Athens Kallithea F.C.

Athens Kallithea

Full name	Athens Kallithea Football Club
Founded	18 August 1966
Ground	Leoforos Alexandras Stadium (temporary)
Capacity	16,300
Owner	Andrew Barroway
Chairman	Ted Philipakos
Manager	Massimo Donati
League	Super League Greece
2023–24	Super League Greece 2, 1st (promoted)
Website	http://www.akfc66.gr/
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Athens Kallithea Football Club is a Greek professional football club based in Kallithea, a city and a suburb in Athens, which competes in the Super League, the top tier of the Greek football league system.

The club has finished as high as ninth in the Greek top flight (2004–05) and has reached as far as the quarterfinal stage of the Greek Cup on five occasions (1969–70, 1978–79, 1986–87, 2001–02, 2009–10). ^[1]

History

Founding and early history

The club was founded on 18 August 1966 from the merger of five local clubs: Esperos, Iraklis, AE Kallitheas, Kallithaikos, and Pyrsos. ^[2]

In 1970, Kallithea's Grigoris Lambrakis Stadium, named after the Greek liberal politician and peace activist Grigoris Lambrakis, was opened to the public.

Promotion to the first division

On 28 April 2002, Kallithea clinched their first-ever promotion to Greece's top division with a 0-1 win over Chalkidona FC at Neapoli Stadium on a goal by Theofanis Gekas. ^[3]

The club's first win in the competition was a 3–2 upset of PAOK at Toumba Stadium, thanks to two goals from Gekas, on 14 September 2002.

After four seasons in the top flight, Kallithea were relegated in the 2005-06 season.

Recent history (2021 to present)

In August 2021, New York-born Greek-American Ted Philipakos, a former Chief Executive Officer and Chief Brand Officer at Venezia FC, ^[4] led the takeover of Kallithea FC ^[5] with his brother and former professional footballer Peter Philipakos and investor Andrew Barroway.

In the 2021-22 season, Kallithea finished second in Super League 2, seven points back of league winners Levadiakos for promotion to Super League 1, which was the club's most successful season since it last appeared in the top division in 2005–06.

In September 2022, the club rebranded as Athens Kallithea FC. ^[6] The presentation of the club's rebranding was met with widespread acclaim in Greece ^{[7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]} and abroad, ^{[14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]} with London-based Versus calling it "one of the cleanest football rebrands ever."

In the 2022-23 season, AKFC missed out on promotion to Super League 1 by one point, finishing second in Super League 2 for the second consecutive season. ^[20]

After two consecutive second-place finishes, AKFC were crowned 2023-24 Super League 2 South Group champions and was promoted to Super League Greece. ^[21]

Crest and colors

The first crest of Kallithea consisted of four circles representing the four groups of the merger of 1966, then becoming five circles with the addition of Pyrsos in 1967, which caused an issue with the Hellenic Olympic Committee. As a result, the club introduced a new crest with five stars in a diagonal line. The club's colors were blue and white, which were the colors of the two main groups of the merger, Esperos Kallitheas and Iraklis Kallitheas.

In September 2022, the club rebranded as Athens Kallithea FC and presented a new visual identity, including a new crest and the addition of accents of gold to the uniform and a different shade of blue. The design work was executed by German studio Bureau Borsche, which also handled the rebranding of Inter Milan and Venezia FC. ^[22]

Players

Current squad

As of 11 September 2024 ^[23]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   GRE Thanasis Pantos 2 DF   VEN Josua Mejías 3 DF   BIH Nemanja Nikolić 4 MF   TOG Alaixys Romao 5 DF   CZE Matěj Hanousek 6 DF   MDA Andrei Motoc 7 MF   GRE Andreas Vasilogiannis 8 MF   ESP Javier Matilla 9 FW   LVA Roberts Uldriķis 10 MF   BRA Demethryus 11 DF   GRE Nikos Kenourgios 13 GK   ESP Bernabé Barragán 14 DF   GRE Georgios Manthatis 17 MF   SEN Mor Ndiaye 18 FW   ITA Elia Giani (on loan from Pisa)

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 DF   ARG Nicolás Marotta 20 MF   GRE Giannis Sardelis 23 DF   FIN Pyry Soiri 24 GK   GRE Ioannis Gelios 25 FW   GRE Giannis Loukinas (captain) 26 MF   ITA Alessandro Mercati 27 MF   POR Thierry Moutinho 28 MF   FRA Mathieu Valbuena 30 MF   SEN Samba Lélé Diba 37 DF   GRE Giannis Tsivelekidis 55 DF   POL Wiktor Matyjewicz 58 DF   GRE Triantafyllos Pasalidis 77 DF   FRA Nicolas Isimat-Mirin 99 GK   GRE Andreas Sakelliadis

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   USA Constantine Edlund(at KTP until 31 December 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW   GRE Giannis Toulgeroglou(at Asteras Varis until 30 June 2025)

Honours

• Second Division
  • Winners (1): 2024
  • Runners-up (1): 2002 (promoted)
• Third Division
  • Winners (4): 1969, 1976, 1993, 2010
  • Runners-up (2): 1987 (promoted), 1997 (promoted)
• Fourth Division
  • Winners (1): 2020

References

1. "Greece – Cup data (from Quarterfinals on)". RSSSF . Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
2. "Greece – Mergers and name changes". RSSSF . Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
3. "Athens Kallithea FC Instagram post". Athens Kallithea FC. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
4. "Venezia FC Lose Chief Brand Officer & Media Director". Soccerbible. Archived from the original on 11 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
5. "Από την Venezia στην Καλλιθέα". Kathimerini. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
6. "Athens Kallithea FC present new visual identity and 22/23 home and away shirts". Athens Kallithea FC.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
7. "Η Athens Kallithea FC έχει μια αποστολή για το ελληνικό ποδόσφαιρο". Kathimerini. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
8. "Athens Kallithea FC: Οι νέες ποδοσφαιρικές εμφανίσεις συνάντησαν τη μόδα και είναι εντυπωσιακά stylish". Lifo. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
9. "Η Καλλιθέα ξανασυστήνεται με μοντέλο και παρουσίαση φανέλας αλά Βενέτσια!". Gazzetta.gr. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
10. "Καλλιθέα: Στη νέα εποχή με φανέλες αλά Βενέτσια, νέο όνομα και έμβλημα". Sport24. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
11. "Με άρωμα... Βενέτσια οι νέες φανέλες της Καλλιθέας!". Spor FM. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
12. "Athens Kallithea FC: Η πιο μοδάτη ελληνική ομάδα". Sportday. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
13. "Οι φανέλες της Καλλιθέας είναι ό,τι πιο ωραίο έχουμε δει στο ελληνικό ποδόσφαιρο φέτος". Oneman.gr. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
14. "Introducing Athens Kallithea: Your new second team". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
15. "Athens Kallithea Follow Venezia FC's Path With New Home & Away Shirts". Soccerbible. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
16. "Athens Kallithea FC and Kappa Team up for one of the Cleanest Football Rebrands Ever". Versus. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
17. "Il restyling più bello dell'anno è quello dell'Athens Kallithea FC, in Grecia". Rivista Undici. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
18. "Il vostro prossimo club preferito si trova in Grecia e si chiama Athens Kallithea FC". NSS. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
19. "Nace el hermano pequeño del Venezia: Athens Kallithea". 25 Gramos. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
20. "Standings 2022/23". Athens Kallithea FC. Archived from the original on 11 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
21. "Athens Kallithea FC promoted to Super League 1". Athens Kallithea FC. Archived from the original on 11 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
22. "Athens Kallithea FC present new visual identity and 22/23 home and away shirts". Athens Kallithea FC. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
23. "Roster". Athens Kallithea FC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.

External links

• Official Website (in Greek)