The Emblem

The first emblem of PAOK (1926) depicted a four-leaf clover and a horseshoe, with the initials of the club on the leaves. On March 1929, the joint reunion of the directors’ boards of PAOK and AEK Thessaloniki decided the merger of the two refugee clubs so that the former would absorb the sports sections of AEK, whose football section had been dissolved in 1927. PAOK changed their emblem and adopted the double-headed eagle of the Union of Thessaloniki Constantinopolitans that had been founded in 1924 as a communication and solidarity beacon for the Constantinople refugees. Both PAOK’s and AEK Thessaloniki’s founders were members of the afore-mentioned Union, whose memorandum stated in article 27: “If a sports section is established in the bosom of the social club, it is possible for the section to become independent and bear the same name, according to the Olympic Committee regulations”. PAOK’s emblem, the Byzantine double-headed eagle, is a direct reference to the club’ roots in Constantinople, as it was founded by refugees from the capital of the Byzantine Empire. The emblem was redesigned in 2013 and became more dynamic, while the added golden detail aims to emphasize on the club's Byzantine origins. This development showcases the evolution of the team as they entered a new era, seeing to it that the emblem of PAOK FC preserves the bond between the club’s historical roots and its future.