The biggest Greek football clubs outside of the Super League from every region

By Stephen Kountourou

                         Credit: Riccardo D'Agnese (Check out his maps that you can purchase online)

How does one estimate how big a football club really is? Some estimate it by accolades, others by the age of a club, how long they have competed at the top level, how well supported they are worldwide, or how wealthy they are, with enough pulling power to attract the best players. 

Ultimately, it remains a topic that has been and will continue to be heavily debated among football fans. Then there is me, a fence-sitter, who says it is a bit of everything mentioned above.

There is little debate, however, about who the big boys of Greek football are. The traditional big four of Olympiakos, Panathinaikos, AEK, and PAOK have dominated Greek football, more or less, since its inception. 

Among the teams currently competing in the top flight, Aris is generally considered the next largest, with OFI and newly promoted AE Larissa also in the mix. The latter is the only club outside of Athens and Thessaloniki to have ever won the league title, in 1988.

But, taking into account every region of the country, which teams considered ‘big’ in Greece don't currently compete in the Super League, and how do we determine if they count or not? This is something I will attempt to answer. 

(Disclaimer: If there are any clubs you think should be included, let us know in the comments.)

(I will not be including the Ionian islands, as there are currently no active clubs that have previously participated in the top flight, the only one being A.O. Kerkyra. Neither will I include any teams from Cyprus who participated in the Alpha Ethniki between 1967 to 1974.)

Central Greece

An area that contains the likes of Attica, and the capital city of Athens, Aetolia-Acarnania, Boeotia, the island of Euboea, Evrytania, Phocis and Phthiotis, Central Greece is a hotbed for the more well-known clubs.

The outstanding teams currently competing in the Super League are, of course, the three most successful clubs in Greece, Olympiakos, Panathinaikos and AEK.

But looking further down the pyramid, we have the likes of Panionios, the oldest club in Greece, and their rivals Apollon Smyrnis, both of whom relocated from their native home of Smyrna to Athens during the Greco-Turkish War in 1922. 

They are among the pioneers in Greek football. Panionios, in particular, is renowned for its youth academy, which has produced many players who have gone on to represent the national team and is hailed as one of the best in the country.

After falling as far down as the Gamma Ethniki in recent years, Panionios are on the rise, having narrowly missed out on promotion from Super League 2 to the first division. 

Apollon, despite being in the Super League more recently than their local rivals, have slipped as low as the local leagues and now compete in the Athens FCA First Division below the Gamma Ethniki. 

Both still garner plenty of support at their home matches, even during their spells languishing in the lower leagues.

Other notable clubs in the region include the two Piraeus teams, Ethnikos Piraeus and Ionikos, as well as Egaleo, all of which have had prolonged periods of competing in the Greek top flight. 

Ethnikos is the most successful of the three, having won the Greek Cup in 1933 and is ranked as one of the highest appearance makers in the first division, enjoying 26 seasons at the top level. However, it currently finds itself in the Gamma Ethniki, having narrowly missed out on promotion to Super League 2 last term. 

Ionikos was the most recent team of the three to compete in the Super League, but sadly, due to financial difficulties, they were forcibly relegated to the Greek fourth tier, where they have since won promotion back to Gamma Ethniki last season.

Honourable mentions, and teams that I felt just missed out, were the likes of Lamia, who have just ended an eight-year spell in the top flight, and lower league sides Athens Kallithea, Athinaikos, Proodeftiki, and Fostiras, all of whom I felt lacked the longevity in the first division or accolades of other clubs from this region. 

Top 10 lower league Central Greece clubs by number of top-flight seasons

Panionios - 59

Apollon Smyrnis - 42

Ethnikos Piraeus - 36

Egaleo - 23

Ionikos - 18

Proodeftiki - 15

Athinaikos - 9

Lamia - 8

Fostiras - 7

Athens Kallithea - 5

Macedonia

From the region that gave Greece Alexander the Great, Macedonia’s two outstanding teams are, of course, Thessaloniki-based clubs PAOK and Aris, who are considered the fourth and fifth most successful sides in Greece, respectively. Panserraikos, who have the 15th-most appearances in the first division and are still currently competing there, are also not eligible for this list.

Regarding teams outside the top division, an obvious club to start with is Iralkis, who also hail from the second-largest city in Greece. 

Iraklis have a very rich history in Greek football, having previously won the Greek Cup in 1976 and is still comfortably the club with the seventh-most appearances in the Greek first division since its inception - 53. 

Due to ongoing financial issues over the last few years, the club has struggled with maintaining its professional status in Greek football, having fallen as far as the fourth tier in recent times. 

Thankfully for Iraklis fans, they have finally had a bit of good fortune. After initially being banned by FIFA from making any transfers due to financial irregularities, the club has since seen that ban lifted, and they are in a much better position to compete for promotion to the Super League this season.

Other clubs worth mentioning from the region include Doxa Drama, Kavala and Kastoria. Starting with Doxa, the Black Eagles were one of the founding members of the Alpha Ethniki and participated in the first division for 21 seasons. 

The beginning of the 21st century saw Doxa come under huge financial difficulties, and they have since spent the majority of time in the lower leagues, only returning to what is now the Greek Super League in 2011/12. 

Unfortunately, Doxa suffered immediate relegation and fell as low as the Drama FCA First Division. Most recently, they won promotion out of the local leagues into the Gamma Ethniki for the start of the new season.

Doxa’s rivals, Kavala, while not as prevalent, still had multiple spells in the Greek top flight throughout their history, participating 19 times in total. Known as the Argonauts, they currently participate in the Super League 2 after avoiding relegation last season.

Lastly, Kastoria is treading a fine line under the stipulations I imposed on teams featured in this blog, but for one big factor: the Greek Cup. Kastoria caused the greatest upset in the history of the country's domestic cup competition, winning their first and only piece of major silverware when they beat Iraklis 5-2 in the 1980 edition of the final. I wrote a blog all about the amazing story of Kastoria a few years ago, so feel free to give that a read too. 

Since then, they have struggled up and down the Greek football pyramid, having not reached the first tier since 1996/97 and even falling as low as the local amateur leagues in the last few seasons.

Honourable mentions go to Makedonikos, Apollon Kalamarias, Veria NFC (formerly Veria FC before they were dissolved), and Pierikos.

Top 8 lower league Macedonian clubs by number of top-flight seasons

Iraklis - 53

Doxa Drama - 21

Apollon Kalamarias - 20

Kavala - 19

Veria - 17

Pierikos - 16

Kastoria - 10

Edessaikos - 5

Peloponnese

On to the Peloponnese now, with the only club from the region currently being represented in the Super League being Asteras Tripolis from Arcadia. However, there is an argument that there is a bigger club historically than Asteras currently competing in the lower divisions. That's where Panchaiki comes in. 

The club from Patras, the third largest city in Greece, has a seasoned history in Greek football, having spent most of the period between the 1969/70 season to the turn of the millennium in the Apha Ethniki. 

The Kokkinómavroi hold the record for the most Greek second division titles, as well as competing in the Greek top flight more than current Super League sides Asteras Tripolis, Atromitos, Levadiakos, Panetolikos, Volos and Kifisia. 

They have, however, not returned to the first tier since 2002/03, with the club bouncing between the second and third division, including last season, where they were relegated and deducted 15 points due to debts towards five former players.

Honourable mentions go to Kalamata, who narrowly missed out on promotion to the Super League last season, their rivals Paniliakos and Panegialios, plus PAS Korinthos from the historic city of Corinth.

Top 5 lower league Peloponnesian clubs by number of top-flight seasons

Panachaiki - 26

Kalamata - 7

Paniliakos - 7

Panegialios - 6

PAS Korinthos - 5

Thessaly

There is only one team in Thessaly that almost meets the criteria of this blog, if not for them being newly-promoted back to the Super League as of last season. 

AEL Larissa went invincible in Super League 2 in 2024/25, storming the Northern group at a canter and in doing so, returned to the Greek top flight for the first time in four years. 

The biggest achievement of the Crimsons to date is, of course, winning the Alpha Ethniki in 1988 in what is still one of the biggest upsets in the history of Greek club football. But alas, their promotion means we must look elsewhere in the region. But this is where I may have to break my own rules a little. 

Other notable clubs in Thessaly do not meet all the requirements I stipulated, but for this region of Greece and perhaps others later down the line that are not as well represented, I shall make a slight exception.

The two historic and rival clubs from Volos - Niki Volou and Olympiakos Volos - have had brief periods of competing in the first division throughout their long histories. Both have only appeared in the Super League once since the turn of the millennium. 

Niki Volou was the most recent in 2014/15, but they were relegated partially due to being deducted 13 points for financial irregularities, a problem that plagued a lot of Greek clubs in the top flight at the time.

Olympiakos Volos, meanwhile, who won promotion in 2010/11 and finished as high as 5th in their return to the first tier, were forcibly relegated to the fourth tier on the 23rd August 2011, after the Professional Sports Committee stripped them and Kavala of their professional licence, due to their chairmen's involvement in a match fixing scandal. 

Since then, the club has struggled to recover, and most recently in 2024/25, was relegated from the Gamma Ethniki back down to the local leagues. Niki Volou, by contrast, after a few years floating in the third tier, currently competes in the Super League 2.

Last but not least, from the region of Thessaly, is AO Trikala, which perhaps is not as well known outside of Greece as the other two aforementioned clubs but can boast a very storied history. 

The Kyanérythroi is a four-time winner of the second tier and boasts a big following locally with the 15 thousand capacity Trikala Municipal Stadium as their home ground. Trikala featured in the first division mainly during the mid-1960s to the early 1970s. 

After decades of flip-flopping between the second and third divisions, Trikala made their long-awaited return to the Alpha Ethniki in 1999/2000. At the time of writing, this was the last time the club would feature in the first division to date. As of the 2025/26 season, they currently compete in the Gamma Ethniki.

An honourable mention from Thessaly is current Super League 2 outfit Anagennisi Karditsa, who have spent a total of 35 seasons - the same number as Niki Volou and Olympiakos Volos - in the second tier without ever achieving promotion.

Top 3 lower league Thessalian clubs by number of top-flight seasons

Olympiakos Volos - 9

Trikala - 7

Niki Volou - 6

Thrace

The most northern region of Greece sees a big inclusion of a club that many may not realise spent as much time in the Greek first tier as they did. Xanthi made a total of 31 top-flight appearances, only one less than the likes of AEL Larissa and more than current Super League sides, Panserraikos, Atromitos, Panetolikos and Asteras Tripolis, just to name a few.

Between 1989 to 2020, the Akrítes were a mainstay in the Alpha Ethniki and the subsequently rebranded Greek Super League, finishing as high as fourth in 2004/05 and reaching the Greek Cup final in 2014/15, losing 3-1 to Olympiakos. Xanthi also have the unique distinction of welcoming Brazilian legend Pelé to inaugurate the then-new Xanthi FC Arena in 2005. 

During the 2019/2020 season, Xanthi were deducted 12 points after being found guilty of breaching Greek Super League multi-club ownership rules due to individuals at Thessaloniki side PAOK also owning shares in Xanthi, creating a conflict of interest. 

Rather than any forced relegation, the Greek government amended the laws surrounding multi-club ownership so that the points deduction for Xanthi and the seven-point deduction for PAOK would be both clubs' punishments. 

After both clubs appealed this verdict to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, PAOK were successfully acquitted, but Xanthi’s appeal was removed due to the club's inability to pay the required costs. This was a damning blow for the Thracian side, who ended their long stay in the first tier and suffered relegation.

More disaster struck the Akrítes when new owner Bill Papas, who acquired the club in 2021, was alleged to have defrauded banks of 400 million Australian dollars. This led to his shares in the club being frozen by the Greek authorities. 

With crippling financial issues, Xanthi were forcibly relegated to the local leagues in 2021/22 despite finishing 3rd in Super League 2, and remained inactive during the 2022/23 season. 

After a tough few years, however, Xanthi finally seem to have turned a corner, winning back-to-back promotions from the Xanthi FCA 2nd Division and 1st Division last season and will compete in the Gamma Ethniki in 2025/26.

An honourable mention from Thrace goes to Panthrakikos from Komotini, who featured several times in the Super League in the late 2000s and early 2010s but who sadly don’t quite make the cut.

Top 4 lower league Thracian clubs by number of top-flight seasons

Xanthi - 31

Panthrakikos - 6

Aspida Xanthi - 1

Orfeas Xanthi - 1

Epirus

The northwestern region of Epirus, which borders Albania to the north, interestingly only has one club that has ever featured in the first division that was eligible for this blog. PAS Giannina, who only suffered relegation from the Super League two seasons ago, are by far the most successful team in the region. 

Ajax of Epirus, who are four-time second division champions and thrice made the Greek Cup semi-finals, also had long periods of featuring in the top flight throughout their history. 

The first came between the mid-1970s to the late 1980s, when they featured in the Alpha Ethniki every season, barring the 1984/85 campaign, with their best league finish in the club's history being fifth in 1976 and 1978. 

The second and most recent prolonged stint came in the 2010s to the early 2020s (excluding the 2019/20 season), where they finished fifth in 2013 and sixth on three other occasions.

The 2021/22 season in particular is recognised by PAS supporters as one of the best in the club's history. With the team that was assembled and the style of play implemented, manager Iraklis Metaxas made them a challenge even for the big four. It was the third and final time PAS finished sixth in the Super League, while also qualifying for the recently implemented top-six playoff system.

The side from the city of Ioannina was unable to build on their success as one of the better-run clubs in the division. Two seasons later, they finished dead last and were relegated to the Super League 2. Last term, PAS, in a highly competitive Northern group, missed out on promotion to the invincible AEL and were also behind a strong Iraklis side, who finished runners-up.

The only other Epirote club that has enjoyed a modicum of success in the Greek football pyramid are Anagennisi Arta, who spent 11 seasons in the second tier in the 1960s and 1970s. Mavri Thyella currently compete in the Gamma Ethniki.

Crete

Moving on to the largest island in Greece, the number of major clubs is few, but those that exist are certainly noteworthy. Of course, OFI stands head and shoulders above the rest, having been consistent first-division regulars throughout their history and having also lifted the Greek Cup in 1987. 

Once again, however, I will have to slightly bend the rules of this blog, but mainly due to a lack of options - a trend that will inevitably continue with the other Greek Islands. 

The most suitable candidate for Crete is Ergotelis of Heraklion, who featured in the first tier throughout much of the late-2000s to the mid-2010s. 

After their relegation to the second division in 2015 and due to financial issues, the club withdrew from the campaign midway through the season in January 2016 and was forcibly relegated to Gamma Ethniki. 

The club were mainly competing in the Super League 2 as recently as the 2021/22 season, but further financial issues meant that Ergotelis dropped down two divisions to compete in the local Heraklion FCA A1 Championship.

An honourable mention goes to the now-re-established Platanias, with the side from Chania competing in the Super League for six years in the mid-2010s, but who lack the prestige of the two Heraklion sides.

Other Aegean islands

Last but not least, while continuing down the rabbit hole of the island clubs, who also don’t quite meet the stipulations of this blog, we head to Rhodes with Diagoras and AS Rodos. 

Starting with the former, Diagoras, who turned 120 years old in 2025, has a storied history in the Greek lower leagues while only competing in the first division on three occasions in the late 1980s. 

They competed in the Super League 2 as recently as the 2024/25 season but were relegated and docked six points by the Hellenic Football Federation during the campaign. 

Their rivals, AS Rodos, with whom they share the 3,692-capacity Diagoras Stadium, have also only featured in the first division a handful of times. Both clubs will most likely compete against each other in the Gamma Ethniki in the upcoming season.

The only honourable mention, AEL Kalloni from the island of Lesbos, no longer exists due to the club folding in 2017, just a season after they were relegated following a three-year spell in the Greek Super League.

Top 6 lower league island clubs by number of top-flight seasons

Ergotelis - 9

Platanias - 6

AO Kerkyra - 5

AS Rodos - 4

Diagoras - 3

AEL Kalloni - 3

Top 22 lower league Greek clubs by number of top-flight seasons

Panionios - 64 (Central Greece - Attica)

Iraklis - 63 (Central Macedonia)

Apollon Smyrnis - 55 (Central Greece - Attica)

Ethnikos Piraeus - 49 (Central Greece - Attica)

Xanthi - 31 (Thrace)

PAS Giannina - 28 (Epirus)

Panachaiki - 28 (Peloponnese)

Doxa Drama - 26 (East Macedonia)

Egaleo - 23 (Central Greece - Attica)

Apollon Kalamarias - 22 (Central Macedonia)

Kavala - 19 (East Macedonia)

Proodeftiki - 18 (Central Greece - Attica)

Ionikos - 18 (Central Greece - Attica)

Veria - 17 (Central Macedonia)

Pierikos - 16 (Central Macedonia)

Kastoria - 10 (West Macedonia)

Athinaikos - 10 (Central Greece - Attica)

Olympiakos Volos - 10 (Thessaly)

Ergotelis - 9 (Crete)

Fostiras - 8 (Central Greece - Attica)

Niki Volou - 8 (Thessaly)

Lamia - 8 (Central Greece - Phthiotis)

Hellas Football

@SteveKountourou