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

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 ...

club based in Chania, 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, Chan ...

and

AO Chania AO Chania, short for ''Athlitikos Omilos Chania'' ( el, Aθλητικός Όμιλος Χανιά, translated ''Athletic Club of Chania''), was an association football club based in Chania on the island of Crete. It was officially founded in 1945, ...

. 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 The Greek football league system includes four levels in which teams can possibly make it to the Super League 1, Greece's highest division of football. Cup eligibility Greek Football Professional Cup: Levels 1 to 2 Greek Football Amateur Cup: L ...

History

AO Chania – Kissamikos

During the 2016–17 Greek Second Division season, Chania were represented in the Greek Second Division by two clubs, namely

of the city of Chania, and Kissamikos, based in the neighboring town of

Kissamos Kissamos ( el, Κίσσαμος) is a town and a municipality in the west of the island of Crete, Greece. It is part of the Chania regional unit and of the former Kissamos Province which covers the northwest corner of the island. The town of Kissam ...

. Kissamikos had quickly established itself in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, managing to outgrow, and eventually outperform its more prestigious local competitor

. Facing insurmountable financial issues,

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 Chania (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 Platanias (Greek: Πλατανιάς) is a village and municipality on the Greek island of Crete. It is located about west from the city of Chania and east of Kissamos, on Chania Bay. The seat of the municipality is the village Gerani. Platania ...

is based in the neighboring town and municipality of

). 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

. 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 ...

in Mournies, Chania. The entire merger was met with fierce opposition by the supporters of Kissamikos. On the other hand, supporters of

demanded Kissamikos' name and crest be completely erased, basically turning the club into a modern continuation of

. 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

, 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 ...

in Mournies, Chania.

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