PAOK ( el, ΠΑΟΚ, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly known as A.C. PAOK ( el, Α.Σ. Π.Α.Ο.Κ.), is a major multi-

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

based in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. The club has several departments, including

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

, swimming,

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

, and

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

. P.A.O.K was founded in April 1926. Because of its

crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...

, it is also known as the "

Double-Headed Eagle In heraldry and vexillology, the double-headed eagle (or double-eagle) is a charge (heraldry), charge associated with the concept of Empire. Most modern uses of the symbol are directly or indirectly associated with its use by the late Byzantin ...

of the North", in contrast with

AEK A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelf ...

, the "Double-Headed Eagle of the South". They are one of the most popular Greek sports-clubs with many fans all over the country (mostly, but not exclusively, in Northern Greece), and also among the Greek diaspora.

History

PAOK is closely linked with ''Hermes Sports Club'' ( el, Ερμής), which was formed in 1875 by the Greek community of

Pera Pera may refer to: Places * Pera (Beyoğlu), a district in Istanbul formerly called Pera, now called Beyoğlu ** Galata, a neighbourhood of Beyoğlu, often referred to as Pera in the past * Pêra (Caparica), a Portuguese locality in the district of ...

, a district of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

(

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

). The club was founded in April 1926 by Constantinopolitans who fled to

after the Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War. The club's first memorandum of association was approved on 20 April 1926 by a decision of the Thessaloniki Court of First Instance (No. 822). The founding members were A. Angelopoulos, A. Athanasiadis, K. Anagnostidis, M. Ventourellis, F. Vyzantinos, V.Karapiperis, A. Dimitriadis, D. Dimitriadis, N. Zoumboulidis, M. Theodosiadis, T. Ioakimopoulos, P. Kalpaktsoglou, T. Kartsambekis, D. Koemtzopoulos, K. Koemtzopoulos, P. Kontopoulos, K. Kritikos, M. Konstantinidis, P. Maleskas, I. Nikolaidis, L. Papadopoulos, F. Samantzopoulos, T. Tsoulkas, M. Tsoulkas, S. Triantafyllidis and T. Triantafyllidis (who was also its first Chairman). P.A.O.K.'s first Board of Directors, serving between 1926 and 1927, consisted of: * T. Triantafyllidis (President) * P. Kalpaktsoglou (1st vice-president) * K. Kritikos (General Secretary) * M. Tsoulkas (Special Secretary) * T. Ioakimopoulos (Treasurer) * A. Angelopoulos (Director of Football) * A. Dimitriadis (Director of Sports) * P. Maleskas (Consultant) * K. Koemtzopoulos (Consultant) * M. Theodosiadis (Consultant) The club's policy was to be open to every citizen of Thessaloniki, leading to a minor rivalry with ''AEK Thessaloniki'', the other Constantinopolitan team of the city, in which only refugees were allowed to play. The original logo of PAOK was a horseshoe and a four-leaf clover. The leaves were green and above them were the initials of the word PAOK. Kostas Koemtzopoulos, one of PAOK's founding members, came up with this idea, inspired by his favourite brand of cigarettes. The football club played their first game (friendly) on 4 May 1926, at Thermaikos stadium, defeating Megas Alexandros Thessaloniki 2–1. The first coach of the club was Kostas Andreadis, who spent five years on the bench without demanding any payment. Their first captain was Michalis Ventourelis. The first professional contract was signed by the club on 5 September 1928. The contract stipulated that the French footballer Raymond Etienne – of Jewish descent from Pera Club – would be paid 4,000 drachmas per month. The contract was signed by Dr. Meletiou, the PAOK chairman, and Mr. Sakellaropoulos, the Hon. Secretary. In early 1929, AEK Thessaloniki was virtually dissolved and absorbed by PAOK. PAOK thereupon changed their emblem, adopting the

double-headed eagle In heraldry and vexillology, the double-headed eagle (or double-eagle) is a charge (heraldry), charge associated with the concept of Empire. Most modern uses of the symbol are directly or indirectly associated with its use by the late Byzantin ...

, as a symbol of the club's

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

/ Constantinopolitan heritage. PAOK also got possession of AEK's facilities located around Syntrivani (i.e. Fountain) Square. In 1937, PAOK won his first title, the

(EPSM or Thessaloniki) Championship, and participated in the

Panhellenic Championship 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 ...

, finishing second. The 1937 team included: ''Sotiriadis, Vatikis, Goulios, Kontopoulos, Bostantzoglou, Panidis, Glaros, Kritas, Ioannidis, Kalogiannis, Koukoulas, Kosmidis, Apostolou, Vafiadis, Vasiliadis, Anastasiadis, Moschidis, Tzakatzoglou, Zakapidas''. The first Greek championship for the basketball team was achieved in 1958–59 season. The first Greek championship for the football team was achieved in 1975–76 season. In the 90s, the basketball team won another Greek championship and two European cups, the

1990–91 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup The 1990–91 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup was the twenty-fifth edition of FIBA's 2nd-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, contested between national domestic cup champions, running from 25 September 1990, to 26 Mar ...

and the

1993–94 FIBA Korać Cup The 1993–94 FIBA Korać Cup season occurred between September 8, 1993, and March 16, 1994. The final was played between PAOK Bravo and Stefanel Trieste. Team allocation The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place ...

Crest and Colours

The original logo of PAOK was a horseshoe and a four-leaf clover. The current symbol since 1929 is the

. The eagle symbolizes the origins of the club in the former

capital,

, and the legacy of the Greek refugees from

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, Eastern Thrace, Pontus and

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

. In 2013, a golden outline was added to the football team's crest, as a symbol of the club's Byzantine heritage. The club's traditional colours are black, as sadness for the

Asia Minor Catastrophe Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

of 1922 and the end of the Greek presence in Anatolia, and white as hope for recovery.

Supporters

P.A.O.K. is the most widely supported sports-club in Northern Greece and one of the 4 most popular in the country (along with the big-three of capital Athens and Piraeus). PAOK's traditional fanbase comes from the city of

, where the club is based, as well as from the rest of

Macedonia region Macedonia () is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time; however, it came to be defined as the modern geographical region by the mid 19th century. Tod ...

and Northern Greece. They also have fans all over the country and in the Greek Diaspora (Germany, Australia, USA, etc.).

Rivalries

P.A.O.K.'s main rivals are

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jamai ...

(local rivals),

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

Iraklis Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...

. Football kit evolution First Alternative Thessalonioki, Stadium of PAOK - panoramio

P.A.O.K. Departments – Honours

Football

Men's Football

* Greek Championships 3:

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

* Greek Cups 8:

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

* Greater Greece Cup 1: 1973

Women's Football

* Greek Women's Championship: 17 (record): 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 * Greek Women's Cup: 6 (record): 2002, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

Men's Basketball

* Greek Championships: 2 ** 1959, 1992 * Greek Cups: 3 ** 1984, 1995, 1999 * Cup Winners' Cup: 1 **

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

* Korać Cup: 1 **

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

Men's Volleyball

Greek Championship 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 ...

: 3 ** 2015, 2016, 2017 * Greek Cup: 4 ** 2015, 2018, 2019, 2022

Women's Volleyball

* Greek Cup: 1 ** 2021

Men's Handball

* Greek Championships: 3 **2009, 2010, 2015 * Greek Cups: 3 ** 2012, 2015, 2017 *Greek beach handball championship: 1 ** 2001

Women's Handball

: 5 **2013, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 * Greek Cup: 6 **2014, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

Weightlifting

*5 Greek men's Championship: 2006, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022

Wrestling

*6 Greek men's Championship Greco-Roman: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

Judo

* 1 Greek men's/women's Championship: 2019

Athletics

*3 Greek women's Open Athletics Championship: 1976, 1977, 1982 *2 Greek women's Cross Country Championships: 1968, 1974

Swimming

*1 Greek OPEN Championship: 1987

Cycling

*1 Greek men's Championship Mountain Bike: 2002

Boxing

*2 Greek men's Championship: 2003, 2007

Roller hockey

*1 Greek men's Championship: 2008 *1 Balkan Cup: 2007

European honours

Notable former athletes

* Football: ''Men'':

Giorgos Koudas Giorgos Koudas ( el, Γιώργος Κούδας; born 23 November 1946) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent his entire career in PAOK. Due to his fierce competitiveness and his Macedonian ...

Stavros Sarafis Stavros Sarafis ( el, Σταύρος Σαράφης; 17 January 1950 – 13 October 2022) was a Greek football player who spent his entire career in PAOK, playing as an attacking midfielder or forward. He was one of the club's most famous pla ...

Konstantinos Iosifidis Konstantinos Iosifidis ( el, Κώστας Ιωσηφίδης; born 14 January 1952) is a retired Greek footballer. Iosifidis spent his entire career from 1971 to 1985 in PAOK FC, playing as a left back. He is the first player in PAOK FC histor ...

Christos Terzanidis Christos Terzanidis ( el, Χρήστος Τερζανίδης; born 13 February 1945) is a retired Greek footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Born in Melissokomeio in Kavala, Terzanidis played for PAOK F.C. and Panathinaikos F.C. He was ...

Angelos Anastasiadis Angelos Anastasiadis (; born 8 March 1953) is a Greek football manager and former international footballer. He previously coached numerous clubs in Greece including PAOK, Panathinaikos, Platanias and PAS Giannina as well as the Greece and Cyp ...

Giorgos Skartados Georgios Skartados (Greek language, Greek: Γεώργιος Σκαρτάδος; born 7 April 1960) is a retired Greece national football team, Greek international Association football, footballer. Career Born in Rhodes, Skartados started his ca ...

Giorgos Kostikos Georgios Kostikos (Greek: Γεώργιος Κωστίκος; born 26 April 1958) is a Greek former professional footballer. Playing career Club Kostikos began playing football with Pierikos in 1975, and two years later he was acquired by PAOK. H ...

, Thodoris Zagorakis,

Zisis Vryzas Zisis Vryzas ( el, Ζήσης Βρύζας; born 9 November 1973) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a forward for various teams in Greece and abroad, as well as for the Greece national football team, when they won the Euro ...

, Georgios Georgiadis,

Pablo Gabriel García Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul. People * Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer *Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer *Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer * Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist *Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer * Pablo Bren ...

, Lino,

Sérgio Conceição Sérgio Paulo Marceneiro da Conceição (; born 15 November 1974) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who mostly played as a right winger. He is the current manager of Porto. Throughout his career, he played for ten ...

Vieirinha Adelino André Vieira de Freitas (born 24 January 1986), known as Vieirinha (), is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger or a full-back for Greek club PAOK, for which he is captain. Ambidextrous, he started playing for ...

, Dimitar Berbatov,

Aleksandar Prijović Aleksandar Prijović ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Пpиjoвић, ; born 21 April 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for A-League club Western United. Born in Switzerland, Prijović played for the Serbia national team ...

Lucas Pérez Lucas Pérez Martínez (, born 10 September 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Primera Federación club Deportivo La Coruña. After spending the first years of his career in the lower leagues, only appearing ...

Magdy Tolba Magdy Tolba ( ar, مجدي طلبه) (born 24 February 1964) is a former Egyptian international midfielder. Tolba spent most of his playing career with Zamalek Sporting Club. He also had a spell with PAOK F.C. in the Greek Super League. Tolba is ...

, Hossam Hassan,

Percy Olivares Percy Celso Olivares Polanco (born 5 June 1968) is a Peruvian former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He is the father of footballer Christopher Olivares. Club career Born in Lima, Olivares started playing professionally wit ...

Dimitris Paridis Dimitris Paridis ( el, Δημήτρης Παρίδης; 20 September 1945 – 22 August 2015) was a Greek footballer who played as a forward. Career Paridis was born in Agios Andreas Kavala, to a family that hailed from Nicopolis in Pontus. He f ...

Giannis Gounaris Giannis Gounaris (Greek: Γιάννης Γούναρης; born 6 July 1952) is a Greek retired footballer and coach. Career Born in Thessaloniki, Gounaris was a right back who played for PAOK FC and Olympiacos FC in the 1970s and 80s. He earned ...

Filotas Pellios Filotas Pellios ( el, Φιλώτας Πέλλιος; born 22 March 1953) is a retired Greek footballer. He is president of the PAOK veterans association. Honours ;PAOK *Greek Cup: 1974 *Greek Championship: 1976 Events January * Janua ...

Neto Guerino Guerino Minervino Neto (born 24 March 1950 in São Paulo), commonly known as Neto Guerino, is a Brazilian former football player who played as a striker. Guerino played for Clube Atlético Mineiro and Nacional Futebol Clube in the Campeonato B ...

, Ioannis Damanakis,

Nikos Alavantas Nikos Alavantas ( el, Nίκος Aλαβάντας; born 13 April 1959) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a right-back. During his club career, Alavantas played for PAOK and Xanthi. He also amassed 31 caps for the Greece na ...

Christos Dimopoulos Christos Dimopoulos ( el, Χρήστος Δημόπουλος, born 6 September 1959) is a retired Greek footballer who played as a forward for PAOK and Panathinaikos F.C.. His nickname was "Fonias" (''Φονιάς'', meaning Killer) of Greek ...

Giorgos Toursounidis Georgios Toursounidis (Greek: Γεώργιος Τουρσουνίδης; born 21 August 1970) is a retired Greek footballer. He played for PAOK and Xanthi. Toursounidis was born in 1970. He made 263 league appearances for PAOK, scoring 35 goal ...

Kostas Frantzeskos Kostas Frantzeskos ( el, Κώστας Φραντζέσκος, born 4 January 1969) is a Greek professional football manager and former player. Frantzeskos is better known for his deadly free-kick accuracy. He scored 57 free kick goals during h ...

Omari Tetradze Omari Mikhaylovich Tetradze (russian: Омари Михайлович Тетрадзе, ka, ომარ თეთრაძე, el, Ομάρι Τετράντζε; born 13 October 1969 as Omari Mikhaylovich Osipov) is a Georgian-Russian professi ...

Pantelis Kafes Pantelis Kafes ( el, Παντελής Καφές; born 24 June 1978) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was known for being one of very few outfield players to have worn the number 1 jersey and has won accla ...

Stelios Venetidis Stelios Venetidis ( el, Στέλιος Βενετίδης; born 19 November 1976 in Orestiada) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a defender. He used to play in the left-back position, but could be also used on the left sid ...

Ioannis Okkas Ioannis "Giannis" Okkas (Greek: Ιωάννης «Γιάννης» Οκκάς; born 11 February 1977) is a retired Cypriot striker and a football manager. He was also the captain of the National Team of Cyprus for many years and he is the 2nd ...

Panayiotis Engomitis Panayiotis "Yiotis" Engomitis (Greek: Παναγιώτης "Γιώτης" Εγκωμίτης; born 26 May 1972) is a Cypriot football coach and a former midfielder who played for Ethnikos Achnas, Anorthosis Famagusta and PAOK. Honours ;Anorthos ...

Pablo Contreras Pablo Andrés Contreras Fica (; born 11 September 1978) is a Chilean retired footballer who last played for Melbourne Victory and the Chile national football team as a centre back or even as a right back. Contreras began his career at Colo-Colo ...

, Zlatan Muslimović
''Women'': Natalia Chatzigiannidou,

Jelena Dimitrijević Jelena Dimitrijević (27 March 1862 – 10 April 1945) was a Serbian short story writer, novelist, poet, traveller, social worker, feminist, and a polyglot. She is considered to be the first woman in modern Serbian history to publish a work ...

Dimitra Panteliadou Dimitra Panteliadou is a Greek football striker currently playing in the Greek Championship for Aris Thessaloniki,She is a member of the Greece women's national football team, Greece national team, playing the Football at the 2004 Summer Olympic ...

* Basketball: ''Men'':

Bane Prelević Bane may refer to: Fictional characters * Bane (DC Comics), an adversary of Batman * Bane (''Harry Potter''), a centaur in the ''Harry Potter'' series * Bane (''The Matrix''), a character in the ''Matrix'' film trilogy * Bane the Druid, a Guar ...

John Korfas John Anthony Korfas ( el, Τζον Κόρφας; born August 21, 1962) is a Greek-American professional basketball coach and former player. A EuroLeague All-Final Four Team member in 1993 (PAOK), he won all three FIBA Europe continental trophies a ...

Peja Stojaković Predrag Stojaković ( sr-cyr, Предраг Стојаковић, ; born June 9, 1977), known by his nickname Peja (''Peđa'', Пеђа, ), is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player who was most recently the assistant gen ...

, Scott Skiles, Walter Berry,

Ken Barlow Ken Barlow is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by William Roache. He was created by Tony Warren as one of ''Coronation Street''s original characters and December 2020 marked Ken's 60th annive ...

Cliff Levingston Clifford Eugene Levingston (born January 4, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. Professional playing career A former power forward, Levingston played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Levingston st ...

Nikos Boudouris Nikolaos "Nikos" Boudouris (alternate spellings: Bountouris, Mpoudouris, Mpountouris) ( el, Νικόλαος "Νίκος" Μπουντούρης; born 25 September 1971 in Volos, Greece) is a retired Greek professional basketball player. Early ca ...

Giorgos Balogiannis Georgios Balogiannis (alternate spelling: Giorgos, Ballogianis, Mpalogiannis) ( el, Γιώργος Μπαλογιάννης; born January 17, 1971, in Thessaloniki, Greece) is a retired Greek professional basketball player. Professional career Ba ...

, Efthimios Rentzias, Giannis Giannoulis, Kostas Vasileiadis, Zoran Savić,

Anthony Bonner Anthony Bonner (born June 8, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player. College career Bonner played college basketball at Saint Louis University. He is the Saint Louis Billikens' all-time leading scorer, with 1,972 points. Pr ...

Frankie King Frankie Alexander King (born June 6, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. He was a 6 ft 2 ½ (1.89 m) and 185 lb (84 kg) point guard, College career King played college basketball at the former Brunswick Col ...

Claudio Coldebella Claudio Coldebella (born 25 June 1968) is an Italian former professional basketball player. Playing as point guard, he had a successful club career in Italy, where he won three Italian LBA titles, and Greece, where he reached a EuroLeague Final, ...

Manthos Katsoulis Mathaios "Manthos" Katsoulis ( el, Μάνθος Κατσούλης; born 20 July 1956) is a Greek former professional basketball player. College career Katsoulis played college basketball at McGill University, with the McGill Redmen (1982–198 ...

, Nikos Stavropoulos,

Vangelis Alexandris Evangelos "Vangelis" Alexandris ( el, Ευάγγελος "Βαγγέλης" Αλεξανδρής; born February 2, 1951) is a Greek professional basketball coach and a retired professional player. During his playing career, his nickname was "The Ti ...

, Panagiotis Fasoulas, Rasho Nesterovic,

İbrahim Kutluay İbrahim Kutluay (born January 7, 1974) is a former Turkish professional basketball player who has been a manager and pundit since his retirement. He played the shooting guard position, and in his prime, was one of the most prolific 3-point sho ...

, Damir Mulaomerović,

Dejan Tomašević Dejan Tomašević ( sr, Дејан Томашевић; born 6 May 1973) is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player. An All-EuroLeague Team selection on two occasions, he played with Borac Čačak, Crvena zvezda, Partizan, ...

* Volleyball: ''Men'':

Dante Amaral Dante Guimarães Santos do Amaral (born 30 September 1980) is a former Brazilian professional volleyball player, who is best known as Dante. Measuring and , he played in the position of outside hitter. He was born in Itumbiara. Biography Ea ...

, Ernardo Gómez,

Alexander Shafranovich Alexander Shafranovich ( he, אלכס שפרנוביץ'; born ) is an Israeli volleyball player who currently plays for Hapoel Mate-Asher Ako. He was member of the Israel men's national volleyball team for 20 years. He was one of the key players ...

, Rolando Cepeda, Javier Jiménez, David Lee, Giannis Pantakidis, Giannis Kalmazidis,

Vasileios Kournetas Vasileios "Vasilis" Kournetas ( el, Βασίλης Κουρνέτας; born ) is a retired Greek volleyball player. A long-standing member of Greece men's national volleyball team, he played in more than 270 games with the Greek team and he compe ...

Vladimir Grbić Vladimir "Vanja" Grbić ( sr-cyrl, Владимир Вања Грбић; born 14 December 1970) is a Serbian former volleyball player. He is 193 cm and played as passer-side attacker. He is Nikola Grbić's brother and a member of the Volleyb ...

, Kevin Hansen,

Matti Hietanen Matti Hietanen (born 3 January 1983) is a professional volleyball player from Finland. Career Early career Hietanen started his career with Vilppula Tähti. After that he moved to Tampere and started study in Varala Sport High School. At t ...

Plamen Konstantinov Plamen Georgiev Konstantinov ( bg, Пламен Георгиев Константинов) (born 14 June 1973) is a former Bulgarian volleyball player, a member of Bulgaria men's national volleyball team, head coach of Lokomotiv Novosibirsk and ...

Paul Lotman Paul Michael Lotman (born November 3, 1985) is an American former professional volleyball player. He was part of the United States men's national volleyball team, U.S. national team, and a participant at the Olympic Games 2012 Summer Olympics, ...

Olli-Pekka Ojansivu Olli-Pekka "Lelu" Ojansivu (born 31 December 1987) is a retired Finnish professional volleyball player who was a member of the Finland men's national volleyball team. Career Ojansivu started his career in Vammalan Lentopallo. When Ojansivu turned ...

, Evan Patak,

Vlado Petković Vlado Petković ( sr-cyrl, Владо Петковић, born January 6, 1983, in Kraljevo) is a Serbian volleyball player. He plays as setter. He is currently playing for Crvena zvezda. He played for the national team at the 2008 Summer Olympic ...

, Konstantinos Prousalis,

Clayton Stanley Clayton Iona "Clay" Stanley (born January 20, 1978) is an American volleyball player, a member of United States men's national volleyball team, a participant of the Olympic Games ( Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012), Olympic Champion 2008, ...

Riley Salmon Riley Salmon (born July 2, 1976, in Amarillo, Texas) is a volleyball player from the United States. He graduated from Clear Creek High School in League City, Texas, and played two years of varsity volleyball at Pierce College from 1994-96 bef ...

, Nikolaos Smaragdis,

Saša Starović Saša Starović ( sr-cyrl, Саша Старовић; born 19 October 1988) is a Serbian volleyball player, a member of Serbia men's national volleyball team and French club Tourcoing Lille Métropole, a participant of the Olympic Games (Beijin ...

, Mitar Tzourits,

Nikolay Uchikov Nikolay Uchikov ( bg, Николай Учиков) (born ) is a Bulgarian male volleyball player. With his club Trentino Diatec he competed at the 2012 FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship. He is part of the Bulgaria men's national volle ...

Ronald Zoodsma Ronald Zoodsma (born 5 September 1966 in Sneek, Friesland) is a retired volleyball player from the Netherlands, who represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1988. Under the guidance of head coach Arie Selinge ...

* Athletics: ''Men'': Michalis Akritidis,

Themistoklis Akritidis Themistocles or Themistoklis may refer to several people: * Themistocles, Athenian soldier and statesman ** the Decree of Themistocles, ancient Greek inscription, purported to have been issued under the guidance of Themistocles * Themistocles Anast ...

Dimitrios Kokotis Dimitrios Kokotis (born 12 April 1972) is a retired Greek high jumper. He finished thirteenth at the 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships, eighth at the 1998 European Indoor Championships and fifth at the 1998 European Championships. His person ...

Konstantinos Koukodimos Konstadinos "Kostas" Koukodimos ( el, Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Κουκοδήμος, born 14 September 1969 in Melbourne) is a retired Greek long jumper and New Democracy politician, currently serving as the mayor of K ...

Dimitrios Koutsoukis Dimitrios Koutsoukis ( el, Δημήτριος Κουτσούκης; born 8 December 1962) is a retired Greek shot putter who won a gold medal in the 1987 Mediterranean Games in Shot Put and represented Greece in 1984 Summer Olympic Games. His per ...

''Women'':

Vasiliki Anastasiou Name Vasiliki is a Greek name meaning "royal" that may refer to: *Vassiliki (given name) Places *Vasiliki, Lasithi, a village and an archaeological site in Lasithi, Crete, Greece *Vasiliki, Lefkada, a village on Lefkada, Greece *Vasiliki, Trik ...

, Xanthipi Koukoumaka, Voula Patoulidou * Swimming: ''Men'': Christos Papadopoulos ''Women'': Kalliopi Araouzou,

Antonia Machaira Antonia "Tonia" Machaira ( gr, Αντωνία "Τόνια" Μαχαίρα; born May 21, 1971) is a retired Greek swimmer, who specialized in sprint and middle-distance freestyle events. She represented Greece in two editions of the Olympic Games ...

Aikaterini Sarakatsani Aikaterini "Katia" Sarakatsani ( gr, Αικατερίνη Σαρακατσάνη; born 3 January 1977) is a Greek swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke and individual medley events. She is a three-time Olympian (1996, 2000, and 2004), a former ...

Katerina Stikoudi Katerina Stikoudi ( el, Κατερίνα Στικούδη; 16 April 1985) is a Greek singer, model, actress, television host and ex-athlete on swimming. Stikoudi first gained media attention, in 2005, when she took part on Miss Star Hellas beauty ...

Aikaterini Klepkou Aikaterini Klepkou (born 22 May 1972) is a Greek swimmer. She competed in three events at the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to a ...

Anna Ntountounaki Anna Ntountounaki ( el, Άννα Ντουντουνάκη, born 9 September 1995) is a Greek swimmer, competing for Panathinaikos on club level. She competed in the women's 100 metre butterfly event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She finished ...

PAOK Presidents

Notable supporters

* Giannis Aggelakas, musician *

Paola Foka Paola (born Pagona Karamitsou on 25 June 1982) is a Greek singer. Early life and career Born on 25 June 1982 in Thessaloniki and raised in Sykia Halkidiki. Ηer Greek parents, Alexandros and Maria, were also musicians. She has an older brother ...

, singer *

Frangoulis Frangos General Frangoulis Frangos ( el, Φραγκούλης Φράγκος, born Komotini 1951) is a retired Greek Army officer, former chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff and former Minister for National Defence. He was born in Komotini and ente ...

, military officer *

Stratos Dionysiou Stratos Dionysiou ( el, Στράτος Διονυσίου; November 8, 1935 – May 11, 1990) was a Greece, Greek Laïkó, laika singer. Early life Dionysiou was born in Nigrita, Serres prefecture, to Asia Minor refugees Angelos and Anastasia Dion ...

, singer *

Stavros Kalafatis Stavros may refer to: Places Greece * Stavros, Chania, a village and beach in Crete, Greece * Stavros, Grevena, a town and municipality in Western Macedonia, Greece * Stavros, Ithaca, a village on the island of Ithaca, Greece * Stavros, Kardi ...

, politician, MP *

Vasilis Karras Vasilis Karras ( el, Βασίλης Καρράς; born Vasilis Kesoglidis on 12 November 1953) is a Greek folk singer. Biography Karras was born in Kokkinohori, near Kavala, Greece. At the age of 10, his family moved to Thessaloniki. Also aro ...

, singer * Anna Korakaki, shooter *

Dimitris Lyacos Dimitris Lyacos ( el, Δημήτρης Λυάκος; born 19 October 1966) is a contemporary Greek poet and playwright. He is the author of the ''Poena Damni'' trilogy. Lyacos's work is characterised by its genre-defying form and the avant-garde ...

, writer *

Manos Loizos Manos may refer to: Films * ''The Hands'' (Spanish: ''Las manos''), a 2006 Argentinean-Italian film * '' Manos: The Hands of Fate'', 1966 horror film Music * Manos (band), German Black metal band * ''Manos'' (album), by The Spinanes Other use ...

, composer * Giorgos Mavridis, TV presenter *

Manolis Mitsias Manolis Mitsias (Greek: Μανώλης Μητσιάς, ; born 26 February 1946) is a Greek singer. He has been a significant artistic presence in the laïko, light laïko and entekhno genres of modern Greek music. Early life Mitsias was born i ...

, singer *

Apostolos Nikolaidis (singer) Apostolos Nikolaidis ( el, Απόστολος Νικολαΐδης) (30 June 1938 – 22 April 1999) was a Greek singer whose career spanned four decades. He was born in Drama, Greece and grew up in Thessaloniki. He is best known for being the fi ...

Nikos Papazoglou Nikolaos "Nikos" Papazoglou (in Greek: Νίκος Παπάζογλου; 20 March 1948 – 17 April 2011) was a Greek singer-songwriter, musician, and producer from Thessaloniki. Papazoglou began performing in a number of Greek local groups in th ...

, singer * Dionysis Savvopoulos, musician *

Giannis Servetas Yannis, Yiannis, or Giannis (Γιάννης) is a common Greek given name, a variant of ''John'' (Hebrew) meaning "God is gracious." In formal Greek (e.g. all government documents and birth certificates) the name exists only as Ioannis (Ιωάνν� ...

, actor *

, model *

Sakis Tanimanidis Sakis Tanimanidis ( el, Σάκης Τανιμανίδης; born 30 April 1981) is a Greek TV host, producer and entrepreneur. Tanimanidis became known in his native country as the host, creator, producer and director of the travel shoWorld Party ...

, TV producer *

Georgios Themelis Georgios Themelis ( el, Γεώργιος Θεμελής, 1897-1969) was a Greek politician and officer of the Hellenic Air Force, who served as a Member of the Greek Parliament (1956–67) and as Deputy Defense Minister (1958–61). He was a controv ...

, politician *

Euclid Tsakalotos Euclid Stefanou Tsakalotos ( el, Ευκλείδης Στεφάνου Τσακαλώτος, ; born 1960) is a Greek economist and politician who was Minister of Finance of Greece from 2015 to 2019. He is also a member of the Central Committee of ...

, economist, former

minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

Popi Tsapanidou Popi Tsapanidou (Greek: Πόπη Τσαπανίδου; born Parthena Tsapanidou; 20 April 1967 Thessaloniki) is a Greek politician who served as the press representative of SYRIZA from January to July 2023. From 2021 to 2022 she was presenting ...

, journalist *

Kyriakos Velopoulos Kyriakos Velopoulos ( el, Κυριάκος Ιωσήφ Βελόπουλος; born 24 October 1965) is a Greek politician and Hellenic Parliament member and Greek Solution party leader, as well as television personality and author. Early life and ...

, politician, leader of the party Greek Solution *

Christos Zabounis Christos may refer to: * Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-cent ...

, editor *

Konstantinos Zervas Konstantinos Zervas ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Ζέρβας; born 1964) is the 61st and current mayor of Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece. Konstantinos Zervas was born in Thessaloniki in 1964. He is the son of Vasilis Zervas� ...

, politician, mayor of

Kostas Zouraris Konstantinos (Kostas) Zouraris ( el, Κωνσταντίνος (Κώστας) Ζουράρις; born 1940 in Thessaloniki) is a Greek, from Greece's Macedonia region, political scientist and writer.Hellenic Ministry of Culture National Book Centerbi ...

, political scientist

Gallery

File:Paok 1928-29.jpg, The team of 1928–29 File:PAOK 1936-37.jpg, The team of 1936–37 File:Raymond Étienne PAOK FC.jpg,

Raymond Étienne Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

, the first foreign player of the club File:Giorgos Koudas.jpg,

File:Lóránt Gyula fortepan 13743.jpg,

Gyula Lóránt Gyula Lóránt (born Gyula Lipovics, 6 February 1923 – 31 May 1981) was a Hungarian footballer and manager of Croatian descent. He played as a defender and midfielder for, among others, UTA Arad, Vasas SC, Honvéd and Hungary. During the ...

, coach of the 1976 champion team File:Christos Terzanidis photo by Vujcic.jpg,

Angelos Anastasiadis (cropped).jpg, Player and later coach

File:Zisis vryzas.jpg,

File:Theodoros Zagorakis.jpg,

Theodoros Zagorakis Theodoros Zagorakis ( el, Θεόδωρος Ζαγοράκης ; born 27 October 1971) is a Greek politician and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was the captain of Greece that won UEFA Euro 2004, and was also presid ...

, the iconic captain and later president of PAOK FC File:Fernando Santos 2018 (cropped).jpg, Fernando Santos File:Sérgio Conceição.jpg,

File:Pablo Garcia als Co-Trainer von PAOK 2014.jpg,

, one of the most popular players ever played for PAOK FC File:Vierinia.JPG, Captain

File:Костас Кацуранис.jpg, Kostas Katsouranis File:Lucas Pérez Martínez.jpeg,

File:Mitko Berbatov cropped.jpg, Dimitar Berbatov File:Dimitris Pelkas.jpg,

Dimitris Pelkas Dimitrios Pelkas ( el, Δημήτριος Πέλκας; born 26 October 1993) is a Greek professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for English Championship club Hull City A.F.C., Hull City on loan from Fe ...

File:Aleksandar Prijović2017.jpg,

, top scorer during the 2017–18 season File:Léo Matos.jpg,

Léo Matos Leonardo de Matos Cruz (born 2 April 1986), better known as Léo Matos, is a former Brazilian professional footballer who played as a right back. Club career Starting from the academies of Flamengo and having been for a short time in Marseille, ...

File:Razvan Lucescu, press conference FC Basel - PAOK FC, 1 August 2018.jpg, Razvan Lucescu File:Paok-spartak (16).jpg, The team in 2018 File:PAOK vs HANTH.jpg, PAOK vs YMCA Thessaloniki in the '20s File:Peja Stojakovic Mavs cropped.jpg,

File:Scott Skiles bench cropped.jpg, Scott Skiles File:Dušan Ivković.jpg,

Dušan Ivković Dušan "Duda" Ivković ( sr-cyrl, Душан "Дуда" Ивковић; 29 October 1943 – 16 September 2021) was a Serbian professional basketball player and coach. He served as head coach of the senior Serbian national basketball team from 20 ...

, coach of the 1992 champion team File:Kostas Vasileiadis.JPG, Kostas Vasileiadis File:Claudio Coldebella 2013.JPG,

File:Anthony Bonner in israel.jpg,

File:Dejan Tomašević.jpg,

File:Ernardo Gomez.JPG, Ernardo Gómez File:Rolando Cepeda Abreu.jpg, Rolando Cepeda File:N. Uchikov in 2017.jpg,

File:Saša Starović.JPG,

File:Mitar Đurić.jpg, Mitar Tzourits File:Vladimir Grbić.jpg,

File:Paul Lotman 2014 01.jpg,

File:Prousalis Narbonne Volley.JPG, Kostas Prousalis

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paok Multi-sport clubs in Thessaloniki Sport in Thessaloniki