#aek

"I can't believe... that this little house... can be this warm"

[Submitted Reasons Under Cut]

Δεν έχω καταλάβει πως έγινε, δεν νομίζω να μπορέσω ποτέ να «χωνέψω» αυτή την νύχτα, όμως δεν έχει και τόση σημασία. Όλη η μαγεία και ομορφιά του ποδοσφαίρου σε μια νύχτα φτιαγμένη από ασχήμια. N*zis are out και προχωράμε.

In case you are wondering about the name, AEK was founded in 1924 and its full name Αθλητική Ένωση Κωνσταντινουπολιτών means Sports Association of the Greeks of Constantinople. The club was founded two years after the Greco-Turkish war by Greeks who had fled or been deported from Istanbul and Asia Minor. Hence the Hagia Sophia reference. AEK had the Nikos Goumas stadium in Nea Philadelphia prior to this one but it was demolished after an earthquake caused irreparable damage.

The new stadium will have many facilities besides the ones associated strictly with the games, including a museum for the history of the club and most importantly a museum for the history of the Greek refugees from Asia Minor. 

The stadium. 

Museum of AEK’s History. 

Museum for the Greek Refugees of Asia Minor. 

The stadium will also have traditional barber and shoe polishing shops in the fashion of early 20th Century Constantinople. 

Close to the stadium’s entrance there will also be the chapel of Hagia Sophia.

Stadium entrance. 

AEK shop. 

Old school coffee shop. 

The stadium also has baths, sauna and massage services. 

Bar lounge. 

Locker rooms.

The stadium won’t have numbered gates except for Gate No 21 (AEK’s gate). The rest will be named after important AEK athletes. The entrances to the gates will each feature information about historical hotspots of Greek presence in Asia Minor. 

The entrance of the stadium is decorated with a steel statue of the club’s symbol, the two-headed eagle (which is also the symbol of the Greek Orthodox Church).