Full name | Athlitikos Omilos Xanthi |
---|---|
Founded | 1967 |
Ground |
Xanthi FC Arena Xanthi, Greece |
Capacity | 7,361 |
Owner | Christos Panopoulos |
Chairman | Aristeides Pialoglou |
Manager | Răzvan Lucescu |
League | Superleague Greece |
2015–16 | Superleague Greece, 13th |
Website | Club home page |
Xanthi F.C. (Greek: Αθλητικός Όμιλος Ξάνθη Π.Α.Ε., Athletic Club Xanthi F.C.) is a Greek football club, based in the city of Xanthi. The club currently competes in the Super League Greece.
The club was formed in 1967 from the merger of two local clubs: A.P.S. Aspida Xanthi (was founded in 1922) and Orfeas (was founded in 1903). The name of the team was Xanthi Athletic Club, officially up to 1991. In 1991, Viamar S.A., the official importer of Skoda vehicles in Greece, bought the club from its previous owner and renamed it to Skoda Xanthi Athletic Club. In 2016 the cooperation was ended and the club's name returned to its original.
The club is well set up in terms of their financial support and youth setup. Xanthi participated in the UEFA Cup or Europa League in 2001–02, 2005–06, 2006–07 and 2013–14 seasons. In the 2004–05 season, Xanthi finished fourth in the A Ethinki (first division, today Super League), the club's best performance in many years.
Xanthi's first appearance in the first division was in 1989.
Xanthi left their old stadium, the Skoda Xanthi Stadium (capacity 9,500), located near the centre of the city, for the Skoda Xanthi Arena in 2004. Their new stadium sited 8 km outside the city, near Pigadia village, has a capacity of 7,422, however has only 3 stands. When the final stand is finally built, the new capacity will be around 9,000 seats.