The Football League () was the second highest professional football league in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

since its inception in 1962 as ''Beta Ethniki'' and until 2019. It then served as a third tier after the creation of the Super League 2 as the new second tier and it was eventually abolished in 2021 when the 2021–22 Super League 2 went from a 12 team to a 36 team league, absorbing most of the clubs from the Football League.

History

As the Second National Division (1962–2019)

As the second tier of the

Greek football league system The Greek football league system consists of two professional leagues, one nationwide non-professional league and several regional non-professional leagues. Cup eligibility Greek Football Professional Cup: Levels 1 to 2 Greek Football Ama ...

, the Beta Ethniki was formally established in the fall of 1962, replacing the informal Greek FCA Winners' Championship, which at the time had tried various experimental formats towards establishing a second national football Division. All participating clubs had to disengage from their local football clubs associations' championships as a prerequisite for eligibility. In its early years, the competition format was frequently altered each season. The competition was originally held in four groups of 14 clubs each until 1968–69, when the competition was reformatted to contain two groups. The following six years (1969–70 up to 1974–75), the competition was held with three Groups, whereas from 1975 to 1976 up to 1982–83 the league was again contested in two Groups, ''North'' and ''South''. In the autumn of 1983, a single, pan-Hellenic League Table was established, a format that has been applied continuously until the 2012–13 season. When football in Greece became professional, the

Hellenic Football Federation The Hellenic Football Federation (HFF), (), is the governing body of football in Greece. It contributes in the organisation of Super League Greece 2. It is also responsible for the organization of the Greek Cup, Gamma Ethniki (3rd ranked men's f ...

handed over the responsibility for the competition's organization to the Greek Professional Football Clubs Association (). In 2006, the Professional Football Association of the Second and Third National Divisions () was set up, which replaced the Greek Professional Football Clubs Association as the governing authority of the Second and Third National Divisions. In August 2010, the division's governing body decided to change its own, as well as the competition's distinctive title to Football League. The competition was contested as the Second National Division until 2019, when the

was restructured and the Super League 2 was established as the new feeder league to the

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

As the Third National Division (2019–2021)

As of 2019, the Football League Greece replaced the

Gamma Ethniki The Gamma Ethniki (, C National Division) is the Greek football league system, third highest football league in Greece. History The Gamma Ethniki began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 1983 it was changed to professional. Although no ...

as the third tier of the

. It was finally abolished in 2021 with most clubs being absorbed into the second tier Super League 2.

Structure of the league

There were 20 clubs that competed in the Football League until 2021, playing each other in a home and away series. At the end of the season, the bottom four teams were relegated to the

. The top two teams gained automatic promotion. Unlike the

, clubs in the Football League did not get relegated if the club failed to obtain a license. All teams in the Football League took part in the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

Results

Second Division champions (1959-60 until 2018-19)

From 1959 to 1962

From 1962 to 1983

From 1983 to 2019

Third Division champions

From 2019 to 2021

References

External links

Football League
at Soccerway
Football League
at footballleaguenews.gr {{UEFA third leagues Football leagues in Greece

Defunct football competitions in Greece