| Full name | Πανηπειρωτικός Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Γιάννινα 1966 (Panepirotic Athletic Club Giannina 1966) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Άγιαξ της Ηπείρου (Ajax of Epirus) | |||
| Short name | PAS | |||
| Founded | 8 July 1966; 59 years ago (1966-07-08) | |||
| Ground | Zosimades Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 7,652 | |||
| Owner(s) | Panagiotis and Giannis Christovasilis | |||
| Chairman | Panagiotis Christovasilis | |||
| Manager | Giannis Goumas | |||
| League | Super League Greece 2 | |||
| 2024–25 | Super League Greece 2, 3rd | |||
| Website | pasgiannina.gr | |||
| Departments ofPAS Giannina | ||||||||||||||||||
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PAS Giannina Football Club (Greek:ΠΑΕ ΠΑΣ Γιάννινα 1966), or with its full namePanipirotikós Athlitikós Síllogos Giánnina (Greek:Πανηπειρωτικός Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Γιάννινα,Panepirotic Athletic Club Giannina) is a Greek professionalfootball club based in the city ofIoannina, the capital ofEpirus region. The club is best known among Greek football fans for its loyal support and its status as the most successful football club inEpirus region.
PAS Giannina was formed in 1966 as a result of the union of the two local teams: AO Ioanninon (union of Atromitos Ioanninon and Olympiacos Ioanninon in 1962) and PAS Averof.[1][2][3][4] As emblem of the new team was chosen the bull, as appeared on the ancient coin of theEpirote League. The club have competed several times in theSuper League. The club's best finish in the competition is 5th place on three occasions (1975–76,1977–78,2012–13). They have reached the semi-finals of theGreek Cup overall three times (2006–07,2009–10,2020–21). They have competed once inUEFA competitions and also participated in theBalkans Cup on two occasions.

The first official match was for theGreek Cup against Pindos Konitsas on 2 October 1966. The result was 4–0 for PAS Giannina.[5][6] PAS Giannina was a mid-table club of theSecond Division until 1971. In1966–67, the club finished 6th.[7] In1967–68, it finished 10th.[7] In1968–69, it finished 5th.[7] In1969–70, it finished 7th.[7] In1970–71, it finished 13th.[7]
In 1971, the Portuguese Gómez de Faria[8][9] was signed as manager.[10] In1971–72, PAS Giannina finished 13th.[7] In the middle of the season, threeArgentine players were signed: Alfredo Glasman, Jose Pasternac andEduardos Kontogeorgakis (who isEduardo Rigani's son). At the end of the season, three moreArgentine players were signed:Juan Montes,Oscar Alvarez[11] and Eduardo Lisa.[10] PAS Giannina was in the race for promotion. In1972–73, the club finished second.[7] In1973–74, it finished first[7] and was promoted to theFirst division.[12]
PAS Giannina was in theFirst Division for 10 years. The club finished several times near the top of theFirst Division table, often earning victories over more established Greek teams such asOlympiacos,Panathinaikos,AEK Athens andPAOK. The effective and spirited play of the club during these years drew flattering comparisons with the famousDutch clubAjax Amsterdam, and the moniker "Ajax of Epirus" has stuck with the team ever since.
In1974–75, PAS Giannina finished 9th.[7] In1975–76, PAS Giannina finished 5th for the first time.[7] This position is the record high for the club. In1976–77, it finished 11th.[7] In1977–78, the club finished 5th again.[7] The club qualified for theBalkans Cup for the first time in its history. In1978–79, it finished 14th. In1979–80, it finished 6th.[7] In the middle of the season, former Poland national team coachJacek Gmoch was signed from the Epirote club.[13] It was a brief but a reasonably successful tenure. In1980–81, it finished 11th.[7] In1981–82, it finished 14th.[7] In1982–83, it finished 9th.[7]
The period following the aforementioned peak years of the club generally marked a sharp decline in the fortunes of it as many of its top stars moved on or retired outright without being satisfactorily replaced. In1983–84, PAS Giannina finished 15th. It was in a tie withPanionios. There was a play out match inLarissa between the two clubs. Panionios won the match 2–0. PAS Giannina relegated in theSecond Division.[14] In1984–85, the club finished first[7] in theSecond Division and was promoted to theFirst Division. In1985–86, it finished 13th.[7] In1986–87, it finished 16th and was relegated to theSecond Division[7]

In1987–88, it finished 12th.[7] In1988–89, it finished 4th.[7] The club qualified for the promotion playoffs withEthnikos Piraeus,Apollon Kalamarias,Korinthos,Diagoras andVeroia. It failed to get promoted.[15] In1989–90, it finished third and got promoted to theFirst Division.[7][16] In1990–91, the club finished 18th and was relegated to theSecond Division.[7] In1991–92, the club finished 14th.[7] In1992–93, it finished 10th.[7] PAS Giannina qualified for theBalkans Cup for the second time in its history. In1993–94, it finished 5th.[7] Also the club was runner up in theBalkans Cup1993–94. In1994–95, it finished 8th. In1995–96, it finished 12th.[7] In1996–97, it finished 16th.[7] PAS Giannina was relegated to theThird Division for the first time in its history.[17]
PAS Giannina was in theThird Division for the first time in its history. In 1997–98, it finished first[7] and got promoted to theSecond division.[18] In1998–99, it finished 4th,[7] failing to get promoted to theFirst Division. In1999–00, it finished third[7] and qualified for the promotion playoffs withEgaleo andPanserraikos. PAS Giannina wonPanserraikos 3–1 and draw withEgaleo 1–1. After that the club promoted to theFirst Division.[19] In2000–01, it finished 13th[7] and qualified to the relegation playoffs. The club relegated after a 3-game playoff withOFI.[20] In2001–02, PAS Giannina finished first and promoted to theFirst Division.[7]
PAS experienced a fair degree of instability in these years. In2002–03, PAS Giannina finished 14th. After the penalty of 90 points the club finished 16th and relegated. The penalty of 90 points imposed on it by theGreek football association (EPO) for financial reasons.[21] There were a lot of financial problems in season2003–04. The club finished 14th and qualified to playout withIlisiakos. The club lost 3–1 and relegated in theThird division for the second time in its history. The club turned on a semi-professional status.

The control of the club switched over to attorneyAlexis Kougias. In2004–05, the club finished second and failed to get promoted.[7][22] In2005–06 it finished second and got promoted toSecond Division.[22] In2006–07, PAS Giannina finished 5th.[7] Also, PAS Giannina reached the semifinals of theGreek Cup2006–07 againstAEL. PAS Giannina lost 2–0 both home and away match. On the quarter-final PAS Giannina wonOlympiacos, 2–0 at home and lost 2–1 inKaraiskakis Stadium of an extra-time goal fromEvangelos Kontogoulidis before a hostile crowd.[23] PAS Giannina finished 4th in theSecond Division in the2007–08 season, failing to get promoted.
In the summer of 2008, ownership of the club was passed over to Giorgos Christovasilis, a businessman from Athens whose roots are from the Epirus region. He signedGuillermo Ángel Hoyos as manager[24] and some great players such asLuciano.[25] In the2008–09 season, the club promoted as second in theSuper League. In the summer of 2009, the club signed players such asDimitrios Eleftheropoulos,Ibrahima Bakayoko,Konstantinos Mendrinos,Ilias Kotsios.[26] In2009–10, the club finished 15th and got relegated one more time.[7] On the other hand, the club was successful in theGreek Cup. PAS Giannina reached the semifinals for the second time in its history. In the quarter final PAS Giannina wonPAOK 4–0 inZosimades Stadium.[27][28] In the semifinals, the club lost fromPanathinaikos on aggregate 2–4.

In the2010–11 season, PAS Giannina was promoted as second again toSuper League.[7] The club takes part inSuper League every year. In2011–12, PAS Giannina finished 8th.[7] In2012–13, PAS Giannina finished 5th and qualified for the playoffs withAtromitos,Asteras Tripolis andPAOK for the first time in its history.Also,Giannis Christopoulos won the best manager of the year award.[29]
It started with 2 wins but at the end it finished 4th. The club qualified forEuropa League. PAS Giannina were not licensed to play in theEuropa League and therefore were replaced by the nextEuropa League licensed team in the table, not already qualified for any European competition, which wasSkoda Xanthi. In2013–14, the club finished 11th, a safe mid-table position. In2014–15, the club finished 6th. Also that year, there were awards for the manager and two players.Giannis Petrakis won the best manager of the year award.Charis Charisis won the best young player of Greek Super League award andMarkos Vellidis won the best goalkeeper award.[30]
In2015–16, the club finished 6th again.[31] PAS Giannina qualified forUEFA Europa League 2016–17 becausePanionios was excluded from participating in the 2016–17 European competitions by UEFA for financial reasons.[32] The club qualified for European competitions, exceptBalkans Cup, for the first time in its history. In2016–17, the club takes part in theSuper League. The club finished 9th. An important moment was the charity match for the refugees between the veterans of the club andFC Barcelona.[33] The charity match and activities were organized by the Barça Players Association in collaboration with theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and with the support of PAS Giannina FC.[34]
In2017–18, the club finished 9th again in theSuper League. Also, PAS Giannina reached the quarterfinals in theGreek Cup.[35] In2018–19, after an awful season, PAS Giannina finished 14th and relegated to theSuper League 2. There were many changes at the club.Petrakis left the club after years and a new manager,Argiris Giannikis was hired. Some players, with many years at the club, left it as well.Michail,Tzimopoulos,Lila,Giakos left the club. Some young players likeLiasos,Lolis,Naumets took part at first 11. Also,Giorgos Dasios returned to the club as Director of Football. PAS Giannina was first when thechampionship was suspended. On 22 June 2020, it was announced that the ranking on 12 March 2020 is the final ranking. PAS Giannina won theSuper League Greece 2 in the season2019–20 and been the first team to win the new competition and the club was promoted toSuper League 1.[36]
In2020–21, the club finished 8th on the regular season. It finished 9th after the end of play out. The team got into the semi-final of theGreek Cup in the season2020-21 after beatingAtromitos andPanathinaikos.[37][38][39][40] PAS Giannina reached semi finals for the third time in its history. In the semifinals, the club lost fromOlympiacos on aggregate 2–4, the only team considered capable to beat the in-form PAS Giannina side at the time by the Greek fans, many of whom considered the Epirus side the favorite to win in the final against eitherAEK orPAOK if qualified. The team consisted mainly of debutant players who were performing at their best such asAlexandros Kartalis,Christos Eleftheriadis,Nicolae Milinceanu etc.
In the2021–22 season, the club got 6th place inSuper League Greece. In2021-22 PAS Giannina finished 6th on the regular season and took part on play off round, finishing 6th, as well. This was one of the clubs most successful campaigns mostly due to the defensive style of play used by the coachIraklis Metaxas, using the containing4-4-2 double six formation. Rock solid defence was a result of great chemistry, athleticism, leadership, playing abilities and great passion from the goalkeeper,Yuri Lodygin who is regarded as the best goalkeeper to ever play for the Epirus side, and the defendersPeersman,Erramuspe,Kargas andSaliakas.Lodygin provided defensive security and stability,Erramuspe andKargas displayed great leadership, fighting spirit, great aerial ability, and great ball playing skills, and withPeersman andSaliakas being two of the most consistent players throughout the whole season not only helped the team with their attacking runs, but were rock-solid on defence. On the midfield, PAS Giannina signing fromSuper League 2 clubLevadiakos,Zisis Karachalios completed one of the best seasons of his career, alongsideDomínguez for the first half of the season, andCaleb Stanko for the second half.Karachalios provided great support in defence, helping the team with his very high work rate, stamina, strength, interceptions and steals, being ranked as the player with the most steals inSuper League 1.[41]
Juan José Perea performed well and scored 10 goals to help PAS Giannina on attack. A historic match between PAS Giannina Veterans andAjax Veterans took part on Zosimades Stadium, on July 6, 2022.[42]

In the2022–23 season,Thanasis Staikos took over, after a rather controversial decision from the club president, signing an inexperienced coach. PAS Giannina finished 11th on the regular season and took part on play out round. It finished on 9th after the end of play out. PAS started the2023–24 in a very promising way, after beatingA.E. Kifisia by 3–0 in the opening match, and an away draw against Panetolikos. However, lack of defensive stability, poor tactics and serious goalkeeper errors, PAS suffered shocking loses against Panseraikos, Volos, Lamia and A.E. Kifisia. Eventually, after a 13 games winless streak,Staikos resigned, becoming the first manager in 10 years to be replaced mid-season.After an awful season PAS Giannina finished on 14th and relegated toSuper League Greece 2.
In2024–25, PAS had a mediocre run in the championship. It finished 3rd but it never managed to challenge for promotion. The club also changed two managers and finished the season with a caretaker manager. The owners imposed a payment freeze, leading to financial difficulties for the club.[43] The club also received 7 transfer bans fromFIFA.[44] There was also a threat of the club dropping to the local amateur divisions.[45] Negotiations took place regarding the transfer of ownership, but they failed to result in a deal.[46] Just before the club's collapse, Nikos Siontis, the son of the team's former captain, stepped in to save the club.[47][48] PAS also sold over 2,000 season tickets, despite the fact that it was still unclear whether the team would participate in the league and without having a squad in place.[49] Even former players bought season tickets to support the club.[50] The club also competed in the Greek Cup 2024–25 with only 12 players, mostly young, with the youngest being just 15 years old. Although there was no hope of winning, over 3,000 fans showed up at the stadium to support the team.[51][52] The club reached agreements to restructure its debts, the transfer bans were removed, and it secured a license for the upcoming league.[53][54][55]
During the2016–17 season, PAS Giannina competed on theUEFA Europa League qualifying rounds for the first time in the club's history. PAS Giannina finished 6th on the2015–16 Super League Greece, which enabled him to participate, on theSecond qualifying round.
On 21s July 2016, PAS Giannina facedOdds BK in a fullZosimades Stadium with a total attendance of 5.615 spectators, who completed a pre game parade towards the stadium, with thousands of fans and hooligans loudly signing chants. Players were greeted into the stadium by an unprecedented atmosphere which could be heard throughout the whole locality. PAS Giannina captainAlexios Michail opened the score from inside the box after a corner kick taken byNoé Acosta on the 7th minute. PAS Giannina had total control of the game, and in the 31st minuteFonsi Nadales doubled his team lead with a great volley after a perfectly executed cross byNikos Karanikas. On the second half, the goalkeeperAlexandros Paschalakis with a presice volley across the whole length of the pitch, spottedDimitrios Ferfelis who took advantage of the opposition's defenders error and sprinted towards goal withAcosta trailing.Ferfelis' shot got blocked by the goalkeeper, who couldn't handle the ball, and got served forNoé Acosta who scored to form the final score. On the 2nd leg, about 500 PAS Giannina fans traveled to Norway to support their team. The away side managed to concede no goals on the first half, but conceded 3 goals on the second half, and the game was led to extra time. However, the Epirus side managed to score after a remarkable dribble fooling the opposition defenders fromChristopher Maboulou†, who let the ball pass beside him after a pass fromKaranikas, to reachLeonardo Koutris who beat the goalkeeper, and formed the final score of 3–1 after extra time, and eventually led PAS Giannina to theThird qualifying round for the first time in the club's history.[56]
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | Europa League | Second qualifying round | 3–0 | 3–1 | 4–3 | ||
| Third qualifying round | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 |
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979–80 | Balkans Cup | Group Stage | 3–0 | 0–2 | – | ||
| 1–3 | 1–2 | ||||||
| 1993–94 | Balkans Cup | Semi-finals | 2–0 | 3–1 | 5–1 | ||
| Final | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–5 |

PAS Giannina play in the home ground,Zosimades,[57] where they have played since its foundation. The capacity is 7,500 seats. The stadium is in the downtown ofIoannina. The highest attendance (14,557 fans) was in a match withOlympiacos in season 1974–75.[58]
Zosimades is a historic stadium and is decorated from the outside with many graffities depicting club legends, and former squads, combined with old buildings around the stadium with a great variety of graffities, a very good and atmospheric scenery is made. The identity of the club is highly intense throughout the whole stadium, making PAS Giannina one of the most difficult and challenging opponents for everyone to beat. The training facilities are inPEAKI. There are three football fields and a car parking with capacity of 500 cars.[59]
Over the years, PAS has competed in theSuper League for a total of 28 seasons (plus2023–24) The club has never won theSuper League or theGreek Cup, but it has won lower division titles throughout its history and represented Greece in the1979–80 and1993–94 Balkans Cup tournaments. During its history in theSuper League, the club finished 3 times in the 5th position (1975–76,1977–78,2012–13 seasons) and 4 times in the 6th position (1979–80,2014–15,2015–16,2021–22 seasons).
On 31 January 2007, PAS clinched a spot in the Greek Cup semifinals by virtue of an extra-time goal fromEvangelos Kontogoulidis before a hostile crowd inKaraiskakis Stadium. With an aggregate score of 3–2, PAS Giannina also is the first ever lower division club that eliminatedOlympiacos from the Greek Cup tournament. The most famous player to have donned the blue and white PAS Giannina's jersey in recent years is defenderGiourkas Seitaridis, who later played forPanathinaikos,FC Porto,Dynamo Moscow, andAtlético Madrid as well as the triumphantEuro 2004 Greece squad.
The team is well known for its passionate supporters, mainly from the city ofIoannina and the wholeEpirus region. The first union was the fan club of square at 70s and 80s. A new fan club was founded on 1986. The name was the bulls (tavroi). The club was active until 2011. One more fan club was founded in the middle of 90s unofficial, Blue Vayeros. Officially it was founded on 2000.[61] Apei rotan was founded on 2008 and they were active until 2015.[62] Azzurra Familia was founded on 2013 and it was active for a short period.[63] PAS Giannina fan club was founded on 2018.[64]
There were fan clubs inAthens like Los Toros Locos (2001–2009) orThessaloniki (Blue Vayeros Salonica (2006–2011). There are also groups in Greece or abroad.[65] PAS Giannina was given the nicknameAjax of Epirus (Greek: Άγιαξ της Ηπείρου) in the 1970s, thanks to their impressive football style which was linkedlicentia poetica to the style of the famous Dutch club.[66]
PAS Giannina fans feel deep antipathy towards the clubs fromAthens:Olympiacos,Panathinaikos andAEK Athens. There is a rivalry withOFI based on the events surrounding their 2001 playoffs. In contrast, derby matches againstAEL are competitive in the sporting sense but do not evoke the same feelings of enmity from PAS Giannina supporters. The other important rivals arePanachaiki,Panetolikos,AO Kerkyra. In the past there were local derbies inEpirus. These were withAnagennisi Arta andPAS Preveza. There was a rivalry withPanionios based on 1984 playout match.[67] This rivalry has been increased since the summer of 2016, when Panionios was not granted a license by UEFA to compete in the Europa League following a claim by PAS Giannina. UEFA ruled that PAS Giannina take Panionios’ place in the 2016 2nd qualifying round of the Europa League.[68][69]
The colours of the team areblue orcyan andwhite. The crest depicts an ancient bull with anoak wreath, as appeared in an ancient coin (238–168 BC) of theEpirote League plus the word "ΑΠΕΙΡΩΤΑΝ" meaning "people of Epirus".
![]() 1968–69 | ![]() 1973–74 | 1985–86 | ![]() ![]() ![]() 2015–16 (third) | ![]() 2016–17 | ![]() 2017–18 |
| Season | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1980–81 | Asics Tiger | — |
| 1981–82 | turb jeans | |
| 1982–83 | Hoval | |
| 1983–84 | Le coq sportif | Nec Hi-Fi |
| 1984–85 | Asics Tiger | Freedom jeans/Macle jeans |
| 1985–86 | Puma | Propo |
| 1986–87 | ||
| 1987–88 | Adidas | — |
| 1988–89 | Puma | Propo |
| 1989–90 | — | — |
| 1990–91 | Adidas | Dunlop |
| 1991–93 | Dodoni | |
| 1993–94 | Nike | — |
| 1994–95 | Diadora | Propo |
| 1995–96 | Lotto | Propo/Filmnet |
| 1996–97 | Puma | — |
| 1997–99 | Umbro | |
| 1999–00 | Laiko Lacheio | |
| 2000–01 | Puma | Pindos |
| 2001–02 | Umbro | — |
| 2002–04 | Joma | |
| 2004–05 | Nike | Tzoker |
| 2005–06 | Adidas | Zagori |
| 2006–08 | Umbro | |
| 2008–09 | Puma | |
| 2009–10 | Umbro | |
| 2010–11 | Lotto | |
| 2011–13 | Tzoker | |
| 2013–17 | Nike | |
| 2017–19 | Vikos Cola/car.gr | |
| 2019–20 | Joma | car.gr |
| 2020–21 | Kappa | NetBet |
| 2021–23 | Le coq sportif | |
| 2023–24 | Puma | novibet |
| 2024–25 | - | |
| 2025–26 | Adidas | Hall of Brands |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Majority owner | Nikos Siontis |
| President and CEO | Nikos Siontis |
| Vice President | Giannis Christovasilis |
| Amateur club member | Giorgos Oikonomou |
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Director of Office | |
| Head of Ticket Department | |
| Press & Media Office | Sakis Pediaditakis |
| Security Officer | Fontas Vrosgos |
| Marketing Office |
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Technical Director | Themis Tzimopoulos |
| Team Manager | Giorgos Dasios[72] |
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Giannis Goumas |
| Assistant coach | Nikos Tzanoglou,Manolis Skoufalis |
| Fitness coach | Dimitris Charisis |
| Goalkeeper coach | Thanasis Kouventaris |
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head doctor | Stavros Restanis |
| Doctor | Giannis Baltogiannis |
| Physio | Stefanos Soultis |
| Physio | Kostas Soukas |
| Caretaker | Lefteris Vasileiou |
| Caretaker | Vasilis Panagiotou |
| PAS Giannina F.C. presidential history from 1966 to present | ||
|---|---|---|
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