This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Panathinaikos A.O." – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Full name | Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος Panathinaikós Athlitikós Ómilos (Panathenaic Athletic Club) |
|---|---|
| Nicknames | Οι Πράσινοι (the Greens) To Τριφύλλι (the Trifolium/Trefoil) Σύλλογος Μεγάλος (The Great Club) |
| Founded | 3 February 1908 as Podosferikos Omilos Athinon(117 years, 293 days old) |
| Based in | Athens, Greece |
| Colours | Green,White |
| Anthem | Syllogos Megalos (Great Club) |
| Chairman | Dimitris Vranopoulos |
| Titles | Intercontinental Titles:(1) European Titles:(9) Balkan Titles:(1) |
| Website | pao1908.com |
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (Greek:Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" orPanathinaikos A.C.[1]), also known simply asPanathinaikós[panˈaθinai̯ˈkos], is a majorGreekmulti-sport club based in theCity of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the most successfulmulti-sport clubs and one of the oldest clubs in Greece. The name "Panathinaikos" (which can literally be translated as "Panathenaic", which means "of all Athens") was inspired by the ancient work ofIsocratesPanathenaicus, where the orator praise theAthenians for their democratic education and their military superiority, which use it for benefit of all Greeks.[2]
It was founded byGiorgos Kalafatis in 1908 as a football club, when he and 40 other athletes decided to break away fromPanellinios Gymnastikos Syllogos following the club's decision to discontinue its football team. It is amongst the most popular clubs in the country and one of the biggest worldwide, based on the number of its sports departments. It is the club that introduced in Greece a number of sports, as it was the first, or amongst the first teams, in football, basketball, volleyball, field hockey, table tennis and handball, while they were also pioneer in the creation of women's teams in basketball and football.
Panathinaikos' teams and individual athletes have won numerous titles and have made notable participations in domestic and international competitions. The basketball team of the club is the most successful in Greece and one of the most successful in Europe, with sevenEuropean championships, oneIntercontinental Cup and twoTriple Crowns. The football team ofPanathinakos is the only Greek team that has reached theUEFA Champions League final (in 1971) and also the semi-finals twice (in 1985 and 1996). It is also the only Greek football team that has played for theIntercontinental Cup. The teams of Panathinaikos have played overall in 18 European and international finals (in football, basketball, men's volleyball, women's volleyball, men's table tennis and women's table tennis).
In the individual sports, Panathinaikos has a remarkable tradition in the athletics, cycling, shooting, fencing and boxing departments. It has produced numerous athletes; World champions and European champions, winners at theOlympic,Mediterranean andBalkan Games.

Football made its appearance in Greece at the end of the 19th century. In 1908, a young athlete ofPanellinios,Giorgos Kalafatis, dismayed by his club's decision to discontinue its football team, left with 40 other athletes and founded "Podosferikos Omilos Athinon" (Football Club of Athens).Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, the great Greek athlete of the early 20th century, played as goalkeeper for the new team.[3]
The team of Kalafatis was renamed to Panellinios Podosferikos Omilos (PPO) – i.e. "Panhellenic Football Club" – in 1911. In 1918, it was decided that the official crest of the club would be thetrifolium, symbol of unity, harmony, nature, and good luck, an idea of playerMichalis Papazoglou. The officials of the club were looking for a universal, non-nationalistic or localistic symbol, aiming to represent the wholeAthens at the country and further at the world.[4]
Papazoglou was also the main instigator of thePanathenaic Idea, the idea for the creation of a new club -for the Greek standards- which will participate in as more sports as possible (something that would by adopted later by all the major Greek clubs). With the help of the others of the leading four of the club (Kalafatis,Panourgias and Nikolaidis), this came true. In 1919, Kalafatis was a member of theGreece national football team that participated in theInter-Allied Games in Paris. There, he collected informations also aboutbasketball andvolleyball (sports unknown then in Greece) and after his return to Athens, started his efforts on creating new teams for the club.
In 1924, the club took its final and current name "Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (PAO)" (Panathenaic Athletic Club), from now on amulti-sports club. During the next decades, with main contributorApostolos Nikolaidis (consideredPatriarch of the club), Panathinaikos not only will create teams almost in every sport, but they will be consecutive champions for many years in most of them.


The athletics department was founded in 1919. In the same year, Panathinaikos was one of the first clubs in Greece to form avolleyball team. The first dynamic presence of the team is dated back in the years 1927–1929 with many popular players of the time such as the historical member of the boardApostolos Nikolaidis as well asAthanasios Aravositas, Goumas, Arg. Nikolaidis, Papageorgiou and Papastefanou.
In 1922, the basketball department was founded, also one of the first in Greece, and it has since developed into the most successful basketball team in the country and one of the most successful in Europe. In 1924, the table tennis department was founded, in 1926 the tennis department and in 1928 the cycling, shooting and field hockey departments. The swimming, water polo and handball departments were created in 1930.
In the1928 Summer Olympics, for the first time, the parade of nations started with Greece. The athlete of PanathinaikosAntonis Kariofillis became the first Greek who started the parade.
Panathinaikos won the football championship in 1930 under the guidance ofJózsef Künsztler withAngelos Messaris as the team's star player. Other notable players of the era wereAntonis Migiakis,Diomidis Symeonidis andMimis Pierrakos. They beat rivals Olympiacos 8–2, a result that still remains the biggest win either team has achieved against its rival. In 1937 the women's basketball team was created, being the first in the country.
During World War II and the dark years of theAxis occupation of Greece, the athletes of Panathinaikos played a significant role. The football playerMimis Pierrakos was killed during theGreco-Italian war, whileMichalis Papazoglou with Dimitris Giannatos (founding member of the basketball team) later participated in the resistance group ofJerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, an athlete of Polish origin ofIraklis Thessaloniki and secret agent of the British, and succeeded in destroying three German airplanes and sinking three small warships. They were arrested, tortured and finally Giannatos and Ivanof were executed.


After the war, the boxing department was re-founded in 1946, the diving department was created in 1947, the weightlifting department in 1959, the chess department in 1960, the fencing department was re-founded in 1960, the gymnastics department in 1962, the waterskiing department in 1963 and a wrestling department in 1965.
Panathinaikos' hardcore fans are calledGate 13 and are the oldest union of supporters in Greece. Gate 13 was founded in 1966. Furthermore, in the1966 European Athletics Championships, the pole vaulter of the club and 13 times Greek champion,Christos Papanikolaou, won the silver medal.
The volleyball club has demonstrated many titles and honours due to the fact that the team roster has always included some of the top volleyball players in Greece. The first generation was that of the 1960s with Andreas and Nikos Bergeles as well as Iliopoulos, Leloudas, Chasapis, Emmanouel, Perros and Fotiou who opened the road for the next generations.
In 1970,Christos Papanikolaou jumped 5.49 metres (18.0 ft) to capture theworld record. It was the first pole vault over 18 feet (5.5 m).
Panathinaikos soon dominated Greek football along with rivalsOlympiacos andAEK and, although they are second in domestic titles, they have done better than any other Greek club in the European competitions. In 1971, Panathinaikos became the first and only Greek team – so far – to have reached the final of a European competition, when they facedAjax inWembley Stadium for theEuropean Cup, losing 2–0. In the late 1970s, when football became professional in Greece, the club's football department passed to the hands of the Vardinogiannis family. In the following 30 years the team won the Greek championship 7 times, while in Europe the team reached also the semi-finals of theUEFA Champions League two more times, in 1985 and 1996.
In 1974, the table tennis team reached the semi-finals of theETTU Cup. In 1978, the modern pentathlon department was founded and in 1980, the judo department. An important achievement for the volleyball team was the participation in the final of theCEV Cup Winners' Cup in 1980. During the following years, Panathinaikos continued to perform well in Greek volleyball with players such as Kazazis, Tentzeris, Gontikas (later president ofPanathinaikos F.C.), Galakos, Dimitriadis and Margaronis.
The archery department was founded in 1981 and a futsal department in 1990.
Another successful period for the volleyball team was the seasons 1994–95 and 1995–96 when Panathinaikos won two Greek Championships in a row with Stelios Prosalikas as head coach and Andreopoulos, Triantafyllidis, Filippov, Spanos, Chatziantoniou, Ouzounov, A. Kovatsev, S. Kovatsev, Karamaroudis and Tonev as players.
The men'sbasketball department became professional in 1992 and since then is owned by two pharmaceutical magnates, the brothersPavlos andThanassis Giannakopoulos. In 1996 in Paris final-four (F4), Panathinaikos was the first Greek team to win a European Champions' Cup (now calledEuroleague), beatingBarcelona in a unique final, by 67–66. In September of the same year the team also won theIntercontinental Cup, prevailing by 2–1 wins over Olimpia ofArgentina (83–89, 83–78, 101–76). In the same year, the football team reached theUEFA Champions League semi-finals.
In 2000, in the F4 ofThessaloniki, Panathinaikos were the Champions of Europe for the second time, beatingMaccabi 73–67 in the final. In 2002 inBologna, they conquered the most prestigious European trophy for the third time, beating hostsKinder Bologna 89–83. Also, in 2000, the women's volleyball team reached theCEV Cup final.
In 2007 inAthens F4, Panathinaikos BC were crowned European Champions for the fourth time, beatingCSKA Moscow 93–91. In 2009 inBerlin, the "greens" defeated again CSKA 73–71 to become the Champions of Europe for the fifth time.
In 2009, the men's volleyball team reached theCEV Cup final, while the women's volleyball team reached theChallenge Cup final.
The sixthEuroleague triumph for Panathinaikos BC came inBarcelona in 2011, after defeatingMaccabi 78–70 in the final. Panathinaikos BC became so, the second most successful club (behindReal Madrid) in the history of the competition.
In 2013, a new sports department was founded for the first time after many years. It is therugby team, which was announced on 7 November 2013, while the re-foundation of thefield hockey department and the creation also of abaseball team was announced in 2014.
On 29 December 2016, following the trend of other sports clubs getting involved inesports, the club announced the establishment of Panathinaikos Esports.[5]
In December 2018, Panathinaikos proceeded to the foundation of Wheelchair Basketball department.[6]

In 1918,Michalis Papazoglou proposed thetrifolium as emblem of Panathinaikos, symbol of harmony, unity, nature, and good luck.[7]Georgios Chatzopoulos, member of the club (later President) and director of theNational Gallery, took over to design the emblem for the club. Up to the end of the 1970s, a trifolium (green or white) was sewed on the heart's side on the jersey of the club΄s teams.[8]
With the beginning of professionalism in the Greek football, the crest of the FC was created, accompanied by the club initials and the year of founding (1908).[8] Thebasketball team uses also since 1992 its own logo.
In 2014, the direction of the club introduced a separate crest for the whole club and all the amateur departments.



Football is the first and oldest department of the club. The football team of Panathinaikos is the only Greek that has reached theUEFA Champions League final (in 1971) and semi-finals (in 1985 and 1996), such as theIntercontinental Cup final.


Founded in 1919,[17] the basketball team of the club is the most successful in Greece and one of the most successful in Europe, with sevenEuroleague and oneIntercontinental Cup.
The department was founded in 1937, the first in the country.
The volleyball department was founded in 1919. it is one of the oldest and most successful volleyball teams in Greece.
The department was founded in 1969 and is the women's volleyball team with more trophies in Greece.

The athletics department was founded in 1919. The first athletes were thefootball players of the club.
Founded in 1928, it is one of the most successful departments of Panathinaikos.
The department was founded in 1924 byNikos Mantzaroglou.
It was founded in 1912 byJohn Cyril Campbell, the coach of the football team.
Just like the boxing department, it was founded in 1912 byJohn Cyril Campbell, the coach of the football team.
Panathinaikos Athletic Club People with Disabilities is the parasports department of the Greek sports club Panathinaikos, established on 3 December 2018. Its aim is to enable people with disabilities to compete in sports.
According to the most recent polls, Panathinaikos is one of the most popular clubs in Greece, with nearly 30,2%[31] of the fans supporting them, and the most popular in greaterAthens and the region ofAttica.[32] They have also a large fanbase in all Greek prefectures, in Cyprus and in theGreek diaspora. They have the largest fanbase among high educated people and the Greek upper class (traditionally representing the old Athenian society), while they are popular among middle and lower class also.
The main organized supporters of Panathinaikos are known asGate 13 (est. 1966), which consists of around 80 clubs alongside Greece and Cyprus.[33] Gate 13 style of supporting includes the use of green fireworks, large and small green flags, displaying of banners and especially the creation of colourful and large choreographies, noisy and constant cheering and other supporters stuff. Gate 13 has over the years become a part of the club by affecting club decisions and by following the club on all occasions.PALEFIP (Panhellenic club of Panathinaikos friends) is the other major supporters organization.[34] Panathinaikos F.C. currently is the onlysupporter-owned football club in Greece.
Panathinaikos supporters hold both records of the most season tickets sales (31.091 in 2010) and highest average attendance for a unique season (44.942 in 1985–86 season) in the history of Greek football.
Regarding the basketball, the fans of Panathinaikos, notable for their passionate support, also hold continuous attendance European records, such as the 20,000 fans against Benetton Treviso in 2006 and the 30,000 (over 25.000 officially) viewers against FC Barcelona Bàsquet in 2013.
The club is quite popular among artist cycles (actors, musicians, singers etc.), as well as some notable politicians.
|
|
|
TheGold trifolium of Panathinaikos AC is the major club's award given to special personalities. According to sources it has been awarded to:
|
|
|
| Season | Football | Men's basketball | Women's basketball | Men's volleyball | Women's volleyball | Men's table tennis | Women's table tennis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968–69 | FIBA Saporta Cup Semi-finals | ||||||
| 1970–71 | European Cup Final | ||||||
| Intercontinental Cup Final | |||||||
| 1971–72 | European Champions Cup Semi-finals | ||||||
| 1974–75 | ETTU Cup Semi-finals | ||||||
| 1977–78 | Balkans Cup Winners | ||||||
| 1979–80 | CEV Cup 2nd place | ||||||
| 1980–81 | Challenge Cup 4th place | ||||||
| 1981–82 | European Champions Cup Semi-finals | ||||||
| 1984–85 | European Cup Semi-finals | ||||||
| 1987–88 | UEFA Cup Quarter-finals | ||||||
| 1988–89 | CEV Cup 3rd place | ||||||
| 1991–92 | European Cup Quarter-finals | ||||||
| 1993–94 | FIBA European League 3rd place | ||||||
| 1994–95 | FIBA European League 3rd place | CEV Cup 4th place | |||||
| 1995–96 | UEFA Champions League Semi-finals | FIBA European League Champions | |||||
| FIBA Intercontinental Cup Winners | |||||||
| 1997–98 | FIBA Saporta Cup Semi-finals | Ronchetti Cup Quarter-finals | |||||
| 1999–00 | EuroLeague Champions | CEV Cup Final | |||||
| 2000–01 | FIBA SuproLeague Final | ||||||
| 2001–02 | UEFA Champions League Quarter-finals | EuroLeague Champions | |||||
| 2002–03 | UEFA Cup Quarter-finals | ||||||
| 2003–04 | Challenge Cup 4th place | ||||||
| 2004–05 | Euroleague 3rd place | ||||||
| 2005–06 | CEV Cup 3rd place | ||||||
| 2006–07 | EuroLeague Champions | ||||||
| 2007–08 | CEV Champions League Fase of 6 | ||||||
| 2008–09 | EuroLeague Champions | CEV Cup Final | Challenge Cup Final | ||||
| 2010–11 | EuroLeague Champions | ||||||
| 2011–12 | Euroleague 4th place | ||||||
| 2021–22 | CEV Challenge Cup Semi-finals | ETTU Europe Trophy Winners | |||||
| 2023–24 | EuroLeague Champions | ETTU Europe Trophy Winners | |||||
| 2024–25 | EuroLeague 4th place | ETTU Europe Trophy Semi-finals |
{{cite web}}:|last= has generic name (help){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)