PAOK FC

PAOK story dates back to 1875 when the Cultural Association from Constantinople was established in an effort by Greek residents in the Pera area to support and express their Hellenism in regard to Turks. When the Turks expelled Greeks from their coastal regions in 1922, those residents who supported Hellenism renamed the club to Peraclub. Even though the Hellenic culture was forced to move and abandon their home, Peraclub maintain their activities in an effort to continue their sporting struggle as long as there were still Greeks living in Constantinople.

Although the condition of being a minority, Greeks had a strong presence in the sporting field thanks to the Peraclub. In spite of this, they could not get rid of the difficulties that being a minority group involved. When some players were forced to leave, the team was again renamed to Politakia. At the same time, a new team was created in Thessaloniki with the name PAOK or Panthessalonikian Athletic Club of Constantinople. This club maintained much of their Greeknees through their symbols: a twin-headed eagle, with mourning black and white. All this to represent that, in spite of difficulties, there is always an opportunity to triumph.

PAOK FC is, then, the football team of the club PAOK which also has teams in basketball, weightlifting, wrestling, swimming, water polo, handball, volleyball, and other sports. Their support base is one of the most fanatical in the world, among which the best known is Thira 4 or Gate 4. Their home stadium is the Toumba Stadium, located in Thessaloniki, Greece and with the capacity to hold 29,800 people. It was built in 1959 and the spectator record took place in 1976 when 45,252 attended the stadium.