Iraklis

Iraklis traces its roots to Omilos Filomouson, a cultural union of Thessaloniki's Greeks formed in 1899, when the city was under Ottoman rule. On 29 November 1908 members of that group founded the Makedonikos Gymnastikos Syllogos, with the doctor Alkiviadis Maltos as first president. In 1910 the name of the demigod Heracles, Iraklis in Greek, was added, hence the nickname "Imitheos" (Demigod); the club's age earned it the name "Gireos" (Elder). Its blue and white come from the Greek flag. Kaftanzoglio Stadium has been home since 1960, apart from spells elsewhere in 2002-04 and 2023-24.

Iraklis won the Macedonia regional championship five times and lost national finals in 1933-34 and 1938-39. Its only Greek Cup came in 1976, beating Olympiacos 6-5 on penalties after a 4-4 draw. It won the Balkans Cup in 1985 and finished third in 1983-84, its best league place since 1959. Demoted in 1980 over an alleged bribery attempt, it was later cleared. Licence failures in 2011 and 2017 sent it to the lower divisions; winning the Super League 2 north group in 2025-26 ended nine years outside the top flight.