Pafos FC
Cypriot football club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pafos Football Club (Greek: Πάφος F.C.) is a professional football club based in Paphos, Cyprus. Founded on 10 June 2014 following the merger of AEP Paphos and AEK Kouklia, the club represents the wider Paphos region in the Cypriot First Division. Pafos play home matches at the Stelios Kyriakides Stadium, which has a capacity of 9,394, though their European home matches are played at the Alphamega Stadium (capacity 10,830) due to the former falling short of UEFA standards.
| ||||
| Full name | Pafos Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 10 June 2014 | |||
| Ground | Stelios Kyriakides Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 9,300[1] | |||
| Chairman | Roman Dubov | |||
| Head coach | Albert Celades | |||
| League | First Division | |||
| 2024–25 | First Division, 1st of 14 (champions) | |||
| Website | pafosfc | |||
|
| ||||
The club won their first major honour, the Cypriot Cup, in 2024 and secured a first league championship in 2024–25. Pafos made their European debut in the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2024–25, reaching the round of 16, and entered the UEFA Champions League qualifiers for the first time in 2025–26 as domestic champions.[2] After surviving two 2025–26 UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds, Pafos also won their subsequent play-off against Red Star Belgrade and advanced to the league phase.[3]
History
Early years (2014–2017)
Pafos FC was formed to consolidate senior football in the Paphos district. AEP Paphos and AEK Kouklia voted to combine operations in June 2014; the new club played its first season in the Cypriot Second Division.[4][5] Pafos won promotion in 2014–15 as Second Division runners-up, were relegated in 2015–16, and returned to the top flight at the first attempt in 2016–17.[6][7][8]
Investment and consolidation (2017–2023)
In 2017 the club came under the control of Total Sports Investments, linked with British-based businessman Roman Dubov, and began a programme of professionalisation across the first team and academy. The training centre in Paphos underwent significant renovation in 2020.[9][10] Spanish coach Juan Carlos Carcedo was appointed head coach in June 2023.[11]
First honours and European debut (2023–present)
Pafos won the 2023–24 Cypriot Cup—the club's first major trophy—by defeating Omonia 3–0 in the final on 18 May 2024 at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia.[12] The victory qualified the club for European competition for the first time.
In 2024–25 Pafos entered the UEFA Europa Conference League in the second qualifying round, overturning a first-leg defeat to Žalgiris with a 3–0 home win to advance 4–2 on aggregate.[13][14] They eliminated CSKA 1948 (after extra time) and CFR Cluj (on penalties) to reach the league phase, where they recorded home wins over Astana and other positive results against seeded opposition.[15][16]
In February 2025, Pafos faced Omonia in what was billed as the first all-Cypriot tie in UEFA competition; after a 1–1 first leg in Nicosia, Pafos won the return in Limassol to advance 3–2 on aggregate to the round of 16, where they were eliminated by Djurgårdens IF.[17][18][19]
Pafos secured the 2024–25 league title—their first—by beating Aris Limassol 4–0 on 5 May 2025 and were officially crowned champions later that month.[20][21]
As Cypriot champions, Pafos entered the 2025–26 UEFA Champions League in the second qualifying round and defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–1 on aggregate (1–1 home, 1–0 away at a neutral venue in Serbia).[22][23] In the third qualifying round they beat Dynamo Kyiv 3–0 on aggregate (1–0 away in Lublin, 2–0 home at Alphamega Stadium) to reach the play-off round for the first time.[24][25][26] In the play-offs, Pafos eliminated Serbian side Red Star Belgrade with a 3–2 aggregate victory, securing their first-ever place in the UEFA Champions League league stage.[27][28]
On 5 January 2026, Pafos announced that Head Coach Juan Carlos Carcedo had bought out his contract, and the contracts of Sergio Domínguez Cobo and Sebastián Corona, and had left the club for a new project.[29] Four days later, on 9 January 2026, Pafos announced the appointment of Albert Celades as their new Head Coach on a contract until 2027.[30]
Domestic
European
Honours
| Type | Competition | Titles | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | Cypriot First Division | 1 | 2024–25 |
| Cypriot Cup | 1 | 2023–24 |
UEFA club coefficient ranking
Club's identity
The logo of Pafos FC is a variation of AEP Paphos's logo and a refresh of Pafos FC's first logo, including the name of the team and town and the classic figure of the Cypriot hero Evagoras Pallikarides. The logo also includes the team's colours, blue, white, and gold.[31][32] The emblem was renewed during the period 2018–19, making the depiction of the hero Evagoras Pallikarides more prominent.
Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
From 2019 to 2023, Pafos FC's kits were manufactured by Jako. Starting with the 2023–24 season,[33] Pafos FC transitioned to Puma, both for the Main Team and for Academy, as their official kit supplier, though the club retained its core sponsors — Korantina Homes,[34] LF Group,[35] and Cablenet.[36]
Players
- As of 5 February 2026[37]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
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.
|
Current staff
| Senior Management | |
|---|---|
| Vice President |  George Ioannou |
| CEO | Charis Theocharous |
| COO |  Rustam Khafizov |
| Sporting Director |  Cristiano Giaretta |
| Head Scout |  Rodolfo Filipe Aniceto Vaz |
| Senior Scout |  Pedro Henrique |
| CFA Representative | Filippos Georgiou |
| Technical staff | |
| Head coach |  Albert Celades |
| Assistant Coach | Raúl Valbuena |
| Fitness Coach | Juan José del Ojo López |
| Goalkeeping Coach |  Silvije Čavlina |
| Strength Coach | Daniel Caraça |
| Doctor |  Ivan Akimov |
| Physio | Nicolas Gonçalves |
| Physio | Kyriakos Kesidis |
| Sports Scientist | Luis Vita |
| Video Analyst | Kaio Fonseca |
| Team Manager | Xenofon Onisiforou |
| Nutritionist |  Max Bogaert |
| Kit Manager |  Laurentiu Lungu |
| Kit Manager | Marius Mihalcea |
| Other staff | |
| Director of Finance | Egor Tkachenko |
| Commercial Director | Andrey Finerman |
| Head of Media and Communications | Christoforos Matheou |
| Head of Football Operations | Michalis Kiriakou |
| Media officer | Raphael Michael |
| Social Media | Alia Spyropoulou |
| Photographer |  Andrii Lichko |
Records
Most appearances
- As of match played 14 March 2026
| Name | Years | League apps | League goals | Cup apps | Cup goals | Super Cup apps | Super Cup goals | Europe apps | Europe goals | Total apps | Total goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vlad Dragomir | 2021–Present | 142 | 16 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 4 | 192 | 22 |
| 2 | Jairo | 2021-2025 | 127 | 55 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 162 | 60 |
| 3 |  Onni Valakari | 2020–20225 | 136 | 40 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 158 | 46 |
| 4 | Bruno Felipe | 2023–Present | 100 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 2 | 143 | 12 |
| 5 |  Josef Kvída | 2020–2025 | 124 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 136 | 4 |
| 6 |  Muamer Tanković | 2022–2025 | 96 | 28 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 4 | 134 | 34 |
| 7 | Pêpê | 2023–2024, 2024–Present | 87 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 128 | 8 |
| 8 | Ivica Ivušić | 2023–2025 | 79 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 111 | 0 |
| 9 | David Goldar | 2023–Present | 70 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 2 | 110 | 12 |
| 10 | Jajá | 2024–2025, 2025–Present | 64 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 6 | 104 | 15 |
Top goalscorers
- As of match played 14 March 2026
| Name | Years | League apps | League goals | Cup apps | Cup goals | Super Cup apps | Super Cup goals | Europe apps | Europe goals | Total apps | Total goals | Ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jairo | 2021-2025 | 127 | 55 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 162 | 60 | 0.37 |
| 2 | Onni Valakari | 2020–2025 | 136 | 40 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 158 | 46 | 0.29 |
| 3 | Muamer Tanković | 2022–2025 | 96 | 28 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 4 | 134 | 34 | 0.25 |
| 4 | Anderson Silva | 2024–2025, 2025–Present | 59 | 20 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 5 | 97 | 31 | 0.32 |
| 5 |  Kévin Bérigaud | 2018-2022 | 68 | 22 | 3+ | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71+ | 24 | 0.34 |
| 6 |  Adam Nemec | 2018–2020 | 42 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 22 | 0.46 |
| 6 | Vlad Dragomir | 2021–Present | 142 | 16 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 4 | 192 | 22 | 0.11 |
| 8 |  João Correia | 2024–Present | 46 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 5 | 76 | 21 | 0.28 |
| 9 | Jajá | 2024–2025, 2025–Present | 64 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 6 | 104 | 15 | 0.14 |
| 10 |  Nassir Maachi | 2015–2016 | 31 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 13 | 0.41 |
Managers
- As of match played 14 March 2026
| Manager name | From | To | Duration | P | W | D | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Radmilo Ivančević |
1 July 2014 | 14 October 2014 | 105 days | |||||
| Sofoklis Sofokleous |
1 November 2014 | 9 November 2015 | 1 year, 8 days | |||||
| José Manuel Roca |
17 November 2015 | 14 December 2015 | 27 days | |||||
| Apostolos Makridis |
16 December 2015 | 31 May 2016 | 167 days | |||||
| Dimitris Ioannou |
14 June 2016 | 31 May 2017 | 351 days | |||||
 Luka Elsner |
30 June 2017 | 21 January 2018 | 205 days | 23 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 26.09 |
 Steven Pressley |
31 January 2018 | 9 October 2018 | 251 days | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 36.36 |
| Željko Kopić |
19 October 2018 | 6 November 2019 | 1 year, 18 days | 41 | 16 | 11 | 14 | 39.02 |
| Jeremy Steele (Caretaker) |
6 November 2019 | 13 December 2019 | 37 days | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 60 |
 Cameron Toshack |
13 December 2019[38] | 20 October 2020[39] | 312 days | 21 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 38.1 |
| Dmytro Mykhaylenko |
20 October 2020[40] | 31 January 2021[41] | 103 days | 16 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 25 |
| Stephen Constantine |
4 February 2021[42] | 30 June 2021[43] | 146 days | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 66.67 |
| Darko Milanič |
30 June 2021[44] | 10 May 2022[45] | 314 days | 33 | 11 | 14 | 8 | 33.33 |
| Míchel Salgado (Caretaker) |
14 May 2022[46] | 22 May 2022 | 8 days | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50 |
 Henning Berg |
11 June 2022[47] | 3 April 2023[48] | 296 days | 33 | 17 | 11 | 5 | 51.52 |
| Míchel Salgado (Caretaker) |
3 April 2023 | 24 June 2023 | 82 days | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 33.33 |
| Juan Carlos Carcedo |
24 June 2023[11] | 5 January 2026[29] | 2 years, 195 days | 129 | 74 | 25 | 30 | 57.36 |
 Sofyane Cherfa (Caretaker) |
5 January 2026 | 9 January 2026[30] | 4 days | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Albert Celades |
9 January 2026[30] | 66 days | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 50 |
