Aris Thessaloniki

Aris was founded in Thessaloniki on 25 March 1914 by a group of young friends who met at a cafe in the Votsi area. They named the club after Ares, the ancient Greek god of war, inspired by the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913. It began as a football club and became Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki in 1926 as other sports were added. The colours are yellow and black. Home games are played at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium in Charilaou, built on land bought in 1951 and named after a former Aris player.

Aris won the first Greek championship in 1927-28 and took further national titles in 1931-32 and 1945-46. Its only Greek Cup came in 1970, against rivals PAOK. In 1979-80 it shared first place with Olympiacos but lost the title play-off 2-0 in Volos, and in that season's UEFA Cup it knocked out Benfica and Perugia. The club was relegated in 1997 and 2005, and financial problems sent it to the third tier in 2014; it returned to the top flight in 2018. In 2010-11 it beat Atletico Madrid twice in the Europa League group stage.