Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

Ayia Napa FC

AO Ayia Napa
Full nameAthlitikos Omilos Ayias Napas
Founded14 July 1990; 34 years ago (1990-07-14)
GroundParalimni Stadium, Paralimni
Capacity5,800
ChairmanDr. Sergis Sergiou
ManagerVacant
LeagueSecond Division
2023–24Second Division, 8th

Athlitikos Omilos Ayia Napa (Greek: Αθλητικός Όμιλος Αγία Νάπα, Athletic Club Ayia Napa) is a Cypriot football club from the town of Ayia Napa. The club was founded in 1990 after the merger of two clubs: APEAN (Athlitiki Podosfairiki Enosis Ayias Napas; "Athletic Football Union of Ayia Napa") and ENAN (Enosis Neon Ayias Napas; "Youth Union Ayia Napa").

History

The club started in the Third Division (1990–91). They were promoted to Second Division in season 2000–01 after finishing 2nd in Third division. The team once played against Omonia Nicosia in Cup tournament. It lost 4–0 in the first match but came 2–2 in the second match.

Promotion to First Division

The biggest achievement of AO Ayia Napa's history was in the 2005–06 season after the team finished 3rd in Cypriot Second Division and was promoted to the Cypriot First Division. Despite it being their maiden appearance in the First Division, Ayia Napa proved a formidable force for other First Division sides in the 2006–07 season. In their first match in the division, they achieved a surprise away draw against Anorthosis Famagusta, which were followed by two more draws, including one against First Division Heavyweights Omonia Nicosia. In their first 12 matches overall they achieved several draws, including another home draw against APOEL. However, they had to wait until the 13th matchday for their first victory, when the team beat Aris Limassol 4–1. By the midway point of the season, the team had lost just 5 times. On 14 January 2007, in the reverse fixture of their earlier draw, Ayia Napa beat Omonia Nicosia 2–1, arguably the most impressive result in the clubs' history. After that victory there were a few more successful results and the club looked like they may avoid relegation. However, the team lost their last seven First Division matches of the season and ended up relegated.

Cup qualification to the Quarter-finals

Another big achievement of Ayia Napa FC is the qualification to the cup's quarter-finals group stage in the 2007–08 season while the team was in the Cypriot Second Division. That season was the only team from Cypriot Second Division that qualified to quarter-finals. The club finished third in the group stages with wins against APOEL and Aris Limassol.

Stadium

The team's stadium is Municipal Stadium of Ayia Napa, which is a multi-use stadium in Ayia Napa. It is currently used mostly for football matches and holds 2,000 people. However the stadium was not suitable for first division matches, so for the season 2006–07, when Ayia Napa plays in First Division, the team is using for home the Tasos Markou Stadium in Paralimni.

The UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship was hosted in Cyprus in 1998 and the UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship in 1992 and the Ayia Napa Stadium was used for two matches of Republic of Ireland in each competition;[1] on 19 June 1998, their 5–2 victory against Croatia and four days later, their 3–0 Cyprus U-19 national team and qualified to the final where they went on to win the trophy. In 1992, the Irish were beaten by the Netherlands U-16 0–2 and tied by Spain 1–1.

Players

As of 29 September, 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Albania ALB Ilias Melkas
2 DF Cyprus CYP Angelos Siathas
3 DF Cyprus CYP Christos Evangelou
4 DF Greece GRE Charalampos Topal
5 DF Cyprus CYP Demetris Moulazimis (captain)
6 MF Greece GRE Antonis Tsiaras
7 MF Cyprus CYP Andreas Papadopoulos
8 MF Cyprus CYP Symeon Solomou
9 MF Cyprus CYP Efstathios Giannara
10 MF Argentina ARG Yamil Romero
11 FW Cyprus CYP Theodoros Kolokoudias
12 MF Cyprus CYP Kyriakos Kosteas
16 DF Cyprus CYP Sotiris Georgiou
17 MF Cyprus CYP Giorgos Charalampous
18 MF Cyprus CYP Daniel Glykis
19 FW Gabon GAB Jalex Jose
22 MF Cyprus CYP Theodosis Siathas
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 FW Cyprus CYP Onisiforos Roushias
25 DF England ENG Jack Browne
27 DF France FRA Pierre Bardy
28 GK Cyprus CYP Neofytos Stylianou
29 MF Sweden SWE Toni Melas
30 MF Cyprus CYP Anastasios Aspris
33 FW Cyprus CYP Eleftherios Isaak
37 FW Cyprus CYP Panagiotis Ilia
39 MF Cyprus CYP Periklis Perikleous
40 DF Cyprus CYP Dimitris Kallias
42 FW Cyprus CYP Giorgos Kikillos
45 DF Cyprus CYP Andreas Lamprou
46 DF Cyprus CYP Modestos Sotiriou
48 MF Cyprus CYP Erk Eseller
71 MF Cyprus CYP Afxentis Ioannou
99 FW France FRA Bagaliy Dabo

Managers

Honours

References

  1. ^ "European U-18 Championship 1998". Archived from the original on 2012-09-30. Retrieved 2012-07-03.