APOEL FC (Greek: ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias, lit.

[1] APOEL's greatest moment in European competition occurred in the 2011–12 season, when they advanced out of the group stage of the UEFA Champions League (winning a group that included FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Zenit St. Petersburg), then eliminated Olympique Lyonnais in the last 16, to become the first Cypriot team to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

They marked their most successful UEFA Europa League campaign during the 2016–17 season, when they managed to top their group (along with Olympiacos, Young Boys, and Astana) and eliminated Athletic Bilbao in the round of 32, to reach the last 16 of the competition for the first time in their history.

The meeting took place at a traditional confectionery, owned by Charalambos Hadjioannou, downtown in Ledra Street and the first president of the club was Giorgos Poulias.

The meeting took place in APOEL's clubhouse on 23 September and the establishment of the Cyprus Football Association was agreed.

[7] A few days later, on 4 June 1948, they founded AC Omonia, which until today is the archrival of APOEL and there has been a traditional animosity between the fans of the two teams.

During the 1955–59 national uprising against the British, many of APOEL's athletes and members of the club were active members of EOKA (the National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters), the most outstanding example being the club's track and field athlete Michalakis Karaolis who was hanged by the British colonial authorities.

That was also the last season that the Cypriot champion played in the Greek Football League the following year due to the volatile situation in Cyprus during 1974.

In the 2016–17 season, APOEL managed to win their fifth consecutive league title and equalled the club's record which was set 77 years before (1936–1940).

The 2020–21 season marked the end of APOEL's dominance in Cyprus as they failed to make the championship playoffs for the first time in the club's history.

The following years, APOEL qualified four times for the UEFA Champions League group stages (2009–10, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2017–18), and managed to reach the quarter-finals in the 2011–12 season.

[2] The team also participated in the group stages of the 2013–14, 2015–16 & 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, managing to reach the last 16 of the competition in the 2016–17 season.

The company has 1745 shareholders[13] and besides the football club, also maintains a team boutique (Orange Shop), the APOELFC (Greek: ΑΠΟΕΛFC) magazine and the apoelfc.com.cy website among others.

Players started from the academy and had great contribution APOEL are: Marinos Satsias, Constantinos Charalambides, Nektarios Alexandrou, Michalis Morfis and Marios Antoniades.

The 2015–16 season they competed in the first round of the Domestic Champions Path, being drawn to face Puskás Akadémia from Hungary.

After a dramatic 3–3 draw in the first leg in Nicosia, APOEL U19 suffered a heavy 6–1 loss in Felcsút and were eventually eliminated.

The 2016–17 season they competed in the first round of the Domestic Champions Path, being eliminated by Italian side A.S. Roma after losing 0–3 at home and 1–6 in Italy.

[24] APOEL holds the record of the highest home attendance for Cyprus First Division in the game against Omonia with 23,043[25] tickets for 2002–03 season.

The club holds also the record of the highest attendance of a Cypriot team for a European Competition game with 22,701[26] tickets in the match against Olympique Lyonnais for the return leg of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League last 16.

More than 6,000[27] fans of the team travelled to London at Stamford Bridge for the last match of the 2009–10 Champions League group D against Chelsea F.C.

The match was held at Stade de Gerland and Olympique Lyonnais took a slender advantage into the second leg by winning 1–0.

The rivalry is also indicative of social, cultural and political differences and originates from 1948 when the board of APOEL sent a telegram to the Hellenic Association of Amateur Athletics (Greek: Σ.Ε.Γ.Α.Σ.

), with the opportunity of the annual Panhellenic Track and Field Competition stating its wish for the "communist mutiny" to be ended.

Club's players considering this action as a political comment on the Greek Civil War distanced themselves or were expelled from APOEL and a month later they formed Omonia.

[31] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.