PAOK was founded on 20 April 1926 in Thessaloniki by refugees from Constantinople. On 20 April 2027 the "Dikefalos" (Double-Headed Eagle) turns 101. Behind the black and white lies a story of uprooting, memory and hope.

From Constantinople to Thessaloniki

After the Greco-Turkish War, many Constantinopolitans settled in Thessaloniki. There they had the Enosis Konstantinoupoliton Thessalonikis, a social club with roots in Pera Club of Constantinople. PAOK was born out of a dispute with that organisation.

The wider PAOK club is closely linked with Hermes, a sports club founded in 1875 in Pera, Constantinople. The football team's first coach was Kostas Andreadis and its first captain Michalis Ventourelis.

In March 1929 AEK Thessaloniki was dissolved and its members joined PAOK. PAOK thus became the city's only refugee club.

What the four letters mean

PAOK stands for Panthessalonikios Athlitikos Omilos Konstantinoupoliton, the Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans. The name honours the people and places of the City and the Byzantine Empire. It was a way of keeping alive the homeland the founders had left behind.

From the clover to the double-headed eagle

PAOK's first emblem was a horseshoe with a four-leaf clover. In 1929, after the members of AEK Thessaloniki joined, the club adopted the double-headed eagle to recall its Byzantine and Constantinopolitan heritage.

PAOK's eagle has folded wings, as a sign of grief for the lost homelands. In 2013 a gold outline was added, pointing to the Byzantine past.

Black and white: mourning and hope

The colours have a clear symbolism. Black for the bitterness of being uprooted from ancestral lands and white for the hope of a new beginning.

The classic shirt has vertical black and white stripes, with black or white shorts and socks. Manufacturers and sponsors have changed many times since the 1970s, and today the shirt is made by Macron.

For the centenary in 2026, the club released anniversary shirts. The striped one recalls the wide stripes of the 1970s, with long sleeves, gold lettering and a woven badge in the centre. The black one carries the club's first emblem, the four-leaf clover.

From Syntrivani to Toumba

The first friendlies, in 1926, were played at Thermaikos's ground. On 5 June 1932 the Syntrivani ground was opened with a 3-2 win over Iraklis.

On 6 September 1959 Toumba opened, built with public donations, with a 1-0 friendly win over AEK. It was the first Greek stadium with a grass pitch, a rarity at the time.

It opened with around 15,000 places and by the mid-1970s held about 45,000. Fans call it the "Black Hell" because of the fiery atmosphere opponents face there.

Titles and legends

The first league title came in 1976 under the Hungarian Gyula Lóránt, and the second in 1985. In 2018-19 PAOK won the league unbeaten, with 26 wins and 4 draws, and the Cup as well, the first double in its history. The fourth title came in 2024.

The league appearance record belongs to Giorgos Koudas with 504 games. The top scorer is Stavros Sarafis with 169 goals, while Theodoros Zagorakis and Vieirinha both wore the shirt as captains.

Celebrate with us

From a horseshoe with a clover to the eagle with folded wings, PAOK carries the memory of Constantinople on its shirt. Happy 101st birthday to the Dikefalos!

See our PAOK jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: View of Toumba Stadium from Gate 4 – Gparalikidis, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC0 1.0.