Founded in 2014 following a merger between AEP Paphos and AEK Kouklia, Pafos won their first major honour a decade later in the form of the Cypriot Cup. That victory earned them entry into the Europa League first qualifying round, and they now make the step up this season to compete against Europe’s best.

Here we help you get to know our matchday seven opponents better…

Factfile

Full name: Pafos Football Club
Country: Cyprus
City: Paphos
Formation: 2014
Major honours: Cypriot First Division (2025), Cypriot Cup (2024)
Head coach: Juan Carlos Carcedo

2024/25 league finish: 1st
Stadium: Stelios Kyriakides Stadium (Limassol Stadium in European competition)
Colours: Blue, white and gold

Champions League history

This is Pafos’s first season in the Champions League. They navigated three rounds of qualifying to make the league phase, defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv (2-1), Dynamo Kiev (3-0) and Red Star Belgrade (3-2) on aggregate. They won all three away games, although the first two were played in neutral venues because of the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

2024/25 season

It was a historic campaign for Pafos last time out. Not only did they win their first league title, finishing seven points clear of Aris Limassol, but their maiden European campaign took them all the way to the Conference League Round of 16.

They were knocked out of the Europa League in the first qualifying round, dropping down into the Conference League qualifiers where they defeated Zalgiris, CSKA 1948 and Cluj to reach the league phase. Pafos finished 12th and then edged past fellow Cypriot side Omonia Nicosia 3-2 on aggregate. Their European adventure was ended by Djurgarden, who lost 1-0 in Cyprus but triumphed 3-0 back in Sweden.

The only disappointment for Pafos came in the Cypriot Cup, where they lost on penalties in the final to AEK Larnaca.

2025/26 season so far…

After their Champions League qualifying heroics, Pafos began their league campaign with a 1-0 win away to APOEL Nicosia.

Current squad

There is one name in Pafos’s squad that stands out: David Luiz! Our former defender joined on a free transfer at the start of August after being released by Fortaleza. The Brazilian, now 38, signed a two-year deal.

Former Watford pair Ken Sema and Domingos Quina, who also spent time in our Academy, now play for Pafos. Midfielder Vlad Dragomir is the longest-serving player in the current squad having joined in 2021.

Notable former players

Chelsea Academy graduate Sam Hutchinson had a brief spell with Pafos in 2020. Jason Puncheon, best known on these shores for his time at Barnet, Southampton and Crystal Palace, spent three seasons with Pafos between 2019 and 2022. Another former Palace player, Bakary Sako, featured on six occasions.

Previous Champions League meetings

None.

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