Pafos FC, one of four teams making their UEFA Champions League debut in the 2025/26 campaign, carries a deep historical and political significance on its club crest. The man featured prominently on their emblem is Evagoras Pallikarides, a national hero of the Cypriot independence movement.
Pallikarides was a poet and revolutionary executed by the British at the age of 19 in 1957 for the possession of firearms during the Greek Cypriot EOKA guerrilla rebellion.
His death by hanging turned him into a symbol of resistance and marked an important step toward Cypriot independence in 1961, as the youngest insurgent executed by the British campaign.
The image of Pallikarides was inherited from AEP Paphos, one of the clubs that merged to form the modern Pafos FC in 2014. The club’s identity reflects a continued tribute to the hero.
Pafos FC achieved their sensational Champions League league phase spot by winning their first-ever league title in 2024/25, a year after securing the Cyprus Cup. They progressed through multiple qualifying rounds, including dramatic aggregate victories over Dynamo Kyiv and Red Star Belgrade.
The club celebrates its history, stating: “Following the footsteps of our Emblematic, eternal, teenager Hero, we are steadily climbing the steps that lead to the top. Always faithful to the ideals and values that Evagoras Pallikarides taught us through his life and his sacrifice 🙏🏼”
They have been drawn against major European sides including Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and Juventus.