Pafos FC
Pafos FC (Greek: Πάφος FC) is a Cypriot football team based in Paphos. The club was formed in 2014 after the merger of the biggest teams of Paphos district, based on the historical teams of APOP and Evagoras. Their home stadium is Stelios Kyriakides Stadium and they are currently competing in the Cypriot First Division.
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| Full name | Pafos Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 10 June 2014 | ||
| Ground | Stelios Kyriakides Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 8,500[1] | ||
| Manager | Vacant | ||
| League | First Division | ||
| 2019–20 | First Division, 7th | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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History
Pafos FC is a "product" of a form of merger between the strongest football forces of the Province of Paphos. The Pafos FC Association represents Paphian football and sports throughout Cyprus through the football team and the Football Academy, which has hosts hundreds of young athletes. The emblem of Pafos FC includes the name of the Club and Town in which the figure of the Eternal Adolescent Hero Evagoras Pallikarides is integrated. The shape and colors of the emblem (white, blue and gold) refer to the historical clubs of APOP and AEK Kouklia. The emblem was renewed during the period 2018-19, making the figure of the hero Evagoras Pallikarides more visible.
On 10 June 2014, in the historic building of the AEP Paphos FC, hosted the first gathering of the friends of the merged team, in the presence of politicians, active and veteran football players of Paphos and hundreds of fans. The first president of the team was Christakis Kaizer, who was the president of AEK Kouklia and one of the main people of the effort to create the new team together with the then six-member managing committee of AEP, consisting of pure friends of the Paphian team, who kept it alive until the end of the then season, along with the then coaches, young players and executives and players of the Academy, under adverse economic conditions.
As an official home stadium for its obligations in the championship of the first division, the team uses Stelios Kyriakides Stadium (Paphiako Stadium).
The purpose of the Club is to promote noble rivalry, "fair play" and culture both through sports activities and through numerous cultural and educational events, visits to schools and educational institutions in Paphos. For the past two years, the team has been projecting a picture of renewal and full professionalism in all departments and levels. An important event is the complete renovation of the training center to the standards of European clubs.
The team's first coach was Radmilo Ivančević, who served as AEP Paphos coach in the past.[2] Pafos FC competed in the 2014–15 Cypriot Second Division, in their first season as a club.
The new team participated in the Division B championship 2014-15. The first match in Club's new history was against Enosis Neon Paralimni FC, at the Municipal Stadium of Geroskipou which was the first Home stadium of the team. At the end of the period the team achieved the second place and was promoted to the first division. In 2015-16 season, in the first participation of Pafos FC in the first division, the team finished in 12th place and was relegated. First victory and the team's first overall victory in the first division came on 12 September 2015 in the third game of the league when Pafos FC defeated Aris Limassol FC 3-0 at home.
In 2016-17 season, the team finished second in second division championship and was promoted to the First Division. In 2017-18 season, Pafos FC remained in the top division, finishing in tenth place under the new the management of the team by British Roman Dubov and TSI investments Group, who raised the level of the team through resounding transfers, changes in the structure of the team, strengthening the operation of the Academy and through the renovation of the Training Center of PAFOS FC and its transformation into one of the most modern and well-equipped in Cyprus.
Domestic history
| Season | League | Cypriot Cup | Top goalscorer | Manager | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Div. | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Name | League | |||
| 2014–15 | 2nd | 2nd | 26 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 55 | 19 | 62 | First Round |  Radmilo Ivančević  Sofoklis Sofokleous | ||
| 2015–16 | 1st | 12th | 36 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 41 | 58 | 36 | Quarterfinal |  Nassir Maachi |
11 | Sofoklis Sofokleous  José Manuel Roca Apostolos Makrides |
| 2016–17 | 2nd | 2nd | 26 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 51 | 24 | 57 | First Round | Dimitris Ioannou | ||
| 2017–18 | 1st | 10th | 36 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 36 | 51 | 42 | Semifinal |  Daniel Sikorski  Kévin Bérigaud |
7 |  Luka Elsner  Steven Pressley |
| 2018–19 | 1st | 8th | 32 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 39 | 50 | 38 | Quarterfinal |  Adam Nemec |
16 | Steven Pressley  Željko Kopić |
| 2019–20 | 1st | 7th | 23 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 26 | 28 | 30 | Second Round |  Onni Valakari |
5 | Željko Kopić .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Cameron Toshack |
| 2020–21 | 1st | Second Round | Cameron Toshack  Dmytro Mykhaylenko | ||||||||||
Badge and colors
The logo of Pafos FC is a variation of AEP Paphos's logo and a refresh of Pafos FC first logo, including the name of the team and town and the classic figure of the hero Evagoras Pallikaridis. The logo also includes the team's colors, the blue, white and gold.[3][4] The emblem was renewed during the period 2018-19, making the figure of the hero Evagoras Pallikarides more visible.
Shirt sponsors and manufacturers
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2017–2019 | Jako | KORANTINA HOMES |
| 2019– | Macron |
Players
- As of 4 January 2021[5]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Current staff
| Senior Management | |
|---|---|
| CEO |  Pavel Gognidze |
| Sporting Director |  Stephen Constantine |
Head Scouter |
 Andrey Grushin |
| Technical staff | |
| Head Coach | Dmytro Mykhaylenko |
| Assistant Coach | Roman Sharonov |
| Assistant Coach | Miguel Grau Piles |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Nikos Constantinides |
| Head of Performance Analysis | Stephen Constantine |
| Strength & Conditioning Coach | Miguel Herrera Diaz |
| Analyst | Giorgos Christodoulou |
| Head Physiotherapist |  Panos Payiazitis |
Managers
- Radmilo Ivančević (2014–2014)
- Sofoklis Sofokleous (2014–2015)
- José Manuel Roca (2015–2015)
- Apostolos Makridis (2015–2016)
- Dimitris Ioannou (2016–2017)
- Luka Elsner (2017–2018)
- Steven Pressley (2018)
- Željko Kopić (2018–2019)
- Cameron Toshack (2019–2020)
- Dmytro Mykhaylenko (2020–2021)
References
- https://cyprussports.org/gr/sport-facilities/pafos/pafiako-stadium.html
- ΣΥΜΦΩΝΙΑ ΜΕ ΡΑΤΜΙΛΟ ΙΒΑΝΤΣΕΒΙΤΣ (in Greek). pafosfc.com.cy. 3 July 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- "Πάφος FC: Με διαγωνισμό το έμβλημα του νέου σωματείου". sentragoal.philenews.com. 3 June 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- "Δείτε το νέο έμβλημα της Πάφος F.C!". protathlima.com. 7 June 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- https://pafosfc.com.cy/our-team