palace was completed but parts of it were finished by his son Floris V, of which the Ridderzaal and it is still used for political events, such as the annual speech from the throne by the Dutch monarch. From the 13th century onwards, the counts of Holland used The Hague as their administrative centre, the village that originated around the Binnenhof was first mentioned as Haga in a charter dating from 1242. In the 15th century, the smarter des Graven hage came into use, literally The Counts Wood, with connotations like The Counts Hedge, s-Gravenhage was officially used for the city from the 17th century onwards. Today, this name is used in some official documents like birth. The city itself uses Den Haag in all its communication and their seat was located in The Hague. At the beginning of the Eighty Years War, the absence of city walls proved disastrous, in 1575, the States of Holland even considered demolishing the city but this proposal was abandoned, after mediation by William of Orange. From 1588, The Hague also became the seat of the government of the Dutch Republic, in order for the administration to maintain control over city matters, The Hague never received official city status, although it did have many of the privileges normally granted only to cities. In modern administrative law, city rights have no place anymore, only in 1806, when the Kingdom of Holland was a puppet state of the First French Empire, was the settlement granted city rights by Louis Bonaparte. After the Napoleonic Wars, modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands were combined in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands to form a buffer against France, as a compromise, Brussels and Amsterdam alternated as capital every two years, with the government remaining in The Hague. After the separation of Belgium in 1830, Amsterdam remained the capital of the Netherlands, when the government started to play a more prominent role in Dutch society after 1850, The Hague quickly expanded. The growing city annexed the rural municipality of Loosduinen partly in 1903, the city sustained heavy damage during World War II
4.
AFC Ajax
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Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax, also AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam. Historically, Ajax is the most successful club in the Netherlands, Ajax is historically one of the most successful clubs in the world, according to the IFFHS, Ajax were the seventh-most successful European club of the 20th century. The club is one of the five teams that has earned the right to keep the European Cup and to wear a multiple-winner badge, in 1972, they completed the continental treble by winning the Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, and the European Cup. It also won the first organized UEFA Super Cup in 1972 against Glasgow Rangers, Ajax is also one of three teams to win the continental treble and the Intercontinental Cup in the same season/calendar year, This was achieved in the 1971–72 season. Ajax, Juventus, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea are the four clubs to have won all three major UEFA club competitions. They have also won the Intercontinental Cup twice, the 1991–92 UEFA Cup, as well as the Karl Rappan Cup, Ajax plays at the Amsterdam Arena, which opened in 1996. They previously played at De Meer Stadion and the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium, Ajax was founded in Amsterdam on 18 March 1900. The club achieved promotion to the highest level of Dutch football in 1911 and had its first major success in 1917, winning the KNVB Beker, the following season, Ajax became national champion for the first time. The club defended its title in 1918–19, becoming the team to achieve an unbeaten season in the Netherlands Football League Championship. Throughout the 1920s, Ajax was a regional power, winning the Eerste Klasse West division in 1921,1927 and 1928. This changed in the 1930s, with the winning five national championships. In 1956, the first season of the Netherlands new professional league, the team were again Eredivisie champions in 1960 and won a third KNVB Cup in 1961. A year earlier, Johan Cruyff, who would go on to become the greatest Dutch footballer of all time, between them, Michels and Cruyff led Ajax through the most successful period in its history, winning seven Eredivisie titles, four KNVB Cups and three European Cups. Ajax won the Dutch championship in 1966,1967, and 1968, during the 1966–67 season, Ajax scored a record 122 goals in an Eredivisie season and also won the KNVB Cup to achieve its first league and cup double. In 1969–70, Ajax won a fourth Dutch league championship and second league and cup double in five seasons, winning 27 out of 34 league games, after this success, Michels departed to become manager of Barcelona and was replaced by the Romanian Ștefan Kovács. In Kovács first season, Ajax completed a treble of the European Cup, the Eredivisie, in 1973, Michels Barcelona broke the world transfer record to bring Cruyff to Catalonia. Kovács also departed to become manager of the France national team, in 1976–77, Ajax won its first domestic championship in four seasons and recorded a double of the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup two years later. The early 1980s saw the return of Johan Cruyff to the club, as well as the emergence of young players Marco van Basten, the team won back-to-back Eredivisie titles in 1982 and 1983, with all three playing a significant role in the latter
5.
Feyenoord
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Feyenoord Rotterdam is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam, playing in the Eredivisie. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the changed its name to SC Feijenoord in 1912, SC Feyenoord in 1974, and Feyenoord Rotterdam in 1978. Since 1937, Feyenoords home ground has been Stadion Feijenoord, named De Kuip, Feyenoord is known as a peoples club, with a huge national support. Feyenoord has a rivalry with AFC Ajax, as a clash between the two biggest cities in the Netherlands, which is called De Klassieker. The clubs anthem is Hand in Hand, in 2019, Feyenoord will become a multi-sports club. HC Feijenoord, Sportclub Feyenoord and Rotterdam Basketbal will be a part of the club, the football club Wilhelmina was founded in the pub De Vereeniging on 19 July 1908 and played in blue-sleeved red shirts and white shorts. Between 1908,1910,1911 and 1912, the club underwent a series of changes of name and team colours, becoming Hillesluise Football Club in 1909 and then RVV Celeritas. In 1917, Feijenoord were promoted to the highest level of Dutch football, 1e klasse and moved to the ground Kromme Zandweg. The team enjoyed a string of successes in the half of the decade, taking divisional titles in 1926,1927,1928 and 1929. Feijenoord won their first Dutch Cup in 1930 by scoring the goal in a derby final against Excelsior. They continued to dominate their division with three titles, but were winless in subsequent championship finals. Five years after their first cup win, Feijenoord took the prize for a time in 1935. Feijenoord started to more fans to their stadium at Kromme Zandweg. The club moved to the Feijenoord Stadion in 1937, playing the first match there on 27 March against Beerschot, during this period Feijenoord won three consecutive division titles from 1936 to 1938, with their third and fourth national championships coming in 1936 and 1938. During World War II, Feijenoord played their matches at Sparta Rotterdams Kasteel, when Het Kasteel was unavailable due to clashes with Sparta fixtues, Feijenoord played at their former ground, the Kromme Zandweg. Feijenoords again won a title with a national championship in 1940. During the German occupation of the Netherlands, play continued in Dutch football leagues, during this period, Feijenoords only trophy was a divisional championship in 1943. After the war, Feijenoord did not perform as well as they had in decades, not seriously challenging in their division
6.
PSV Eindhoven
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The Philips Sport Vereniging, abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven is a sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its football department, which plays in the Eredivisie. Along with Ajax and Feyenoord, PSV is one of the big three clubs that have dominated the Eredivisie. The club was founded in 1913 as a team for Philips employees, PSVs history contains two golden eras revolving around the UEFA Cup victory in 1978 and the 1987–88 European Cup victory as part of the seasonal treble in 1988. The team has won the Eredivisie 23 times, the KNVB Cup nine times, currently, PSV is 28th on the UEFA club coefficients ranking. Since its foundation, it has played in the Philips Stadion and has upheld its club colours and its elaborate connection with Philips can be witnessed in its sponsoring, shared technology and board member ties. Fans have named themselves boeren, taking pride in Eindhovens status of being a provincial city, to serve the need for activities with Philips employees, the company founded its own football team in 1910, the Philips Elftal. Its ground was the Philips Sportpark, located on the location as the present day stadium. Financial turmoil and worker strikes led to a demise of the team and in 1913, its successor emerged, Philips Sport Vereniging. It was the day that Philips organized celebrations and sports competitions in light of the defeat of the French in the Napoleonic Wars. It was not until 1916, however, that the department switched its name from Philips Elftal to PSV. Because of World War I, the first possibility to enter a league was in the 1915–16 season, the clubs first ever match was a 3–2 defeat against Willem II Reserves on 19 September 1915. The team did achieve promotion that season to a newly created Third Division of the Brabantian FA, under the guidance of coach Wout Buitenweg, PSV were promoted in 1918 and 1921 as well, eventually reaching the Eerste Klasse. The team was relegated in 1925, but its stint in the Second Division only lasted one year when PSV were promoted again, since 1926, PSV has always played in the highest possible domestic league. That year, defender Sjef van Run was brought in and a year later Jan van den Broek joined PSV, behind the scenes, Frans Otten became chairman of the entire PSV sports union. He was responsible for bringing the club to a new level with new accommodations, after winning the district league in 1929, PSV entered the championship play-offs. In that competition, it won six out of eight matches, a 5–1 win against Velocitas from the city of Groningen meant that PSV was crowned league champions for the first time. In the following three years, PSV won the league every year, but it could not win the play-offs until 1935
7.
FC Twente
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Football Club Twente is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the Eredivisie. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions, Sportclub Enschede, Twentes home ground since 1998 is De Grolsch Veste. The club was formed in 1965 as a merger of two clubs, Sportclub Enschede and the Enschedese Boys. One of such predecessors, SC Enschede, had won a single Dutch championship in 1926. The first successes of the club started just after the merger of 1965, Twente finished third in 1969, fourth in 1970, fifth in 1971, third in 1972 and again in 1973. The teams key figures were local heroes, such as Epi Drost, Eddy Achterberg, Kick van der Vall and their finest Eredivisie season was 1973–74, in which Twente battled for the Dutch championship with Feyenoord. A head-to-head confrontation in the very last game of the season, in Rotterdam, nonetheless, this earned the side a position in the UEFA Cup. The Tukkers nearly made the very most out of that UEFA Cup ticket—after beating Juventus in the semi-finals, in 1977, Twente won its first trophy, the KNVB Cup, after beating PEC Zwolle 3–0. After enjoying some success in the 1970s, prospects went downhill for Twente, with the club suffering relegation to the Eerste Divisie. However, Twente returned to the top flight a year later and this new reputation as boring Twente overshadowed the fact that the club kept qualifying for European football on a fairly regular basis, with five times since 1985. Re-establishment then followed in the 1990s, German coach Hans Meyer led Twente to third-place in the Eredivisie of 1997, on 24 May 2001, Twente clinched their second triumph in the KNVB Cup after beating PSV in the final after being 3–1 down in the penalty shoot-out. The season after, Twente crashed out of the Cup at hand of Ajaxs second team, additionally, results in the league were poor, with hardcore Twente fans Ultras Vak-P eventually going on a rampage at the clubs brand-new stadium out of frustration. The clubs mother corporation was declared bankrupt in the 2002–03 season, the club, now chaired by ambitious businessman Joop Munsterman, survived such problems and made it to another KNVB Cup final in 2004, and then finished in fourth place in the league table in 2006–07. In the 2007–08 season, Twente placed fourth and won the play-offs for a ticket to the Champions League qualifiers by defeating Ajax in the play-off finals, in the 2008–09 season, Twente hired former England manager Steve McClaren as its new head coach. Under his tenure, unseeded Twente entered the draw for the qualifying round of the Champions League. The two legs were played at home on 13 August and away on 27 August 2008, Twente lost 6–0 on aggregate, resulting in their elimination from the Champions League and subsequent entry of the 2008–09 UEFA Cup first round. The club was admitted to the Europa League, where it enjoyed a relatively successful path that ended in a 4–2 aggregate defeat at the hands of Werder Bremen in the round of 32. At the domestic level, Twente won its first Eredivisie title at the end of a campaign in which they lost just twice, the victory qualified Twente for the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League group stage, the clubs first appearance in the competition
8.
West Ham United F.C.
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West Ham United Football Club is a professional football club based in Stratford, East London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, in 2016 the club re-located to the London Stadium. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United and they moved to the Boleyn Ground in 1904, which remained their home ground for more than a century. The team initially competed in the Southern League and Western League before joining the Football League in 1919 and they were promoted to the top flight in 1923, when they also losing finalists in the first FA Cup Final held at Wembley. In 1940, the won the inaugural Football League War Cup. West Ham have been winners of the FA Cup three times, in 1964,1975, and 1980, and have also been runners-up twice, in 1923, and 2006. The club have reached two major European finals, winning the European Cup Winners Cup in 1965 and finishing runners up in the competition in 1976. West Ham also won the Intertoto Cup in 1999 and they are one of eight clubs never to have fallen below the second tier of English football, spending 59 of 91 league seasons in the top flight, up to and including the 2016–17 season. The clubs highest league position to date came in 1985–86 when they achieved third place in the then First Division, three West Ham players were members of the 1966 World Cup final-winning England team, captain Bobby Moore and goalscorers Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. The club, Thames Ironworks were the first ever winners of the West Ham Charity Cup in 1895 contested by clubs in the West Ham locality and they turned professional in 1898 upon entering the Southern League Second Division, and were promoted to the First Division at the first attempt. The following year they came second from bottom, but had established themselves as a fully fledged competitive team and they comfortably fended off the challenge of local rivals Fulham in a relegation play-off, 5–1 in late April 1900 and retained their First Division status. In 1899, they acquired their now-traditional home kit combination of claret shirts and sky blue sleeves in a wager involving Aston Villa players, because of the original works team roots and links, they are still known as the Irons or the Hammers amongst fans and the media. West Ham Utd joined the Western League for the 1901 season while continuing to play in the Southern Division 1. In 1907, West Ham were crowned the Western League Division 1B Champions, the reborn club continued to play their games at the Memorial Grounds in Plaistow but moved to a pitch in the Upton Park area in the guise of the Boleyn Ground stadium in 1904. The Cup Final match itself ended 2–0 to Bolton, the team enjoyed mixed success in Division 1 but retained their status for ten years and reached the FA Cup semi-final in 1933. In 1932, the club was relegated to Division Two and long term custodian Syd King was sacked after serving the club in the role of manager for 32 years, following relegation, King had mental health problems. He appeared drunk at a meeting and soon after committed suicide. The club spent most of the next 30 years in division, first under Paynter
9.
Marco van Basten
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Marcel Marco van Basten is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played for Ajax and Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team, in the 1980s and early 90s as a forward. He was later the coach of Ajax and the Netherlands national team. Playing for the Netherlands, Van Basten won, and was named player of the tournament, at UEFA Euro 1988, at the club level, he won three Eredivisie titles and the Cup Winners Cup with Ajax, and three Serie A titles and two European Cups with Milan. He was also voted eighth in a poll organised by the French magazine France Football, in 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA100 list of the worlds greatest living players. In 2004, a poll for the 100 greatest Dutch people was held in the Netherlands, Van Basten ranked number 25, in 2007, Sky Sports ranked Van Basten first on its list of great athletes who had their careers cut short. Marco van Basten was born on 31 October 1964 in Utrecht and he began playing for a local team, EDO, when he was six years old. A year later, he moved to UVV Utrecht, after nine years there, he briefly played for another club from Utrecht, Elinkwijk. Ajax signed Van Basten for the 1981–82 season and he played his first game for Ajax in April 1982, scoring a debut goal in the 5–0 victory over NEC. In the 1982–83 season, he competed with the European top scorer Wim Kieft for the position of centre forward, after Kieft left for Serie A club Pisa the next season, Van Basten solidified his position as the teams main attacker. He became a top scorer in the league for four seasons from 1983–84 to 1986–87, in the 1985–86 season, he scored 37 goals in 26 league matches, including six goals against Sparta Rotterdam and five against Heracles Almelo, and won the European Golden Boot. He also scored the goal in the UEFA Cup Winners Cup final against Lokomotive Leipzig in 1987. He had scored 128 goals in 133 league games for Ajax, on November 1986 he scored his most famous goal in an Ajax jersey, a spectacular overhead kick against FC Den Bosch. In 1987, Silvio Berlusconi signed Van Basten for Milan, with fellow countrymen Ruud Gullit, in his first season, Milan won their first Scudetto in eight years, but Van Basten played only 11 games and was constantly troubled by an ankle injury. In 1988–89, Van Basten won the Ballon dOr as Europes top footballer and he scored 19 goals in Serie A and scored two goals in the final of the European Cup as Milan triumphed against Steaua Bucureşti. In 1989–90, he became Capocannoniere, Serie As leading goal scorer, Milan struggled in the 1990–91 season, as Sampdoria won the Scudetto. After Van Basten fell out with Arrigo Sacchi, Berlusconi sacked the manager, fabio Capello took over the following season, and Milan went undefeated in the league to win another Scudetto. Van Basten scored 25 league goals, and became Capocannoniere again, in November 1992, he became the first player to score four goals in a Champions League match, against IFK Göteborg, including a picture perfect bicycle kick. In December 1992, Van Basten was named FIFA World Player of the Year, Milan stretched their unbeaten run into the 1992–93 season, going 58 matches over two seasons before they lost a game
10.
FC Groningen
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Football Club Groningen is a Dutch professional football club based in Groningen. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest football league of the Netherlands, the club was founded in 1971 when predecessor GVAV changed its name to FC Groningen. Their home stadium was the Oosterpark Stadion from 1971 to 2005, the best result in the Eredivisie was third place in 1991 and 2006. The club won the KNVB Cup in 2014–15, the worst result in the Eredivisie was relegation to the Eerste Divisie in 1974 and 1998. The origins of football in Groningen date back to 1887, when students of the citys gymnasium established the cricket, in 1895, Be Quick became a founder member of the first football league in the northern Netherlands. The league was named Tweede Klasse Noord, there was no First Northern Division, but the Dutch Football Association regarded the level of play in the northern league to be too low to be rewarded with First Division status. This meant that the champion could not participate in the nationwide championship play-offs with the other Dutch regional champions. In 1897, the city of Groningen got its second club with the foundation of Velocitas 1897. Be Quick and Velocitas remained the most successful clubs in the city of Groningen until the mid-twentieth century. Football in Groningen received a boost during World War I, in which the Netherlands remained neutral, because of the neutral status of the Netherlands, the troops were disarmed and interned in an encampment in the city of Groningen for the duration of the war. The British military men baptized their encampment Timbertown, which developed into a little city of its own. Local interest for matches was high and aroused much enthusiasm for the game of football in Groningen. Several English military men went on to coach and play for Be Quick, most notably Arnold Birch and Harry Waites, in 1916, the northern league finally was rewarded with First Division status, and in 1920 Be Quick went on to win the national title. In 1915, a couple of locals inspired by the English players established football club Unitas, when in 1917 Unitas joined the Groningen Football Association, the club was demanded to drop its name because there already existed several other clubs in the country named Unitas. The newly adopted name was GVAV, in 1921, GVAV merged with athletic club Rapiditas. The new official name became GVAV-Rapiditas, but the football team usually was just referred to as GVAV. In 1926, GVAV promoted to the First Northern Division for the first time in its existence, GVAV succeeded in winning the northern championship only once, in 1940. In 1935, GVAV moved from the Stadspark in the side of the city to the Oosterpark stadium in the newly built Oosterparkwijk
11.
AC Omonia
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Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia, commonly referred to as Omonia, is a Cypriot football club based in Nicosia. The home ground of the club is the GSP Stadium in Nicosia, the club was established on 4 June 1948. It has become a member of the Cyprus Football Association in 1953, Omonoia has won 20 League Championships,14 Cypriot Cups and 16 Super Cups. Omonoia remains the team to have won the Cypriot Cup 4 times in a row. In the UEFA rankings of the Cypriot clubs Omonoia is currently ranked in third place, as an athletic club, Omonoia also operates basketball, volleyball, cycling and futsal. The latter one is being particularly successful, having won the league, Club players considering this action as a political comment on the Greek Civil War distanced themselves or were expelled from APOEL. On 4 June 1948 Dr. Mattheos Papapetrou organized a meeting to form a new club in Nicosia, many players expelled from APOEL were also invited and on 17 June 1948 Omonia was established. Along with other left-wing teams such as Nea Salamina, Alki Larnaca, Omonoia took part in the CAFF league until 1953 having won 4 out of 5 played championships and 5 out of 5 played cups. Omonoia was then accepted by the Cyprus Football Association to participate in the Cypriot First Division, after joining the Cypriot First Division in 1953, Omonoia only managed to place 7th out of 9 teams in the 1953–54 season, barely avoiding relegation. During that decade, the clubs best placing came during the 1956–57 season when the club finished 3rd, the team would make its closest push for the title during the 1959–60 season after finishing 2nd,1 point behind Anorthosis Famagusta. The following year, after 7 seasons in the First Division, Omonia, in that season would score 91 goals in 24 matches on their way to their first ever Cyprus First Division title. Omonoia won their second title during the 1965–66 season, Omonia won its first trophies of the decade in 1972, when the club won both the league and the cup. Led by a young, Sotiris Kaiafas, Omonia won 7 league tittles in the 70s decade, six of them were consecutive in 1974,1975,1976,1977,1978, and 1979. By the time the decade would come to an end, Omonia had a total of 9 championship titles and 3 cups, at the end of the 1979 season, Omonia trailed its arch rival APOEL by two championships. In 1976, Sotiris Kaiafas would go on and win the European Golden Shoe for his single-season 39 -goal performance, in 2003, he was awarded the UEFA Jubilee Awards for The Best Cypriot Footballer of the 20th Century. As the 1980s came to an end, Omonia had won 14 Cypriot Championship Titles becoming the most successful team on the island at the time, the 1990s would prove to be less successful than the previous two decades. During this time, AC Omonia only mustered one Cypriot League title during the 1992–93 season and it would be eight years before Omonia would see its next title. In 1997 Omonia signed a German named Rainer Rauffmann who would become the second top goal scorer ever for the club
12.
Swansea City A.F.C.
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Swansea City Association Football Club is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales, that plays in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Swansea City represent England when playing in European competitions, although they have represented Wales in the past, the club was founded in 1912 as Swansea Town and joined the Football League in 1921. The club changed their name in 1969, when adopted the name Swansea City to reflect Swanseas new status as a city. Swansea have played their matches at the Liberty Stadium since 2005. In 1981, the club was promoted to the original Football League First Division and it was during the following season they came close to winning the league title, but a decline then set near the seasons end before finishing sixth, although a club record. The clubs subsequent climb from the division of English football to the top division is chronicled in the 2014 film. In 2011, Swansea were promoted to the Premier League, following the lead of many other South Wales sides, joined the second division of the Southern League for the following season. J. W. Thorpe was the clubs first chairman, a site owned by Swansea Gaslight Co. called Vetch Field due to the vegetables that grew there, was rented to be the clubs ground. The clubs first professional match was a 1–1 draw at the Vetch Field against Cardiff City on 7 September 1912. During that first season the Welsh Cup was won for the first time, before the game Bradshaw had scored with thirty-six consecutive spot kicks. Remarkably, the Swans played most of the half with ten men. The Swans drew at another First Division side, Newcastle United, in the next round, following the First World War the Southern League dropped its second division, and with many clubs dropping out due to financial difficulties, the Swans were placed in the first division. After just four seasons in the Southern League, Swansea Town became founder members of the new Third Division of The Football League in 1920, the side had remained unbeaten at home in the league all season – something the next promotion team would emulate over twenty years later. Sadly for the Swans, an experienced Bolton side won the game 3–0, Swans record their highest average attendance during the season of 16,118 for pre-war league games. During the 1926–27 season they beat Real Madrid 3–0 on tour, during the 1931–32 season they finished 1st and went out in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. However they won the Welsh Cup after beating Wrexham 2–0 away after a replay and it was not until the 1933–34 season that Wilfred Milne scored his first goal for Swansea at Lincoln City after 501 appearances without a goal. After just one back from wartime football, the Swans finished 21st in the Second Division. The following season was one of consolidation, however in 1948–1949 the Swans stormed their way to winning the division for the second time
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