Omonia Nicosia

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On the 23rd of May 1948, APOEL's governing committee of the APOEL football club issued an email at the Hellenic Association of Amateur Athletics (Greek: S.E.G.A.S. ) and offered the possibility to participate in an annual Panhellenic Track and Field Competition. In the telegram, the board declared its desire to see the "communist rebellion" to be put down. Club members who saw this move in a way that was specifically political remark regarding the Greek Civil War distanced themselves from the board and were exiled from APOEL. On the 4th of June 1948 the Dr. Mattheos Papapetrou organized a meeting in Nicosia which led to the formation of Omonia. Many players who were expelled from APOEL were at the gathering and were able to join Omonia as a new club. In addition to other Left-Wing teams like Nea Salamina Alki Larnaca and Orfeas Nicosia, Omonia helped create the Cyprus Amateur Football Federation in December 1948. Omonia participated of the CAFF league from 1953 onwards winning four out of five championships as well as five out of five cup competitions. Omonia was later admitted to the Cyprus Football Association to participate in the Cypriot First Division.

Following their entry into Omonia's participation in Cypriot First Division in 1953, Omonia only placed seventh among nine teams in the season 1953-54, barely getting past being relegated. The team's highest position was achieved during the 1956-57 season , when Omonia finished in third place.

The team made its most successful attempt to win the title in the 1959-60 season, after finishing second, just one point ahead of Anorthosis Famagusta. In the following year after seven years playing in the First Division, the club won its first title during the 1960-61 campaign. Omonia was in that season was able to score the most goals in their 24 matches on their way to winning their first Cyprus First Division title. Omonia was awarded their second title in 1965-66.

Omonia was awarded its first trophy at the end of 1972 and was crowned league champions and the cup. The team was led by a young Sotiris Kaiafas Omonia was awarded seven league titles in the 1970s. Six of which were in succession (1974-1979). By the end in the decade Omonia was awash with nine championships and three cups. In the final stages of the 1979 campaign, Omonia was behind APOEL, its closest rival APOEL with two titles. It was in 1976 that Sotiris Kaiafas went through and take home the European Golden Shoe for his single-season record of 39 goals. The year 2003 was the time he received his UEFA Jubilee Awards for the most outstanding Cypriot footballer in the 20th century.

The 1980s were a fruitful decade for the club , as Omonia took home an additional seven Cypriot League Championship titles including additional five consecutive titles in 1981 1982, 1983 1984, 1985, in 1988 and 1989. When the decade of the 1980s were coming to an end, Omonia had won 14 Cypriot championship titles, and was one of the top teams in the island of the time.

The 1990s would more unsuccessful than preceding two decades. At this point, Omonia only mustered one Cypriot League title during the 1992-93 season. It would take an additional eight seasons before Omonia would win its next victory. The year 1997 saw Omonia was signed by one of the top players in the world, German Rainer Rauffmann who would become the top goal scorer ever for Omonia. Thanks to Omonia greats, including captain Costas Malekkos and a younger Costas Kaiafas (the son of Sotiris Kaiafas), Rauffmann would become the leading scorer of Omonia's Cypriot First Division in 1997-98 1998-99, 1999-01 and 2000-01 seasons. He helped Omonia to two league titles.

After a disappointing run of eight seasons, the decade 2000s started with an award. Omonia had their first Cypriot league championship in 2001. The team is now helmed by Costas Kaiafas Omonia won its 19th Cypriot League Championship again in 2003. In 2003, however, Omonia would fall and not win a championship for the next few years. After a string of bad signings and a lack of success Omonia's presidency would eventually be handed over to new team president and chairman, Miltiadis Neophytou in 2008.

The team will soon be back in the game in 2006, by signing Cyprus international goalie Antonis Georgallides. Omonia will continue its impressive signings with star-studded players by signing Cypriot players in the United States, including Elias Charalambous and Stathis Aloneftis. Omonia was then in the news when it announced the shocking signing of the all-time best scorer from Cyprus, Michalis Konstantinou. The year 2009 was the time Omonia was also expected to sign another Cypriot superstar, Konstantinos Makrides. On the way, Omonia would also acquire young Cypriot hopefuls 21, Dimitris Christofi as well as 20-year-old Georgios Efrem. Efrem was playing for the club's youth squad at Arsenal before joining Scottish club Rangers was the final piece in the puzzle that Omonia needed to complete to secure its 20th Cypriot league championship. After putting the pieces together, Omonia did just that. In the 2009-10 season, under the direction of the new captain Elias Charalambous, Omonia would not lose one derby, even play-offs with APOEL, Anorthosis and Apollon.

The head coach Takis Lemonis resigned from the club following disappointing results and Dusan Bajevic took over as manager in October of 2010 However, he was dismissed in April of 2011. The coach was later replaced NeophytosLarkou. Omonia was not able to win again as champion during the regular season 2010-11 but was forced to finish second despite the addition the promising young Cypriot emerging star Andreas Avraam. The club could finish the season on an upbeat note under interim coach Neophytos Liarkou, Omonia defeated Apollon Limassol in the Cypriot Cup final to win their 13th title in the cup.

Omonia had a tough year, but they did win their 14th trophy, starring Andre Alves, who scored the winning goal against AEL Limassol in the final. Under the leadership of the the newly appointed director of football, Nickolas Danskalou, Omonia finished second in the Championship and third following the playoffs which almost ensured that they will be able to qualify for next year's second phase of UEFA Europa League.

Neophytos's Larkou was the head coach. He quit the club in September of 2012 and then Toni Savevski was named coach. The team started the season with a fantastic victory, but then found its second victory after a number of games. A poor first round proved enough to disqualify the team from competing for the title or the cup. The team did better at the end of the round, and finished the season third. Many fans responded to the president's request to contribute the most they could, and the financial problems of the club have improved. Omonia was eliminated in the semi-finals in the semi-finals by AEL Limassol.

In 2013 Omonia started their new campaign with Savevski managing the team, however his departure was delayed due to positive results. Miguel Angel Lotina was hired as the replacement however he was dismissed 37 days after. Kostas Kaiafas was a former player named his new head coach. Omonia's financial woes recurred even after the huge fundraiser that was held during the previous season. Omonia placed fourth in its league which made its worst year in the past 56 years.

The month of August was when Omonia lost out on Omonia was eliminated from the Europa League by Dynamo Moscow in the play-offs round. Omonia filed a formal complaint to UEFA concerning the refereeing decision of the game that was supervised by the referee Alexandru Tudor. In the beginning of September the club stopped providing the fan group Gate 9 with tickets resulting in Gate 9's exclusion from games. A few weeks later, following an informal meeting between the coach and the president and the president, it was decided that tickets would be provided in a similar manner for the fans' group Gate 9. Omonia was third in their league. Omonia was removed of Omonia's participation in the Cypriot Cup in the semi-finals by APOEL.

Omonia finished the campaign with a 4th place finish. In this time, Omonia made it to in the semi-finals of the Cypriot Cup but lost to Apollon Limassol. The 2016-17 season Omonia finished 5th. It was this was the first time for the past 15 years, the club failed to be able to play European football. After a general assembly at the close of the season Antonis Tzionis was elected the new president of the club. The 2017-18 season began with expectations high, Omonia finished the season in sixth place. This was the worst season Omonia has ever had with regards to defeats and the number of goals they conceded. Yet the club's sales reached 95,222 tickets greater than the other teams in league.

The demise of the club's football team and the financial problems the club was facing led to many believing that changes in the manner the club was managed was necessary. In May of 2018 an assembly of the general public was held and the club's members voted to give the football department to Stavros Papastavrou. He is an American Cypriot businessman. Papastavrou is planning to put 5 million euro in the club in the next couple of years and will make more investments in the 20 years which he will be in charge of. Papastavrou has said that he will fundraise to develop the academy and training grounds, as well as that the idea of building an entirely new stadium is being thought of.

In the first season under Papastavrou's management, Omonia finished the 2018-19 season in the 6th position and was eliminated from the Cypriot Cup by Apollon Limassol in the second round. Omonia's manager Yannis Anastasiou was replaced by Henning Berg in June of this year.

In 2019, the 2019-20 Cypriot season was cancelled in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 virus. In the moment of its cancellation, Omonia was tied with Anorthosis Famagusta on points, however, it was ranked first because of the better head-to head record and was therefore able to participate in the opening round of qualifying for the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League.

The next campaign, Omonia eliminated Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League to qualify for the group stage of an European Competition for the first time in its history. 36 Omonia was 4th in the Group E competition of 2020-21 Europa League. In the game at home with PSV Eindhoven, Omonia captain Jordi Gomez scored from 56 meters and broke the record for the longest distance ever for a goal during the Europa League. Then, in May of 2021 Omonia concluded the league with a win in the Cypriot League for the 21st time and for the first time since 2010.

Omonia began the 2021-22 season with a win in Omonia's first Super Cup, and qualifying for the group stage of the Europa Conference League. But a shaky start to the first part of the league season was what pushed Omonia be eliminated from the Championship Playoffs, meaning they were ranked below 6th at first since season of 1953-54. A flurry of criticism resulted in the head coach Henning Berg's dismissal and was replaced with Neil Lennon on 7 March. Lennon could improve the team's performance and lead Omonia to be victorious in their 2021-22 Cypriot Cup, their first since 2012. They defeated Ethnikos Achna 5-4 in penalties, and earning their place in the Europa League 2022-23 Play-off round. They will be able to beat Belgian cup champions Gent to make it through the stage of the group.

"Omonia" is the Greek Language word.

It means for unity, or concord.

Omonia's club colours are green and white. The green color indicates hope while white indicates happiness

Omonia's badge has a green shamrock in a white circle.

Omonia tends to use a red alternative kit.

After the formation of Omonia, the club Omonia was playing at its Goal Stadium from 1948 to 1953. Following their joining of with the Cyprus Football Association, Omonia relocated to the former GSP Stadium in 1953, and later on to Makario Stadium, which opened in the year 1978. This is where they played until 1999.

Since the 23rd October of 1999 Omonia uses the 22.859 seats of the New GSP Stadium, the largest stadium in Cyprus. Omonia shares and leases the stadium along with the local rival APOEL.

In the past, Omonia has been one of the teams with the highest popularity throughout Cyprus since the beginning by the Club. A study done by the University of Nicosia found Omonia to be the most adored team on the island so the largest margin and with 30.7 percent of the 1500 players stating that they are in support of the club.

Omonia is the only team to have the highest number of tickets for league games sold by the Cypriot team in one season (162,061 in the 2009-10 season). Omonia has also set an official Cypriot record for having the highest average attendance for a single season (11,003 during the 2003-04 season).

Omonia supporters are famous for their left-leaning socialist personality, with many saying that they belong to those of the Progressive Party of Working People. Omonia is also known to be the club that represents "the the people" and Cyprus the working class. The Omonia supporters are seen waving banners that feature Che Guevara's face.

At the close of February 2013 Omonia struggled to meet UEFA requirements due to the financial crisis that had struck Omonia's club. Omonia's president was then able to organize a fundraising event and asked the fans who support the team to give whatever they could. There were hundreds of events organized all over the island, with the theme; "EIMAI OMONOIA DELONO PARON" that means, "I'M WITH OMONIA, I declare myself to be present. " Former and present players took part through signing autographs, and also selling merchandise from the club. Even though the situation at start was described by some as dire and bleak, the cash flow came in from all over the island, as well as from overseas which included England as well as the United States. In just one month and a half, EUR3.5 million was collected from the fans of the club.

Gate 9, Omonia's ultras club, Gate 9, was established in 1992. The group would take up Omonia's GSP Stadion's northern stand for Omonia's home matches. Gate 9 has established relations with other supporters of the left wing like those from Hapoel Tel Aviv and Standard Liege.

On May 29, 2018 the team decided to transform its football division into a profit-making company under the control by Stavros Papastavrou. Gate 9 had previously condemned the concept and released a number of statements critiquing it. The exact same date, Gate 9 declared they did not support the Omonia team and announced that they would establish their own football club that will "respect the values and tradition that have been a part of Omonia". Omonia 29M, the People's Athletic Club, was formed on the 23rd of July 2018, and currently is within the Cypriot Second Division.

• Cypriot Championship
  • Winners (21): 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
• Cypriot Cup
  • Winners (15): 1964–65, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1987–88, 1990–91, 1993–94, 1999–2000, 2004–05, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2021–22
• Cypriot Super Cup
  • Winners (17) (record): 1966, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1994, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2021
• CAFF Championship
  • Winners (4) (record): 1948–49, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52
• CAFF Cup
  • Winners (5) (record): 1948–49, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53

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As of 25 Aug 2022

Competition	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goals For	Goals Against
UEFA Champions League	55	17	8	30	65	111
UEFA Europa League	84	35	19	30	129	106
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	12	2	1	9	7	23
UEFA Conference League	6	0	4	2	5	10
Total	156	54	32	71	206	251

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•  Dikran Missirian (1948–52)
•  John Johnson (1952–53)
•  Pambos Avraamides (1953–55)
•  Hans Hungehuisen (1955–57)
•  Karl Vogler (1957–59)
•  Eli Fuchs (1959–60)
•  Nako Chakmakov (1960–62)
•  András Turay (1962–63)
•  Stoyan Petrov (1963–64)
•  Andreas Keremezos (1964–65)
•  Georgi Pachedzhiev (1965–66), first term
•  Igor Netto (1966–67)
•  Georgi Barka (1967–68)
•  Georgi Pachedzhiev (1968–70), second term
•  Khrustyo Chakarov (1970–71)
•  Dobromir Tashkov (1971–72), first term
•  Vasil Spasov (1972–74), first term
•  Andreas Constantinou (Esso) 1974–75
•  Iltziev (1975–76)
•  Gabriel Stoyanov (1976–77)
•  Petar Argirov (1977–79)
•  Yoncho Arsov (1979–80), first term
•  Vasil Spasov (1980–82), second term
•  Dobromir Tashkov (1982–83), second term
•  Atanas Dramov (1983–85)
•  Yanko Dinkov (1985–86)
•  Yoncho Arsov (1986–89), second term
•  Bozhil Kolev (1989–90)
•  Helmut Senekowitsch (1990–91)
•  Graziano Zakarel (1991–92)
•  Yoncho Arsov (1992–94), third term
•  Gerhard Prokop (1994–96)
•  Walter Skocik (1995–96)
•  Angel Kolev (1996–97)
•  Andreas Michaelides (1997–99)
•  Dušan Galis (1999)
•  Yoncho Arsov (1999–00), fourth term
•  Asparuh Nikodimov (2000)
•  Arie Haan (14 November 2000 – 30 November 2000)
•  Henk Houwaart (1 October 2000 – 30 November 2001), first term
•  Andreas Mouskallis (2002)
•  Toni Savevski (2002–04), first term
•  Franciszek Smuda (2004)
•  Henk Houwaart (1 July 2004 – 21 December 2005), second term
•  Ioan Andone (28 December 2005 – 25 May 2007)
•  Dragan Okuka (23 May 2007 – 26 November 2007)
•  Ioannis Matzourakis (2007)
•  Giorgos Savvidis (2007–2008)
•  Nedim Tutić (2008–09)
•  Takis Lemonis (17 March 2009 – 4 October 2010)
•  Dušan Bajević (13 October 2010 – 14 April 2011)
•  Neophytos Larkou (15 April 2011 – 18 September 2012)
•  Toni Savevski (26 September 2012–18 December 2013), second term
•  Miguel Ángel Lotina (1 January 2014 – 6 February 2014)
•  Kostas Kaiafas (12 March 2014 – 2 November 2015)
•  Vladan Milojević (11 November 2015 – 18 May 2016)
•  John Carver (4 June 2016 – 23 February 2017)
•  Akis Ioakim (23 February 2017 – 26 May 2017)
•  Pambos Christodoulou (26 May 2017 – 5 December 2017)
•  Ivaylo Petev (14 December 2017 – 21 March 2018)
•  Juan Carlos Oliva (17 June 2018 – 22 October 2018)
•  Yannis Anastasiou (1 November 2018 – 21 May 2019)
•  Henning Berg (6 June 2019 – 28 February 2022)
•  Neil Lennon (7 March 2022 – present)