PAEEK ( el, ΠΑΕΕΚ; short for Ποδοσφαιρική Αθλητική Ένωση Επαρχίας Κερύνειας, ''Podosfairiki Athlitiki Enosi Eparxeias Kerynias'', translated as "Football and Sport Union of

Kyrenia District Kyrenia District is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its main town is Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια; tr, Girne). It is the smallest of Cyprus' districts, and is the only one controlled in its entirety by the unrecognised de facto state o ...

", literally "Footballing Sportive Union of the District of Kyrenia") is a

Cypriot Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus. * Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes: **Armenian Cypriots **Greek Cypriots **Maronite Cypriots **Turkish C ...

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 ...

founded in

Kyrenia Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια ; tr, Girne ) is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. While there is evidence showing that the wider region ...

in 1953 by graduates of Kyrenia Gymnasium and represented the first force to be reckoned from the small city. It now plays in exile in Nicosia since the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of intercommunal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and in response to a Greek junta-s ...

in July 1974. This union has football division competing in the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

. PAEEK used to have also a basketball division, but due to economic difficulties had to suspend it for some years up to date.

Basketball

The PAEEK was a founding member of the

Cyprus Basketball Federation The Cyprus Basketball Federation (CBF) ( Greek: Κυπριακή Ομοσπονδία Καλαθοοσφαίρισης (ΚΟΚ)) is the governing body for basketball on the island of Cyprus and is a division of the Cyprus Sport Organisation (ΚΟ� ...

in 1966 rising to fame in the early 1970s after its basketball division won the Cyprus top division basketball league in 3 consecutive years. The PAEEK reached the Cyprus Basketball Cup final on 5 occasions, losing them all. 1995 was APOEL's year, when they took the basketball double. As losers of the Cup final, PAEEK automatically qualified to represent Cyprus in Europe in the Saporta Cup. They were knocked out by

PAOK BC P.A.O.K. B.C. ( el, Κ.Α.Ε. Π.Α.Ο.Κ., Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessaloníkios Athlitikós Ómilos Konstantinopolitón'', "Pan-Thessalonikian Athletic Cl ...

Salonika, which in turn went on to reach the final of the competition. The game with

was very special for both teams, as they were all refugees and victims of the wars between Greece and Turkey.

Football

The football team has not matched the basketball team's success in terms of trophies. They have been a mainstay in the Cyprus Second Division. Paeek is considered to be the team with the most appearances in the Cyprus Second Division, with 41 in total. The club plays its home matches in Keryneia Epistrofi Stadium in Nicosia, Cyprus. PAEEK has built a reputation for unearthing young talent and moving them on, most notably

Alexandros Paschalakis Alexandros Paschalakis ( el, Αλέξανδρος Πασχαλάκης; born 28 July 1989) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Super League club Olympiacos and the Greece national team. Club career Early career ...

of PAOK and the Greece national team, Giorgos Economides and Giorgos Papadopoulos.

Promotion to Top Division

During the 2020–21 season, PAEEK finished as champions of the second division and were promoted to the top division for the first time in club history.

Current squad

Colours

The colours of PAEEK shirt are symbolic, with the black symbolising the sadness from the Turkish invasion in 1974 and the white symbolises the hope that one day they will return to their hometown. When this happens the colours will change back to yellow and black as they were before the Turkish invasion.

Honours

Basketball

Cyprus Basketball Division 1 The Cypriot Basketball Division A is currently the top-tier level men's professional basketball competition of the Cypriot basketball league system. It is run and governed by the Cyprus Basketball Federation. Format At present, six clubs compete ...

**Winner (3): 1970, 1971 and 1972. *

Cypriot Basketball Cup The Cypriot Basketball Cup is an annual professional basketball national cup competition, organized by the Cyprus Basketball Federation since 1969. Format Starting in 2007, the Cypriot Cup competition's format changed to where only teams from th ...

**Runner-up (5): 1969, 1970, 1971, 1995, 1999.

Football

Cypriot Second Division The Cypriot Second Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Β΄ Κατηγορίας) is the second highest football division of the Cypriot football league system. Administrated by the Cyprus Football Association, it is contested by 16 teams, with th ...

**Winners (1): 2020–21 *

Cypriot Third Division The Cypriot Third Division ( Greek: Πρωτάθλημα Γ΄ Κατηγορίας) is the third tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Each year, the top finishing teams of the league are promoted to ...

**Winners (3): 1991–92, 2002–03, 2007–08

References

External links

Official website

The history of PAEEK – The First Ten Years
– PDF {{Cypriot First Division Basketball teams in Cyprus Football clubs in Cyprus Association football clubs established in 1953 1953 establishments in Cyprus