Pioneering postgraduate program from TEFAA of Serres and PAOK
Education, trust in science, and prevention. A trinity-like approach to the plan that builds title-challenging teams, and one from which PAOK and the PAOK Academy do not deviate, of course.
Within the framework of the Postgraduate Studies Program (PSP) entitled «Training and Prevention of Injuries in Football», which is organized by the Department of Science, Physical Education and Sports (TEFAA) based in Serres, SEFAA, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) and with the collaboration of PAOK FC, a three-day course was held on February 7, 8 and 9, 2025, both at the Toumba Stadium and at the Souroti sports center.
The courses were taught by the professors of TEFAA of Serres AUTH Ioannis Amoiridis, Symeon Vlachopoulos, Ioannis Gkisis and Eleftherios Kellis. Also, PAOK B rehabilitation trainer Dimitris Petrakis spoke about performance after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, analyzing theory and practical applications in the gym and on the field, analyst Yiannis Vlachos spoke about analysis in developmental ages and goalkeeping coach Dimitris Kryonas analyzed both theoretically and practically the connection of players – especially goalkeepers – of the Under-19 and PAOK B teams with the A team. The students had the opportunity to watch the PAOK Under-17 match against OFI, a PAOK B training session and to talk with coach Nikos Karageorgiou.
At the Toumba Stadium, the students discussed with the director of the PAOK Academy, Vangelis Pourliotopoulos, as well as with the coaches of the Under-19 and Ubder-15 teams, Petros Tsiapakidis and Savvas Konstantinidis, respectively, about the philosophy, methodology and strategy followed by the PAOK academies.
The postgraduate program is the only program with a focus on football in Greece and one of the few in the world. Its aim is to provide high-level university education with a combination of the latest scientific developments, on the modern way of functioning of football. This program introduces for the first time the concept of injury prevention that plagues football as well as the collaboration with a professional team, such as PAOK FC. It has been operating since 2019, while it is worth noting that a large part of its graduates already work in Superleague and Superleague 2 teams, as well as in teams abroad.
