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Mediterranean club Pafos FC prepare for their first-ever Champions League appearance this Wednesday – just 11 years after the team’s founding.

Lately, the squad has made waves by entering European tournaments for the first time last campaign, making it to the UECL last 16 and claiming their maiden domestic championship.

Now, they have attained yet a further huge feat by surviving three stages of elite European preliminaries to reach the main competition – among just two clubs, besides Kazakhstan’s team Kairat Almaty, to make their debut.

Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Kyiv and Serbian giants Red Star were all overcome by Pafos during the entry stages.

The prize is eight games in the group stage, featuring a fixture on their turf against German champions Bayern and an journey to Chelsea, but they begin with a fixture in Greece against Greek side Olympiakos this coming Wednesday.

"The whole team was in ecstasy," stated veteran Brazilian and Chelsea player Luiz, who joined the squad in last month, on the point Pafos secured entry.

"All of us was elated because we accomplished something amazing. Nobody anticipated us to reach the Champions League this term."

"I’m delighted to be here because I can see this emotion, with everybody's hunger, to accomplish something special."

Founded in 2014: An Overview

Pafos came into existence in 2014 when two clubs from the area joined forces – AEK and Paphos AFC – who also had been formed in a merger in 2000 of additional sides in the area.

They began in the second division and bounced around the second and first division until the 2017 purchase by a Russian entrepreneur, a entrepreneur from Russia with UK passport who was once as Pompey proprietor in 2011.

"The goal was straightforward – we set out to establish something innovative, something able to challenge, something long-lasting – not just a sports team but one that could return value to the public," he stated recently.

"The nation is a place with such a love of the game and, in Pafos, we were confident that we had an opportunity to develop something from the ground up."

It wasn’t immediate triumph, though.

"Owners have revolutionized the club, 100%. It was a side that had difficulty to survive in the top division."

"In this region, the passion is extreme. So, if the team goes well, everybody will visit the stadium. If the club doesn't go well, few people will come. It’s all or in the middle."

"There were some wrongs, expenditure that didn't give them anything. They have been putting money in since 2017. It involved experimentation to arrive at this stage."

British Managers Have a Crack

Scottish Steven Pressley, currently Dark Blues boss, had a short stint in the dugout in 2018.

Welshman the coach had a brief spell in 2019-20.

England's Constantine took the squad for a brief period in three years ago.

A couple of former Blackburn Rovers stars took charge, as well – one-time Manchester United player Berg and once at Madrid defender the Spaniard, who was technical director but also had two interim periods.

During his playing days, once in the EPL player the Englishman was at Pafos from three seasons.

The Turnaround Begins During Tenure of One-Time Gunners Staff

The tide turned with the appointment of Spanish Carcedo in summer of 2023. He had been Unai Emery's number two at six different teams, among them the Gunners.

He led Ibiza and Zaragoza before transitioning to the island.

His initial term in charge ended with the team’s inaugural silverware – the 2023–24 domestic cup, with a 3-0 win over Nicosia-based Omonia, who were in their home stadium for the game.

The following campaign Pafos came through three rounds of UECL preliminaries, ending up twelfth in the league phase and then advancing in the play-offs before being eliminated by Djurgardens in the knockout stage.

They finished the term as champions of Cyprus for the first time – securing the title by a comfortable gap and opening up a path to the elite competition.

The midfielder’s late goal in Pafos' match at home against Red Star Belgrade to level it at a draw (3-2) sealed their berth in the group stage.

"The president of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides is a massive Pafos FC enthusiast who visits the arena."

"He watched the fixture. He followed it with anxiety. At the final whistle he was jubilant like a child. He was uncontained. There was a online footage of him rejoicing like a kid."

"It’s equivalent to winning the league in Cyprus, it's that significant a deal."

"It is a achievement you place next to your club’s history – a league title, one trophy and one league phase presence. It's a very big matter here."

'In My View We Can Make History'

This summer, Pafos completed the unexpected capture of defender Luiz, who at the 38 years old had been with {Fortaleza|Fort