Жаңа Саламис Фамагуста: Кипрлік спорт клубы тарихы

Sports club based in Ammochostos, Cyprus

Nea Salamis Famagusta or Nea Salamina Famagusta (Νέα Σαλαμίνα Αμμοχώστου) is a Cypriot sports club based in Ammochostos (also known by its romanized name, Famagusta), Cyprus. The club is named after Salamis (or Salamina), an ancient city near present day Famagusta. Nea Salamis Famagusta fields teams in men's football and volleyball, and formerly fielded teams in women's football, track and field, water sports and table tennis. Since the 1974 Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus, Nea Salamina has been a refugee team based in Larnaca. The men's football team, founded in 1948 and based at Ammochostos Stadium in Larnaka, is the club's oldest; its high points were winning the 1990 Cypriot and Cypriot Super Cups. The men's volleyball team is one of the most successful teams in Cyprus. With 9 championships, 8 cups and 8 Super Cups it is the second team in trophies. In early 1947 a group of leftists, members and of GSE and Anorthosis and some other people from Famagusta agreed on the need for another sport club which would appeal to all, regardless of political affiliation. On 14 February 1948 a decision was made to establish the club, and the New Salamis sports club was formed on 7 March 1948 After the club was founded, demand was high to join. The football team was not strong at that time, since most of the players were untalented. On 8 March 1948, the newspaper Democratis reported the club's establishment in a story titled, "A Progressive Movement in Varosha": Totsis and Georgiou also decided to support the "Kinyras" Paphos Gymnastic Association if the decision excluding it from the Pancyprian Games was unchanged. They held to their position, and although the GSE was favored in the games

Leftist athletes were also persecuted in other Cypriot cities. In Larnaca, Alki Larnaca F. C. was founded in April 1948; the following month, the Gymnastic Club Zeno (GSZ) banned Alki from using its GSZ Stadium;

The members of the new clubs were not accepted in the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) due to their leftist sympathies, and founded the Cyprus Amateur Football Federation (CAFF) in December 1948. CAFF organized leagues and cups, attracting thousands of fans; CAFF matches attracted more fans than those of the CFA. Six clubs belonged to the new league: Nea Salamis Famagusta, Omonia and Orfeas in Nicosia, Alki at Larnaca, AMOL at Limassol (renamed Antaeus in 1951) and Neos Asteras in Morphou. The CAFF clubs also felt that sports should be based on friendship rather than segregation. In December 1952, the first edition of the sports newspaper Athlitiki launched a crusade for the unification of Cypriot football which was supported by the foreign coaches of CFA clubs. According to the CFA, "[The coaches'] statements opposed the spirit of the Federation". However, the organization's negative attitude towards those clubs continued. After this, the federation disbanded.

When Nea Salamis was barred from GSE Stadium, the club had nowhere to play. Initially practicing at the Saint Lukas ("Proodou") court in Famagusta, it began efforts to build a privately owned stadium. In December 1948, Israel donated three thousand pounds to Famagusta for a community project in gratitude to the city's residents for help offered to Jewish refugees. Famagusta alderman and Nea Salamis footballer Gabriel Makris supported a stadium, and the city council acknowledged "financial assistance granted by the Jews to create Municipal Sports Stadium, which is available to Famagustans for the promotion and spread of mass popular sport." The stadium would be available to Nea Salamis and any other sports club. In early 1949, construction began with volunteer labor and was Nea Salamis' home ground in 1952 and 1953. That year, when Famagusta was occupied by the Turkish army, the club moved its headquarters in Larnaka. Since most of the players were in Larnaca, it was decided that the Alki Larnaca F. C. clubhouse would be Nea Salamis' temporary home. There were many problems; Nea Salamis' football fans were scattered across Cyprus, the team no longer had equipment nor a place to train. Without a permanent home, Nea Salamis used the GSZ Stadium for the 1974–75 season. Players of the team lived in various Cypriot cities, and many had been conscripted by the military due to the tense situation on the island. Board members traveled at their own expense across Cyprus, transporting players from Larnaca and the military camps for workouts and matches on day trips. In January 1975, Nea Salamis rented a building. The team's expenses were covered at first by contributions from members and friends of the club. Two teams were formed to train young players; the first, in Larnaca, was managed by former team member Andreas Konteatis (followed by Nikis Georgiou) and assisted by Nikos Pitsiaoulos.

Men's football is Nea Salamis' principal and longest running program, and the team's home ground is Ammochostos Stadium. Its high point was winning the 1990 Cypriot Cup and Cypriot Super Cups, and the team's highest position in the Cypriot First Division was third. During the first five years after Nea Salamis was founded (1948–1953) the team played in the Cyprus Amateur Football Federation, joining the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) in 1953. It has played for more than 50 years in the Cypriot First Division, the seventh highest tenure in the league. Nea Salamis has finished third four times, and has played in three cup finals. As a cup winner Nea Salamis played its first European Cup match in 1990, but was eliminated in the first round by Aberdeen F. C. In the first game, at Tsirion Stadium on 19 September 1990 before 8,000 fans, Nea Salamina lost 2–0 after a scoreless first half. At Pittodrie Stadium in Aberdeen on 3 October 1990, Nea Salamis again lost 3–0. In the 2000 UEFA Intertoto Cup Nea Salamis advanced to the second round, defeating KS Vllaznia Shkodër twice and FK Austria Wien in Cyprus before losing 3–0 in Vienna. The 1965–66 season had high and low points for the club. According to witnesses and contemporary newspapers, Nea Salamis played the best football in Cyprus. Beginning the season with consecutive wins, the team was in first place until the last game of the season and lost its first cup final. In a game with APOEL at GSP Stadium in Nicosia, Nea Salamis led 3–0. In the 62nd minute, an APOEL player struck a Nea Salamis player; when the assailant was ejected, a fan grabbed the assistant referee's flag and the referee stopped the game. After three weeks, a CFA tribunal decided to replay the match, and Nea Salamis won the replay. Before the season's next to last game, Omonia and Nea Salamis were tied for first place with Olympiakos Nicosia one point behind. In the game with Olympiakos, Nea Salamis led 2–1 when the referee added generous stoppage time; after clashes during the final seconds, the game was halted and the CFA tribunal decided to replay the match with the standings Omonia (50 points), Nea Salamina (47) and Olympiakos (46). If Nea Salamis had defeated Olympiakos, they would have won the championship with a better goal difference than Omonia. On 31 May 1966 Nea Salamis' fans traveled from Famagusta to Nicosia, but Nea Salamis lost 6–3. During the season, the team had the best defense in the league—21 goals in 20 games—for the first (and only) time.

In 2006, Nea Salamis began a women's football program. Its team finished third in the 2006–07 Cypriot First Division and qualified for the cup final, which it lost 3–1 to AEK Kokkinochorion at GSP Stadium. That year the team won the Super Cup, defeating AEK Kokkinochorion 2–1 at Ammochostos Stadium in Larnaca. The women's program was curtailed in 2010 for economic reasons.

Nea Salamis' home ground until the 1974 occupation was GSE Stadium in Famagusta. The 5,000 seat Ammochostos Stadium in Larnaca, owned by the club, is used primarily for football and houses the club offices. The stadium is named for the town of Famagusta (Αμμόχωστος; Ammochostos), and was built in 1991 near the refugee camps. The decision to build the stadium was made in 1989; construction began in December of that year, and with the aid of club supporters in Cyprus and abroad, the Cyprus Sports Organisation and volunteer labor it was completed on schedule. The first Nea Salamis Famagusta game at the new stadium was on 12 October 1991 against Evagoras Paphos; Nea Salamis won, 4–1. The stadium hosted the 1992 UEFA European Under 16 Championship final on 17 May 1992 between Germany and Spain, which Germany won 2–1.

The Nea Salamis Famagusta men's volleyball team of is one of the best in Cyprus. With nine championships, eight cups and eight super cups, it has the second largest number of trophies after Anorthosis Famagusta FC. From its early days Nea Salamis Famagusta has supported a volleyball program, and since 1954 the club has organized popular amateur summer leagues and championships. Participants have included Anorthosis Famagusta FC, the Anagennisi Dherynia, Marathon Kato Varosha and ENAD Agios Memnon. In 1983 Nea Salamis won its first club level cup final, defeating Anorthosis 3–1. The team won its first championship (and its second cup) in 1989–90, followed by another championship the next season and a cup the season after that. In addition to its victories, the team has been a cup finalist six times. The team, with many European players, qualified for the round of 16 in the 2011–12 Challenge Cup (its greatest success).

In 1978 the club decided to create a women's team in Limassol, first to give women an opportunity to play and secondly to preserve the club. Its first coach was Nikis Georgiou. After the 1984–85 season the board suspended the team for financial reasons, although it was a cup finalist.

Nea Salamis has under 19, under 17 and under 15 teams. The U19 team has won a league record nine championships, the U17 team a league record eight and the U15 team a league record seven. The U19 team has also won a record six cups.

Until 1974 Nea Salamis had a track and field program. The club's track team was founded by Cypriot champions Nikis Georgiou and Antonis Totsis, who had been expelled from the GSE. Nea Salamis won its first track meet in March 1948 (days after the club's founding), the Famagusta provincial meet, and finished second in 1952 and 1958. In 1970, when Cypriot club meets began, Nea Salamis finished fifth out of thirteen teams; the club was third in 1971 and 1972. In 1973 and 1974 (the last Cypriot club races), Nea Salamis finished fourth.

Before 1974 Nea Salamis had other sports programs, competing locally in swimming, boating and table tennis. The club also had an active role in Famagusta's cultural life with outdoor dance performances, theatrical events and marching in holiday parades.

In 1971, a group of Nea Salamina fans living in London founded New Salamis in honor of their team in Cyprus. Nea Salamina London maintains close ties with Nea Salamina, with some Famagusta players coming from London. New York Salamina S. C., a Greek Cypriot football club founded in 1999 in New York City by New York Cypriot supporters of Nea Salamis Famagusta, plays in local amateur leagues.

Since its founding, Nea Salamis sought to develop friendly relations with the Turkish Cypriot community of Famagusta; an important element was the acceptance of Turkish Cypriots on the team. During the early 1950s, several Turkish Cypriot footballers (including Siekkeris, Nita and Moustafa) joined Nea Salamis. When the team joined the Cyprus Football Association it struggled for two seasons in the second division, playing Turkish Cypriot clubs including Demir Sports, Kenslik Kiounslou and the Turkish Club of Famagusta. When Turkish Cypriot clubs began withdrawing from CFA tournaments in late 1955, Nea Salamis tried to convince them to remain and Turkish players were still welcome in the club. In 1962 Kallikas was transferred to Nea Salamis, and in 1970 Neziak (of Turkish origin) was transferred to the club. In 2004 the Turkish Cypriots Imam and Oulousoi were transferred to Nea Salamina, the first Turkish Cypriot footballers to play in the CAF in thirty years. On 26 March 2005 Nea Salamis played a friendly football match against the Turkish Cypriot Yenicami at Ammochostos Stadium, winning 6–0; it was the first match between a Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot club in a half century. The 2,500 fans sat together in the stands, sending a message of peace, and the match was attended by representatives of the political leadership of both communities, local sportspeople and the church.