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Pafos FC

Pafos
Full namePafos Football Club
Founded10 June 2014; 11 years ago (2014-06-10)
GroundStelios Kyriakides Stadium
Capacity9,300[1]
ChairmanRoman Dubov
ManagerJuan Carlos Carcedo
LeagueFirst Division
2024–25First Division, 1st of 14 (champions)
Websitepafosfc.com.cy
Current season

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.

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]

History

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Early years (2014–2017)

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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.[3][4] 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.[5][6][7]

Investment and consolidation (2017–2023)

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Pafos FC - Aris Limassol FC 25.02.2022

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.[8][9] Spanish coach Juan Carlos Carcedo was appointed head coach in June 2023.[10]

First honours and European debut (2023–present)

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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.[11] 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.[12][13] 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.[14][15]

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.[16][17][18]

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.[19][20]

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).[21][22] 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.[23][24][25]

Honours

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Type Competition Titles Seasons
Domestic Cypriot First Division 1 2024–25
Cypriot Cup 1 2023–24

European history

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Main article: FC Pafos in European football
As of match played 19 August 2025
Competition Pld W D L GF GA
UEFA Champions League 5 4 1 0 7 2
UEFA Europa League 2 0 0 2 2 8
UEFA Conference League 16 8 2 6 27 17
Total 23 12 3 8 36 27
Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2024–25 UEFA Europa League 1Q Sweden Elfsborg 2–5 0–3 2–8
UEFA Conference League 2Q Lithuania Žalgiris 3–0 (a.e.t.) 1–2 4–2
3Q Bulgaria CSKA 1948 4–0 (a.e.t.) 1–2 5–2
PO Romania CFR Cluj 3–0 0–1 3–1
LP Moldova Petrocub Hîncești — 4–1 12th Place
Germany 1. FC Heidenheim 0–1 —
Kazakhstan Astana 1–0 —
Italy Fiorentina — 2–3
Slovenia Celje 2–0 —
Switzerland Lugano — 2–2
KPO Cyprus Omonia 2–1 1–1 3–2
R16 Sweden Djurgården 1–0 0–3 1–3
2025–26 UEFA Champions League 2Q Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–1 1–0 2–1
3Q Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv 2–0 1–0 3–0
PO Serbia Red Star Belgrade 2–1
Notes
  • 1Q: First qualifying round
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round
  • 3Q: Third qualifying round
  • PO: Play-off round
  • LP: League Phase
  • KPO: Knockout phase play-offs
  • R16: Round of 16

Domestic history

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Season League Cypriot Cup Top goalscorer Manager
Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Name League
2014–15 2nd 2nd 26 19 5 2 55 19 62 First Round Serbia Radmilo Ivančević
Cyprus Sofoklis Sofokleous
2015–16 1st 12th 36 8 12 16 41 58 36 Quarterfinal Netherlands Nassir Maachi 11 Cyprus Sofoklis Sofokleous
Spain José Manuel Roca
Cyprus Apostolos Makrides
2016–17 2nd 2nd 26 17 6 3 51 24 57 First Round Cyprus Dimitris Ioannou
2017–18 1st 10th 36 11 9 16 36 51 42 Semifinal Austria Daniel Sikorski
France Kévin Bérigaud 		7 Slovenia Luka Elsner
Scotland Steven Pressley
2018–19 1st 8th 32 12 8 12 39 50 38 Quarterfinal Slovakia Adam Nemec 16 Scotland Steven Pressley
Croatia Željko Kopić
2019–20 1st 7th 23 8 6 9 26 28 30 Second Round Finland Onni Valakari 5 Croatia Željko Kopić
Wales Cameron Toshack
2020–21 1st 7th 40 18 9 13 58 38 63 Second Round Finland Onni Valakari
France Kévin Bérigaud 		13 Wales Cameron Toshack
Ukraine Dmytro Mykhaylenko
England Stephen Constantine
2021–22 1st 6th 32 11 13 8 39 30 46 Second Round Finland Onni Valakari 10 Slovenia Darko Milanič
Spain Míchel Salgado (Acting Head Coach)
2022–23 1st 4th 32 17 12 7 60 30 63 Semifinal Brazil Jairo 18 Norway Henning Berg
Spain Míchel Salgado (Acting Head Coach)
2023–24 1st 5th 36 18 8 10 60 33 62 Champions Brazil Jairo 16 Spain Juan Carlos Carcedo
2024–25 1st 1st 36 26 4 6 67 21 82 Runners Up Brazil Jairo 13 Spain Juan Carlos Carcedo

Club's identity

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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 Pallikaridis. The logo also includes the team's colours, blue, white, and gold.[26][27] The emblem was renewed during the period 2018–19, making the depiction of the hero Evagoras Pallikaridis more prominent.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

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From 2019 to 2023, Pafos FC's kits were manufactured by Jako, marking a period of steady branding and visual identity as the club continued to grow its presence in Cypriot football.

Starting with the 2023–24 season,[28] Pafos FC transitioned to Puma, both for the Main Team and for Academy, as their official kit supplier, aligning the club with a globally recognized sportswear brand. The move was seen as a step toward strengthening the club's commercial profile and aligning with more prominent European football standards. Despite the change in kit manufacturer, the club retained its core sponsors — Korantina Homes,[29] LF Group,[30] and Cablenet[31] — demonstrating ongoing commercial stability and sustained backing from key partners.

Players

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As of 3 August 2025[32]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF Cyprus CYP Kostas Pileas
4 DF Brazil BRA David Luiz
5 DF Spain ESP David Goldar
7 FW Brazil BRA Bruno Felipe
8 MF Portugal POR Domingos Quina
9 FW Republic of the Congo CGO Mons Bassouamina
11 FW Brazil BRA Jajá
12 MF Sweden SWE Ken Sema
17 FW Croatia CRO Mislav Oršić
22 FW Sweden SWE Muamer Tanković
23 DF Netherlands NED Derrick Luckassen
25 DF Mozambique MOZ Bruno Langa (on loan from Almería)
26 MF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Ivan Šunjić
No. Pos. Nation Player
30 MF Romania ROU Vlad Dragomir
33 FW Brazil BRA Anderson Silva
35 DF Brazil BRA Pedrão (on loan from Cruzeiro)
70 FW Cyprus CYP Marios Ilia
77 DF Cape Verde CPV João Correia
84 FW Guinea-Bissau GNB Kevin Nhaga
88 MF Portugal POR Pêpê
93 GK Cyprus CYP Neofytos Michail
99 GK Greece GRE Athanasios Papadoudis
— GK Netherlands NED Jay Gorter
— MF Guinea GUI Mamadou Kané
— MF Senegal SEN Moustapha Name
— MF Portugal POR Alexandre Brito (on loan from Sporting CP)

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Finland FIN Onni Valakari (at San Diego until 31 December 2025)
— MF Cyprus CYP Christos Efzona (at Olympiakos Nicosia until 30 June 2026)

Current staff

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Senior Management
Vice President Cyprus George Ioannou
CEO Cyprus Charis Theocharous
COO England Rustam Khafizov
Sporting Director Italy Cristiano Giaretta
Head Scout Portugal Rodolfo Filipe Aniceto Vaz
Senior Scout Brazil Pedro Henrique
CFA Representative Cyprus Filippos Georgiou
Technical staff
Head Coach Spain Juan Carlos Carcedo
Assistant Coach Spain Sergio Domínguez Cobo
Assistant Coach Spain Sebastián Corona
Goalkeeping Coach Croatia Silvije Čavlina
Head Analyst Cyprus Andreas Kattamis

Records

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Most appearances

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As of match played 19 August 2025
Name Years League Cypriot Cup Super Cup Europe Total
1 Brazil Jairo 2021–2025 127 (55) 16 (4) 1 (0) 18 (1) 162 (60)
2 Finland Onni Valakari 2020–Present 136 (40) 15 (6) - (-) 7 (0) 158 (46)
3 Romania Vlad Dragomir 2021–Present 117 (12) 14 (2) 1 (0) 23 (3) 155 (17)
4 Czech Republic Josef Kvída 2020–2025 124 (4) 11 (0) 0 (0) 1 (0) 136 (4)
5 Sweden Muamer Tanković 2022–Present 96 (28) 14 (2) 1 (0) 23 (4) 134 (34)
6 Croatia Ivica Ivušić 2023–2025 79 (0) 14 (0) 1 (0) 17 (0) 111 (0)
7 Brazil Bruno Felipe 2023–Present 76 (5) 9 (0) 1 (0) 23 (1) 109 (6)
8 Senegal Moustapha Name 2022–Present 69 (6) 11 (1) 1 (0) 12 (1) 93 (8)
9 Portugal Pêpê 2023–2024, 2024–Present 61 (3) 10 (2) 1 (0) 18 (1) 90 (6)
10 Spain David Goldar 2023–Present 58 (9) 8 (1) 1 (0) 22 (2) 89 (12)

Top goalscorers

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As of match played 12 August 2025
Name Years League Cypriot Cup Super Cup Europe Total Ratio
1 Brazil Jairo 2021–2025 55 (127) 4 (16) 0 (1) 1 (18) 60 (162) 0.37
2 Finland Onni Valakari 2020–Present 40 (136) 6 (15) - (-) 0 (7) 46 (158) 0.29
3 Sweden Muamer Tanković 2022–Present 28 (96) 2 (14) 0 (1) 4 (23) 34 (134) 0.25
4 France Kévin Bérigaud 2018–2022 22 (68) 2 (3+) - (-) 0 (-) 24 (71+) 0.34
5 Slovakia Adam Nemec 2018–2020 17 (42) 5 (6) - (-) 0 (-) 22 (48) 0.46
6 Brazil Anderson Silva 2024–Present 11 (35) 3 (5) 0 (1) 4 (21) 18 (62) 0.29
7 Romania Vlad Dragomir 2021–Present 12 (117) 2 (14) 0 (1) 3 (23) 17 (155) 0.11
8 Netherlands Nassir Maachi 2015–2016 11 (31) 2 (1) - (-) 0 (-) 13 (32) 0.41
9 Spain David Goldar 2023–Present 9 (58) 1 (8) 0 (1) 2 (22) 12 (89) 0.13
9 Brazil Jajá 2024–Present 6 (43) 1 (7) 0 (1) 5 (21) 12 (72) 0.17

Managers

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As of match played 19 August 2025
Manager name From To Duration P W D L Win %
Serbia Radmilo Ivančević 1 July 2014 14 October 2014 105 days
Cyprus Sofoklis Sofokleous 1 November 2014 9 November 2015 1 year, 8 days
Spain José Manuel Roca 17 November 2015 14 December 2015 27 days
Cyprus Apostolos Makridis 16 December 2015 31 May 2016 167 days
Cyprus Dimitris Ioannou 14 June 2016 31 May 2017 351 days
Slovenia Luka Elsner 30 June 2017 21 January 2018 205 days 23 6 6 11 26.09
Scotland Steven Pressley 31 January 2018 9 October 2018 251 days 22 8 5 9 36.36
Croatia Željko Kopić 19 October 2018 6 November 2019 1 year, 18 days 41 16 11 14 39.02
England Jeremy Steele (Caretaker) 6 November 2019 13 December 2019 37 days 5 3 1 1 60
Wales Cameron Toshack 13 December 2019[33] 20 October 2020[34] 312 days 21 8 5 8 38.1
Ukraine Dmytro Mykhaylenko 20 October 2020[35] 31 January 2021[36] 103 days 16 4 5 7 25
England Stephen Constantine 4 February 2021[37] 30 June 2021[38] 146 days 18 12 2 4 66.67
Slovenia Darko Milanič 30 June 2021[39] 10 May 2022[40] 314 days 33 11 14 8 33.33
Spain Míchel Salgado (Caretaker) 14 May 2022[41] 22 May 2022 8 days 2 1 0 1 50
Norway Henning Berg 11 June 2022[42] 3 April 2023[43] 296 days 33 17 11 5 51.52
Spain Míchel Salgado (Caretaker) 3 April 2023 24 June 2023 82 days 9 3 3 3 33.33
Spain Juan Carlos Carcedo 24 June 2023[10] 2 years, 62 days 106 62 19 25 58.49

References

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  1. ^ "Στάδιο Στέλιος Κυριακίδης (πρώην Παφιακό Αθλητικό Κέντρο)". Cyprussports.org. Archived from the original on 2021-12-18. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  2. ^ "El Paphos de Carcedo entra en otra dimensión: "Debemos ser humildes"". AS (in Spanish). Diario AS. 2024-08-01. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  3. ^ "Stelios Kyriakides Stadium – Pafos FC". Stadium Journey. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  4. ^ "About – Pafos FC". Pafos FC. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  5. ^ "Cyprus 2014/15 Second Division". RSSSF. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  6. ^ "Cyprus 2015/16". RSSSF. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  7. ^ "Cyprus 2016/17". RSSSF. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  8. ^ "Foreign investment turned a football underdog into a champion". Cyprus Mail. 6 May 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  9. ^ "An online tour of Pafos FC Training Centre (2020)". Pafos FC. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  10. ^ a b "PAFOS FC new head coach – Juan Carlos Carcedo". Pafos FC. 24 June 2023. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  11. ^ Καρτσάκης, Νίκος (18 May 2024). "Ομόνοια - Πάφος 0–3: Έγραψαν ιστορία οι Παφίτες, κατακτώντας το πρώτο Κύπελλο της ιστορίας τους". Gazzetta.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  12. ^ "Žalgiris 2–1 Pafos – match page". UEFA.com. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Pafos 3–0 Žalgiris – match page". UEFA.com. 1 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  14. ^ "CSKA 1948 – Pafos: as it happened". FotMob. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  15. ^ "CFR Cluj vs Pafos – play-off". UEFA.com. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  16. ^ "Omonia and Pafos FC draw 1–1 in first all-Cypriot European match". Cyprus Mail. 13 February 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  17. ^ "Omonoia 1–1 Pafos – match page". UEFA.com. 13 February 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  18. ^ "Djurgården beats Pafos in Europa Conference League Round of 16". News 20. 14 March 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  19. ^ "Pafos FC are the Champions of Cyprus". Cyprus News Agency. 5 May 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  20. ^ "Paphos FC officially crowned champions for first time in history". Cyprus News Agency. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  21. ^ "Pafos 1–1 Maccabi Tel-Aviv – match page". ESPN. 22 July 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  22. ^ "Maccabi's Champions League campaign ends with 1–0 defeat to Pafos". Maccabi Tel Aviv FC. 31 July 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  23. ^ "Dynamo Kyiv 0–1 Pafos – match page". UEFA.com. 5 August 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  24. ^ "Pafos 2–0 Dynamo Kyiv – match page". UEFA.com. 12 August 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  25. ^ "Pafos near maiden appearance in Champions League proper after knocking off Dynamo Kyiv". Flashscore. 13 August 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  26. ^ "Πάφος FC: Με διαγωνισμό το έμβλημα του νέου σωματείου". sentragoal.philenews.com. 3 June 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  27. ^ "Δείτε το νέο έμβλημα της Πάφος F.C!". protathlima.com. 7 June 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  28. ^ @pafosfcofficial (2023-07-13). "We are proud to announce the continuation of our cooperation with Korantina Homes as the Official Main Sponsor of Pafos FC" (Tweet). Retrieved 2025-03-25 – via Twitter.
  29. ^ https://pafosfc.com.cy/pafos-fc-reaches-record-breaking-deal-with-korantinahomes-contract-extended-for-5-years/
  30. ^ https://www.lf-group.com/blog
  31. ^ https://pafosfc.com.cy/pafos-fc-cablenet-until-2027/
  32. ^ "Our Team – PAFOS FC". pafosfc.com.cy.
  33. ^ "Cameron Toshack". pafosfc.com.cy/. Pafos FC. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2020.[permanent dead link]
  34. ^ "CONTRACT TERMINATION WITH CAMERON TOSHACK". pafosfc.com.cy/. Pafos FC. 20 October 2020. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  35. ^ "DMYTRO MYKHAYLENKO – nEW HEAD COACH". pafosfc.com.cy/. Pafos FC. 20 October 2020. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  36. ^ "CONTRACT TERMINATION WITH DMYTRO MYKHAILENKO". pafosfc.com.cy/. Pafos FC. 31 January 2021. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  37. ^ "STEPHEN CONSTANTINE / NEW HEAD COACH OF PAFOS FC". pafosfc.com.cy/. Pafos FC. 4 February 2021. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  38. ^ "END OF CONTRACT WITH STEPHEN CONSTANTINE". pafosfc.com.cy/. Pafos FC. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.[permanent dead link]
  39. ^ "DARKO MILANIC APPOINTED AS HEAD COACH". pafosfc.com.cy/. Pafos FC. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.[permanent dead link]
  40. ^ "Darko Milanic has been relieved of his duties as Pafos FC Head Coach, effective immediately". facebook.com/fcpafos. FC Pafos Facebook. 10 May 2022. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  41. ^ "Pafos FC football advisor Michel Salgado will be in charge for the last two games of the season as an Interim Head Coach". facebook.com/fcpafos. FC Pafos Facebook. 14 May 2022. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  42. ^ "HENNING BERG JOINS PAFOS FC AS NEW HEAD COACH". pafosfc.com.cy. Pafos FC. 11 June 2022. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  43. ^ "PAFOS FC: HENNING BERG RELIEVED OF DUTIES". facebook.com/pafosfc/. Pafos FC Facebook. 3 April 2023. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
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