Athletic Union of Constantinople
 |
|
| Full name | Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos (Athletic Union of Constantinople) |
|---|---|
| Nicknames |
Vasílissa (Queen) Énosis (Union) Kitrinómavri (The Yellow-Blacks) Dikéfalos Aetós (Two-Headed Eagle) |
| Founded | 1924 |
| Colours | Yellow, Black |
| Anthem | Empros tis Aek palikaria (Christos Kolokotronis, Stelios Kazantzidis) A.E.K. club anthem |
| Chairman | Alexandros Alexiou |
| Titles | European Titles: (2) |
| Website | www |
A.E.K., formally Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos (Greek: AEK [ˈaek]; Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, Athletic Union of Constantinople), known as AEK, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Athens. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens.
Established in Athens in 1924 by Greek refugees from Constantinople after the 1919–22 Greco-Turkish war and the subsequent population exchange between Greece and Turkey, it is one of the most popular clubs in Greece and the Greek diaspora. While it fields teams in many sports under the umbrella of its amateur sports arm, Amateur AEK (Greek: Ερασιτεχνική ΑΕΚ; Erasitechnikί AEK), it is best known for its professional football team, which is one of the most successful in the Superleague Greece (with 11 Championships and 15 Greek Cups), and basketball team, which has won the Greek Basket League eight times and the FIBA Saporta Cup twice.
The large Greek population of Constantinople, not unlike those of the other Ottoman urban centres, continued its athletic traditions in the form of numerous athletic clubs. Clubs such as Énosis Tataoúlon (Ένωσις Ταταούλων) and Iraklís (Ηρακλής) from the Tatavla district, Mégas Aléxandros (Μέγας Αλέξανδρος) and Ermís (Ερμής) of Galata, and Olympiás (Ολυμπιάς) of Therapia existed to promote the Hellenic athletic and cultural ideals. These were amongst a dozen Greek-backed clubs that dominated the sporting landscape of the city in the years preceding World War I. After the war, with the influx of mainly French and British soldiers to Constantinople, many of the city clubs participated in regular competition with teams formed by the foreign troops. Taxim, Pera, and Tatavla became the scene of weekly competitions in football, athletics, cycling, boxing, and tennis.
...
Wikipedia