Chania Football Club ( el, Π.Α.Ε. Χανιά) is a Greek professional football club based in

Chania Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion. The muni ...

, Crete, Greece. They were established in 2017, as a result of a merger between the two regional clubs representing the Chania district in the Greek Second Division,

PGS Kissamikos PGS Kissamikos F.C. is a Greek football club, based in Kissamos, Chania. The club colors are blue and white, while its crest featured a dolphin. History Kissamikos was founded in 1926, representing the town and municipality of Kissamos, Chania. ...

and AO Chania. The club currently plays in the

Super League 2 Stones Bitter Super League II was the official name for the year 1997's Super League championship season, the 103rd season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the second to be played in summer. Teams Twelve teams were ...

, the second tier of the Greek football league system.

History

AO Chania – Kissamikos

During the 2016–17 Greek Second Division season,

were represented in the Greek Second Division by two clubs, namely AO Chania of the city of

, and Kissamikos, based in the neighboring town of Kissamos. Kissamikos had quickly established itself in the Football League, managing to outgrow, and eventually outperform its more prestigious local competitor AO Chania. Facing insurmountable financial issues, AO Chania were forcibly relegated to the

Gamma Ethniki The Gamma Ethniki ( el, Γ΄ Εθνική Ερασιτεχνική Κατηγορία, C National Amateur Division) is the third highest football league in Greece. History The Gamma Ethniki began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 198 ...

at the end of the season after being deducted 33 points, while simultaneously having its licence revoked. In the summer of 2017, Kissamikos owner at the time Antonis Rokakis proposed a merger of the two clubs in an attempt to form a new, strong outfit to represent the region, and more specifically the city of

(as the region's competitor in the

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

, Platanias is based in the neighboring town and municipality of Platanias). The initiative was eventually approved on 19 August 2017, however, any club that would result from a potential merger would inherit the financial obligations of AO Chania. As such, Kissamikos changed its name to AO Chania − Kissamikos, retaining its original crest and colors, while the club's home ground was relocated to

Perivolia Municipal Stadium Perivolia Municipal Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Mournies, Chania, Greece. From the 2012-2013 season, Platanias FC were based at Perivolia Municipal Stadium, which led to extensive upgrading and modernization work at all levels during t ...

Mournies Mournies ( el, Μουρνιές) is a village in Crete, in the regional unit of Chania. Between 1997 and 2010, it was the seat of the former municipality of Eleftherios Venizelos. Mournies is famous for being the place of birth of the statesman Ele ...

. The entire merger was met with fierce opposition by the supporters of Kissamikos. On the other hand, supporters of AO Chania demanded Kissamikos' name and crest be completely erased, basically turning the club into a modern continuation of AO Chania. The new club became serious competitors in the two years following the merger, finishing 4th during the 2017–18 season, and 6th in 2018–19, thus becoming eligible to play in the 2019-formed

PAE Chania

In the summer of 2019, the club's board of directors changed the club's name to PAE Chania ( el, ΠΑΕ Χανιά), indicating their intent to represent the entire Chania regional unit. The 2019–20 season saw Chania FC achieve its best result to date, finishing third in the Super League 2.

Stadium

After the merger, the club moved to AO Chania's

, a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

Players

Current squad

Personnel

Ownership and current board

Coaching staff

Medical and other staff

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chania PAE Football clubs in Crete Super League Greece 2 clubs