Panegialios ( (''Panegialios Gymnastics Club'', referring to

Aigialeia Aigialeia (, ) is a municipality and a former Provinces of Greece, province (επαρχία) in the eastern part of the Achaea regional unit, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Aigio. The municipality has an area of 723.063 km2. ...

, a subprefecture covering the northeastern part of

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek language, Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaḯa'', ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwest ...

) is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Aigio Aigio, also written as ''Aeghion, Aegion, Aegio, Egio'' (, ; ), is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Achaea, West Greece, on the Peloponnese. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the mun ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Panegialios has a long tradition in Greek football championships and has several appearances in the Greek Super League (former A' Ethniki), 2nd Division and 3rd Division. Additionally the team has reached twice the semi-finals of the Greek Cup competition. Panegialios is one of the most successful and popular teams in Achaea and

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

History

The club was founded on 25 February 1927 in Egio by local selected community members. The man who inspired the idea of the formation of a football club in Egio was Zisimos Livas. Livas, a well-known architect, together with Nick Gardeniotis, C. Sakellaropoulos, Ir. Anastasopoulos, K. Eliopoulos, K. Liritzis, Chr. Papandianos, etc. have established Panegialios G.S. It is worth to mention that the effort for the formation of a football club in Egio had begun from Livas in 1924. Until 1927 Livas and the other co-founders have raised money in order to establish the club. Finally in February 1927 they submitted the statute foundation of the club to the local judicial authorities.

Nicknames

Panegialios nickname since the late-1950s was Mavri Thiella (Black Storm). Also his players called Pasades tou Aigiou because they were very well paid for that era.

Greek cup

Panegialios has a big tradition in Greek Cup and twice reached the semi-finals, in 1959 and 1981. Both times they lost the qualification in the final from Olympiacos Piraeus. Additionally the club has reached the quarter-finals twice.

Crest and colours

Like most old football clubs, Panegialios did not initially have any badge displayed on their shirts. The club's crest depicts two wrestlers of Greco-Roman wrestling. It is quite unusual for a football club to have a crest that refers to wrestling but the explanation has to do with Panegialios founder, Zisimos Livas. Livas was a lover Greco-Roman wrestling and had been an athlete of wrestling in

Panellinios G.S Panellinios G.S. (Greek (language), Greek: Πανελλήνιος Γ.Σ.), full name, Panellinios Gymnastikos Syllogos (Greek (language), Greek: Πανελλήνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος), is a Greece, Greek sports club, mul ...

. So in 1954 after the death of Zisimos Livas, the President of the Club Sotirios Panagiotopoulos in order to honor him, has decided to adopt the club the two wrestlers as a crest. The colours of the team are black and white since 1927.

Stadium

Panegialios home ground is Aeghio Municipal (formerly "National") Stadium which has two stands along the sides of the pitch. The stadium has two almost identical stands, with electronic projectors, a modern canteen as well as a café. The stadium was inaugurated on April 29, 1949. In this location the stadium was formerly a football stadium, with no stands and surrounding arenas and other infrastructure, which was the seat of Panegyalos since its foundation in 1927. In 1983, it was placed on turf and 2011 plastic coating on the arena that surrounds the pitch of the football field. The stadium also had two similar small petals that raised the capacity of over 11,000 spectators. The petals were demolished during its refurbishment in 1985 except for a small section double of the western platform. The record at the stage was 1963 in a match for the First National Division (

Alpha Ethniki The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

), between Panegialios and

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

, with 14,119 spectators.

Supporters

Panegialios F.C. has always had loyal supporters. The first fan club was created during the 1970s. It was called Sindesmos Filathlon Aigiou (S.F.A.) and later changed in Sindesmos Filathlon Panaigialeiou. In 2006 Bianconeri Club has established with strong presence in Panaigialios matches until nowadays.

League divisions

League appearances

Panegialos league appearances in national divisions since 1958-59. It is one of the few clubs that has participated in all four national Greek divisions. *

- 7 appearances *

Beta Ethniki The Football League () was the second highest professional football league in Greece since its inception in 1962 as ''Beta Ethniki'' and until 2019. It then served as a third tier after the creation of the Super League 2 as the new second tier ...

- 21 appearances *

Gamma Ethniki The Gamma Ethniki (, C National Division) is the Greek football league system, third highest football league in Greece. History The Gamma Ethniki began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 1983 it was changed to professional. Although no ...

- 17 appearances *

Delta Ethniki Delta Ethniki () was the fourth level of Greek football championship. During the period of its existence, it was the lowest national division of the Greek championship. It was founded in the 1982–83 season and abolished in the 2012–13 season, ...

- 15 appearances

National

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

: Gamma Ethniki (Third division) (South Group) 1st * 2013–14:

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

(South Group): 5th * 2014–15:

(South Group): 6th * 2015–16:

: 12th * 2016–17:

: 8th * 2017–18:

: 16th * 2018–19: Gamma Ethniki (Third division) 12th

Notable players

*Sergio Espinosa *

Kristen Viikmäe Kristen Viikmäe (born 10 February 1979) is an Estonian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He now plays beach soccer. Club career Born in Tallinn, Viikmäe started his career with FC Flora Tallinn, and has since played f ...

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Savvas Papazoglou Savvas Papazoglou (; born 20 June 1934) is a Greek former international football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqua ...

Grigoris Aganian Grigorios or Gregorios ( “watchful; alert; awake”, from ''ἐγρήγορᾰ'' ), and the variant Grigoris (Γρηγόρης), are the Greek forms of the name Gregory. It can refer to: * Grigoris (catholicos), 4th-century ''catholicos'' of C ...

* Lakis Sofianos * Nikos Karamanlis *

Kostas Davourlis Kostas Davourlis (, 4 January 1948 – 23 May 1992) born in Agyia, Patras, popularly nicknamed The Black Prince, was a former Greek footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. A gifted and talented player, he was voted by the Greek s ...

Michalis Kritikopoulos Michalis Kritikopoulos (; 3 January 1946 – 20 July 2002) was a Greek professional footballer who played as a striker. Career Born in Kaisariani, Kritikopoulos began playing football as a striker for local side G.S. Kaisariani in 1962. In ...

Armando Goufas Armando Goufas (; born 2 February 1995) is a Greek-born Nicaraguan footballer who plays as a forward for Aris Petroupolis and the Nicaragua national team. Early life Goufas was born in Athens to a Greek father and a Nicaraguan mother. Interna ...

Honours

Domestic competitions

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

**Winners (1): 1961–62 * Third Division ** Winners (2): 1978-79, 2012-13 * Fourth Division ** Winners (6): 1992-93, 1994-95, 2006-07, 2008-09, 2011-12 * Achaea FCA Championship ** Winners (6): 1968-69, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1988-89, 2019-20, 2022-23 * Achaea FCA Cup ** Winners (4): 1936-37, 1993-94, 2006-07, 2008-09 * Achaea FCA Super Cup ** Winners (1): 2007

References

External links

Official website
{{Super League Greece teamlist Aigio Association football clubs established in 1927 Football clubs in Western Greece 1927 establishments in Greece Gamma Ethniki clubs