Panathinaikos F.C.

Did You Know?

• The club's first colours were white and red, changing to green and white in 1910.
• The trifolium emblem was proposed in 1918 by Michalis Papazoglou, possibly inspired by Billy Sherring's shamrock at the 1906 Intercalated Games.
• Panathinaikos is one of two Greek clubs to finish a top-flight season unbeaten, doing so in 1963–64.

History

Panathinaikos was founded on 3 February 1908 by 17-year-old track and field athlete Giorgos Kalafatis, who broke away from Panellinios Gymnastikos Syllogos after that club disbanded its football team. The new club was named Podosferikos Omilos Athinon (Football Club of Athens), aiming to promote football to the Athenian and Greek public and to connect with the European football movement. The first president was Alexandros Kalafatis, the founder's brother. The team played on Patission Street, and Oxford University athlete John Cyril Campbell became the first foreign coach of a Greek team. Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, a noted Greek athlete, played as goalkeeper.

Stadiums and facilities

Panathinaikos' traditional home ground since the early 1920s is the Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, the oldest active football stadium in Greece, located in the Ampelokipoi district of central Athens. The club left Leoforos in 1984 for the newly built Athens Olympic Stadium. In 2000, after a €7 million renovation that reduced capacity from 25,000 to 16,620, the team returned, but stricter UEFA standards forced a move back to the Olympic Stadium in 2004. In 2007, the board decided to reuse Leoforos for the 2007–08 season, installing a new pitch and seats. Construction of a proposed Votanikos Arena stopped in October 2013 due to financial troubles, and the team returned to Leoforos again. In 2022, the Greek government confirmed a new stadium in the Votanikos area, to be completed by 2027.

Financial information

Until 1979, Greek football was amateur, and Panathinaikos depended on member support. In 1979, the Vardinogiannis family purchased the football department, with Giorgos Vardinogiannis as president. In April 2008, Giannis Vardinogiannis announced a reduction of the family's stake from 100% to 50% via an €80 million capital increase. A new shareholder group took 34%, with Nikos Pateras as president. In 2012, Giannis Alafouzos created the Panathenaic Alliance, a supporter-owned structure; Vardinogiannis gave his 54.7% shares to the Alliance. Members elected a board and president, with Alafouzos as first president. The team moved to the Georgios Kalafatis Sports Center in Koropi in 2013. For the 2014–15 season, 8,495 members contributed €2,680,041. The club is now partially supporter-owned.

Supporters

Panathinaikos was founded by middle-class athletes aiming to spread football in Athens and connect with European football. According to UEFA and various polls, it is the second most popular football team in Greece, with the highest popularity in the Athens metropolitan area and a large fanbase across Greece, Cyprus, and the Greek diaspora. The club holds records for most season tickets sold (31,091 in 2010) and highest average attendance (44,942 in 1985–86). The main organised supporters, Gate 13, established in 1966, is the oldest fan association in Greece, comprising about 80 clubs. Gate 13 uses green fireworks, flags, banners, and choreographies, and has influenced club decisions. They share traditional friendships with Ferencváros, Ultras Rapid Wien, Dinamo Zagreb's Bad Blue Boys, and Fedayin of A.S. Roma. PALEFIP is another supporters organisation.