# Athens Kallithea F.C.

Athens Kallithea Football Club or simply Kallithea is a Greek professional football club based in Kallithea, a city and a suburb in Athens. The club currently competes in the Super League, the top tier of the Greek football league system.
The club has finished as high as ninth in the Greek top flight (2004–05) and has reached as far as the quarterfinal stage of the Greek Cup on five occasions (1969–70, 1978–79, 1986–87, 2001–02, 2009–10).

## History
### Founding and early history

The club was founded on 18 August 1966 from the merger of five local clubs: Esperos, Iraklis, AE Kallitheas, Kallithaikos, and Pyrsos.
In 1970, Kallithea's Grigoris Lambrakis Stadium, named after the Greek liberal politician and peace activist Grigoris Lambrakis, was opened to the public.

### Promotion to the first division

On 28 April 2002, Kallithea clinched their first-ever promotion to Greece's top division with a 0-1 win over Chalkidona FC at Neapoli Stadium on a goal by Theofanis Gekas.
The club's first win in the competition was a 3–2 upset of PAOK at Toumba Stadium, thanks to two goals from Gekas, on 14 September 2002.
After four seasons in the top flight, Kallithea were relegated in the 2005-06 season.

### Recent history (2021 to present)

In August 2021, New York-born Greek-American Ted Philipakos, a former Chief Executive Officer and Chief Brand Officer at Venezia FC, led the takeover of Kallithea FC with his brother and former professional footballer Peter Philipakos and investor Andrew Barroway.
In the 2021-22 season, Kallithea finished second in Super League 2, seven points back of league winners Levadiakos for promotion to Super League 1, which was the club's most successful season since it last appeared in the top division in 2005–06.
In September 2022, the club rebranded as Athens Kallithea FC. The presentation of the club's rebranding was met with widespread acclaim in Greece and abroad, with London-based Versus calling it "one of the cleanest football rebrands ever."
In the 2022-23 season, AKFC missed out on promotion to Super League 1 by one point, finishing second in Super League 2 for the second consecutive season.
After two consecutive second-place finishes, AKFC were crowned 2023-24 Super League 2 South Group champions and was promoted to Super League Greece.

## Crest and colors

The first crest of Kallithea consisted of four circles representing the four groups of the merger of 1966, then becoming five circles with the addition of Pyrsos in 1967, which caused an issue with the Hellenic Olympic Committee. As a result, the club introduced a new crest with five stars in a diagonal line. The club's colors were blue and white, which were the colors of the two main groups of the merger, Esperos Kallitheas and Iraklis Kallitheas.
In September 2022, the club rebranded as Athens Kallithea FC and presented a new visual identity, including a new crest and the addition of accents of gold to the uniform and a different shade of blue. The design work was executed by German studio Bureau Borsche, which also handled the rebranding of Inter Milan and Venezia FC.

## Players
### Current squad

    As of 8 February 2025
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | GRE | Thanasis Pantos |
| 2 | DF | VEN | Josua Mejías |
| 3 | DF | BIH | Nemanja Nikolić |
| 5 | DF | NZL | James McGarry (on loan from Aberdeen) |
| 7 | MF | GRE | Andreas Vasilogiannis |
| 8 | MF | ESP | Javier Matilla |
| 9 | FW | FRA | Migouel Alfarela (on loan from Legia Warsaw) |
| 10 | MF | BRA | Demethryus |
| 11 | DF | GRE | Nikos Kenourgios |
| 13 | GK | ESP | Bernabé Barragán |
| 14 | DF | GRE | Georgios Manthatis |
| 17 | MF | SEN | Mor Ndiaye |
| 18 | FW | ITA | Elia Giani (on loan from Pisa) |
| 20 | MF | GRE | Giannis Sardelis |
| 21 | MF | GRE | Dimitrios Metaxas |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | MF | CMR | François Mughe (on loan from Marseille) |
| 23 | DF | FIN | Pyry Soiri |
| 24 | GK | GRE | Ioannis Gelios |
| 25 | FW | GRE | Giannis Loukinas (captain) |
| 26 | MF | ITA | Alessandro Mercati |
| 27 | MF | GRE | Georgios Vrakas (on loan from Atromitos) |
| 28 | MF | FRA | Mathieu Valbuena |
| 29 | MF | ARG | Miguel Mellado |
| 37 | DF | GRE | Giannis Tsivelekidis |
| 58 | DF | GRE | Triantafyllos Pasalidis |
| 77 | DF | FRA | Nicolas Isimat-Mirin |
| 85 | GK | FIN | Niki Mäenpää |
| 95 | FW | SMN | Keelan Lebon |
| 99 | GK | GRE | Andreas Sakelliadis |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 6 | DF | MDA | Andrei Motoc (at Virtus Entella until 30 June 2025) |
| 12 | MF | USA | Constantine Edlund (at KTP until 31 December 2025) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 55 | DF | POL | Wiktor Matyjewicz (at Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza until 30 June 2025) |
| — | FW | GRE | Giannis Toulgeroglou (at Asteras Varis until 30 June 2025) |

## Coaching staff

    As of 24 December 2024
| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Stelios Malezas |
| Assistant head coach | Georgios Ketikidis |
| Goalkeeper coach | Georgios Soulogianis |
| Fitness coach | Konstantinos Stateroudis |
| Fitness coach | Filimon Vasilarakis |

## Honours

* Second Division
** Winners (1): 2024
** Runners-up (1): 2002 (promoted)
* Third Division
** Winners (4): 1969, 1976, 1993, 2010
** Runners-up (2): 1987 (promoted), 1997 (promoted)
* Fourth Division
** Winners (1): 2020