Nea Salamis

Early years

When Nea Salamina Famagusta was founded, Greece was entering a period of civil war between leftists and rightists. The situation in Greece affected Cyprus, both politically and socially; most athletes were also involved in politics. At this time, Famagusta had two sports clubs: the Evagoras Gymnastic Association, or GSE (Greek: Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ευαγόρας) and the Anorthosis Famagusta F.C. The GSE had many talented leftist athletes on its rosters. At Anorthosis, many players were also leftists. Under the influence of the contemporary right-wing political climate, the GSE and Anorthosis began to restrict leftist athletes. Additionally, Anorthosis was hosting at their clubhouse the right-wing Cypriot National Party. In early 1947 a group from Famagusta (including leftists, members and non-members of GSE and Anorthosis) concluded there was room for another sports club in the city. Due to the existing restrictions, they envisioned a club which would appeal to everyone in Famagusta regardless of political affiliation.

On 14 February 1948 the decision was made to establish the club, and the Nea Salamina sports club was formed on 7 March 1948 as the first leftist athletic club in Cyprus. After the club's founding, many citizens expressed a desire to join; however, the football side was weak.

GSE Stadium banning and the CAFF

Before the Pancyprian Games in May 1948, the Hellenic Amateur Athletic Association (SEGAS) asked all gymnastics associations in Cyprus, their members and athletes, to sign a public declaration that would express their support to the rightists in Greek Civil War,

to declare that they espoused "nationalist beliefs" and to repudiate the leftists. The right-wing athletic clubs and athletes signed the statements; the only club refusing to sign the statement was the Kinyras Paphos gymnastic association, which was excluded from the games. The left-wing athletes were opposed to the declaration, and refused to sign the statement. Among the first athletes who refused were GSE champions Antonis Totsis (Greek: Αντώνης Τότσης) and Nikis Georgiou (Greek: Νικής Γεωργίου). The GSE invited both athletes to apologize, but they insisted on their position that sports should be separate from politics. The left-wing athletes decided to support the Kinyras Paphos association if the decision to exclude it from the Pancyprian Games stood. The GSE was favored to win the competition, but finished third. As a reaction to the fact that athletes of Nea Salamina were not involved in the Pancyprian Games, the GSE president informed the club it was not welcome at the GSE Stadium. Persecution of GSE and Anorthosis athletes who supported their teammates followed. The stadium-use prohibition meant that Nea Salamina had nowhere to play.

Negative attitudes toward left-wing athletes prevailed in other Cypriot cities. In Larnaca, the Alki Larnaca F.C. was founded in April 1948. A month later, the Gymnastics Club Zeno (GSZ) banned Alki from using its GSZ Stadium; a similar proposal to exclude Turks and Catholics was rejected. The GSZ amended its constitution, prohibiting enrollment of new members unless they signed a declaration that "they espouse the Hellenic nationalistic ideals". This excluded left-wing athletes from becoming members or using its stadium. In May, Orfeas Nicosia was founded in Nicosia; that month, APOEL F.C. sent a greeting by telegram to SEGAS ("cordial brotherly greetings to the entire Greek youth athletes"), on the occasion of national games, and wished for the cessation of inner-nation mutiny. APOEL asked all members and athletes of the club to sign a declaration, supporting the content of the telegram. Leftist members and athletes of APOEL considered "inner-nation mutiny" as a challenge and political statement of the club, thus they distanced themselves from that statement. The Cypriot press encouraged a hostile climate with articles and commentary. This was followed by the indefinite suspension of five APOEL athletes (Lympouris, Tsialis, Gogakis, Xatzivasileiou and Christodoulou), who founded AC Omonia in June 1948 with former members of the APOEL. AS Kyrenia was later founded.

Due to their left-wing political beliefs, members of the new clubs were not accepted into the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) and they established a new football federation (the Cyprus Amateur Football Federation, or CAFF) in December 1948. The new federation organized leagues and cups, which attracted thousands of fans. The CAFF matches became more popular than those of the CFA. Six teams belonged to the CAFF: Nea Salamina in Famagusta, Omonia and Orfeas in Nicosia, Alki at Larnaca, AMOL at Limassol (renamed Antaeus in 1951) and Neos Asteras in Morphou.