AO Ermis Zoniana F.C., short for Athlitikos Omilos Ermis Zoniana Football Club and simply known as Ermis Zoniana, is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club based in the village of Zoniana, located in the regional unit of Rethymno on the island of

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

. The club currently competes in the local Rethymno FCA A Division, having previously played for several seasons in 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 ...

, the third 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 ...

History

Ermis Zoniana was founded in 1964 by a group of residents in the village of Zoniana and originally took part in

Rethymno Rethymno (also Rethymnon; ) is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 35,000 inhabitants (nearly 40,000 for the municipal unit). It is believed to have been built ...

regional competitions. Over the years, the club ascended to the top-level Rethymno FCA Regional Championship, which the club won during the 2011−2012 season to earn promotion to its first ever national competition, the

Delta Ethniki Delta Ethniki () was the fourth level of Greek football championship. During the period of its existence, it was the lowest national division of the Greek championship. It was founded in the 1982–83 season and abolished in the 2012–13 season, ...

, which used to be the fourth tier of the

. In what proved to be the final season in competition history (before the

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

and

were merged for the 2013−2014 season onward to form the new third level of the Greek football league pyramid), Ermis Zoniana earned a consecutive promotion to the reformed

, finishing 4th in the 2012−2013

Group 10 league table. The club failed to avoid relegation in its inaugural season in the competition, but managed to make a swift return by once again winning the 2014−2015 Rethymno FCA Championship. In the

2015–16 Gamma Ethniki The 2015–16 Gamma Ethniki was the 33rd season since the official establishment of the third tier of Greek football in 1983. It started on 27 September 2015 and ended on 8 May 2016. 64 teams were separated into four groups, according to geographi ...

season, the club finished 6th in Group 4, thus staying clear of relegation. During the club's tenure in the

, Ermis has had the opportunity to play against

giants

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

during its debut season, as well as historic

Cretan Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

ex-

Superleague 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 ...

clubs

OFI Crete OFI Football Club (, ''Heraklion Sportsmen Club 1925 FC''), commonly referred to as OFI, is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in Heraklion, on the island of Crete. It is part of the O.F.I. (sports club), OFI mul ...

and

Ergotelis Ergotelis Football Club () is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in Heraklion, Crete, which competes in the Heraklion Football Clubs Association, FCA Heraklion A1, the fourth tier of the Greek football league system, ...

in later editions of the competition. Ermis actually managed to claim an impressive victory over

during the

, recording a 1−0 home win on 22 November 2015.

Honors

Domestic titles and honors

* Rethymno FCA Championship winners: 2 ** 2011−12, 2014−15 * Rethymno FCA Cup Winners: 1 ** 2012−13

References

{{Football in Greece Football clubs in Rethymno Football clubs in Crete Association football clubs established in 1964 1964 establishments in Greece