New poll shows Omonia most popular Cyprus football team

Omonia is the most popular team in Cyprus, followed by Apoel and Anorthosis, according to a poll conducted by the University of Nicosia and released on Tuesday.

Out of 3,505 people questioned for the poll, 30.7 per cent indicated Neil Lennon’s team as their favourite, while 21 per cent said they supported Apoel and 15.1 per cent Anorthosis.

Current champions Apollon ranked fourth with 11.8 per cent of votes.

However, the poll also revealed that, among residents of the Nicosia district, Apoel is the most popular team, followed by Omonia, which nevertheless remains the preferred team in the Paphos district.

Aek Larnaca, Apollon and Anorthosis are the most popular teams in the Larnaca, Limassol and Famagusta districts respectively.

Among other findings, the poll also revealed that 68 per cent of all Apoel fans have a college or university degree, the highest percentage on the island among fans.

Moreover, 61 per cent of Omonia fans interviewed said they are in possession of a fan card, followed by Ael with 58 per cent.

The interviewees’ favourite football team in Greece turned out to be Panathinaikos, followed by Olympiacos. As far as the English Premier League is concerned, most people indicated Manchester United as their favourite club, followed by Liverpool.

“Cypriot people love their football,” Cyprus football association (Kop) Vice President Evangelos Mouskos said at the presentation of the results. “Last year we ranked among the countries with the highest attendance at stadiums in Europe in proportion to the population.

“We are expecting even more fans at stadiums next season,” Mouskos said, adding that the ongoing works at the new Limassol stadium are going ahead as scheduled.