“PAOK fan club of former Soviet Union countries” was created in order to rally the youth around PAOK, introduce them into a healthy way of life and watch the matches of our favourite team together. This fan club also gives the opportunity to all young Greeks living away from Greece to remain close not only to PAOK but to their fatherland as well.

In the framework of the presentation, elections for the president and fan club representatives in 10 former Soviet countries were held. The statute was agreed, guidelines were discussed along with the action plan for 2015.

On the first day of their stay in Thessaloniki, fan club members got in touch with PAOK FC press officer Kyriakos Kyriakos, they were told of the club’s history and development and had their questions answered.

They also watched the encounter between PAOK and Panathinaikos. “I cannot describe the Toumba atmosphere. The fans truly become the team’s twelfth player. Despite bad results, we are on the team’s side for better or worse. Watching the match was refreshing for all members of the former USSR countries’ fan club and prompted us to work even harder for the benefit of great PAOK. When we returned to Belarus, we started supplying the club with PAOK symbols that we brought with us from Thessaloniki. Now we are setting up the space where we will watch matches”, Dimitris Theodoridis, the coordinator in Belarus said.

“Watching the game in Toumba is unique. I felt being a part of the club. I wish for all fans to watch PAOK up close and get the same feeling I got. When I returned to Georgia, we presented the PAOK fan club of former Soviet Union countries to the Greek Youth Union, we created our special space with symbols of PAOK and we held a meeting to discuss our plans to expand PAOK idea in Georgia. I am very glad that fate led me to PAOK and gave me the opportunity to contribute to their cause”, Pavlos Ilindzev, coordinator in Georgia said.

“Before kick-off of the PAOK-Panathinaikos match, we were all convinced we would win. But the goal of our opponents messed with our plans that evening. However we remained at Toumba until the final whistle and supported our team in this difficult moment”, was the statement of Robert Markosian, coordinator in Armenia.

Rauf Orudzev, coordinator in Azerbaijan, said: “Upon our return to Baku, we created our special place in the community centre. The experience of watching PAOK up close was unique. I am convinced this was not our last match at Toumba…”.

Anastas Seraponidis, coordinator in Kazakhstan, added: “We have a good team and results will follow in the future. PAOK fans fill me with positive emotions. I am glad to become one of them”.

“From now on, PAOK will be present in every association of the periphery, near all Greeks living in the former Soviet Union countries. We will share joys and sorrows with the team, because PAOK symbolises more than the families of the Constantinopolitans who created the club. PAOK also represents all Greek refugees who were once forced to leave their fatherland. This trait brings PAOK closer to us and deeply-rooted in our hearts”, is the statement of Giannis Sivakos, coordinator in Uzbekistan.

“Since presenting our own PAOK fan club, this feeling of togetherness hasn’t left us. We hold on to these feelings along with the symbols of our favourite team. We all watched the Thessaloniki match together and created our special space, our offices in the Greek community of Kyrgyzstan. We are certain that we touched many hearts, extended our fan base and we will keep meeting and discussing, watching the games and cooperating with the club”, Barbar Minaj as coordinator of the PAOK fan club in Kyrgyzstan said.

“It was an unforgettable experience that will remain in our hearts forever. We put a great deal of energy in this excursion to Thessaloniki and I believe we truly became members of PAOK family. I hope that we will get to celebrate victories and titles with our team! I am certain that a bright future awaits PAOK”, Yulia Zarikova, fan club coordinator in Ukraine, said.

“For days after returning to Chișinău, we were too excited to go back to our daily routines. The atmosphere at Toumba and Thessaloniki will remain forever engraved on our memory. I hope we will return one day to watch our team win the league title”, is the reaction of Natalya Sulika, representative of the Greek youth in Moldova.

“We are very happy to have created this club with the assistance of PAOK. We watched a game and got to live the Toumba experience after hearing so much about it… We had the privilege of get acquainted with the administration of PAOK and communicate with their staff. There are many PAOK fans in Russia, but were never organised into a proper fan club. We have many plans and ideas regarding our club’s organisation and I believe that we will make it even greater within a year”, Κostas Mouratidis, president of PAOK fan club of former Soviet Union countries says.

The coordination panel of PAOK fan club of former USSR countries, elected in Thessaloniki, express their deepest gratitude to PAOK FC President Ivan Savvidis and to the whole staff of the club for their active support to the cause and the organization of their event in Thessaloniki.