The outlook on all fronts at Panathinaikos

PAO Alive, Votanikos, Alafouzos, Giannakopoulos, the Amateur Department, Gate 13, and more. AGONAport takes a look at the burning issues at Panathinaikos despite the coronavirus pandemic.

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Panathinaikos Football Club, Panathinaikos Basketball Club, Gate 13, PAO Alive, Votanikos - where do all these institutions with a vested interest in Panathinaikos currently sit? Will Giannis Alafouzos remain as owner for the long-term? Will Dimitris Giannakopoulos stay or leave? What is happening with the Votanikos project? These are the burning questions the Panathinaikos world wants answers to. In most cases, the answer is not clear cut as the power struggle continues behind the scenes amongst the various factions.

Here is the lowdown on each faction, according to Greek sports site “SDNA.”

PAO Alive

PAO Alive was the grand vision of Dimitris Giannakopoulos. The controversial, but the powerful owner of Panathinaikos Basketball Club, had a grand vision that he could build one central home for all departments of Panathinaikos, with the site tipped to be OAKA. He had high hopes, but this has dramatically backfired, and interest appears to be low.

While Giannakopoulos wanted to raise 20 million EUR to make it feasible, a mere 768,550 EUR has been collected (well short of the target). The vast majority of these funds were obtained from ordinary people, average fans who offered anywhere between 10 to 500 EUR each.

Prominent names in the Panathinaikos world such as Fragiskos Alvertis, Krzysztof Warzycha, Dimitris Saravakos, and Dimitris Diamantidis were used to create interest and spread awareness. This campaign was also targeting Panathinaikos fans around the globe. Several spots were used to film advertisements such as New York during Greek Independence Day celebrations and Australia during the summer months. However, the Coronavirus hindered progress in the USA, and the bushfires in Australia plagued the country in the summer months.

Indications were not encouraging from the beginning within Greece as interest was low from the outset. This project aimed at targeting the big wallets amongst Panathinaikos fans. But in Munich, for instance, a mere 2000 EUR was collected, despite the four aforementioned stars attending.

Panathinaikos Football Club

Alafouzos is expected to remain as the owner of the Football Club for some time. He has drastically reduced the debt (rumoured to be over 50 million EUR) through an array of share capital increases. This was a sharp ‘U-turn’ on his infamous words in September 2017, where he stated that he would no longer be investing in the club.

Not only has Alafouzos had more of an active role in recent years, but he has also increased the level of his personal ownership of the club; he has 51.87% of the shares of the club under his own name. Coupled with his company Sortivo International, Alafouzos’ overall ownership of the club exceeds 80%.

Debt to third parties has been lowered, players are being paid on time, a playing licence has been obtained with minimal fuss, results on the pitch have improved, and efforts were even made to appeal the UEFA suspension handed down in 2018. Overall, great strides have been made by Alafouzos, but the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic will hamper future progress, particularly in the upcoming European-ban situation in the summer months.

Alafouzos also met with Giannakopoulos recently in a meeting scheduled by the latter to discuss several matters. One of which was the proposal of a “super Panathinaikos company” that housed the football, basketball, and amateur departments under one roof. The outcome is not known, but the football club also returning to Leoforos as of next season was discussed.

Panathinaikos Basketball Club

It is undisputed that Giannakopoulos has made a concerted effort in recent years (a failed one, unfortunately) to return the basketball club to the much-coveted ‘Final 4’ of the Euroleague. Much like Alafouzos, it is hard to see Giannakopoulos leaving anytime soon, especially considering his family has been involved in the club for many years.

Even though the team has struggled at times during this season, Giannakopoulos invested a whopping 10 million EUR (in one season), thus signalling his intentions. The contracts of current players in Nick Calathes and Jimmy Fredette exceed four million EUR.

The basketball department has struggled since the loss of such an influential figure in Thanasis Giannakopoulos, who used to contribute two million EUR each year personally. Much like the football club, the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic will be felt for some time. Ticket sales have drastically declined, and so has money set to be granted from the television contract, meaning it may be challenging to bring immediate success in the near future.

Additionally, Giannakopoulos enjoys a frosty relationship with the Euroleague hierarchy, and his previously harmonious relationship with Gate 13 has had its prickly moments.

Amateur Department

It has been a wild, but dramatic rise for the Amateur Department of Panathinaikos. Only 18 months ago, the Amateur Department was on the brink of collapsing as the debt spiralled out of control. Giannakopoulos emerged as the saviour when he took over as the debt was paid off in its entirety.

In turn, success has come on the court as the volleyball team won its first title in 10 years and again competes in the top flight of the domestic competition. All divisions are in the A1 category, and the women’s basketball team is sitting in second spot with a strong chance of qualifying for a Cup final.

The revival of the Amateur Department signifies the position in Panathinaikos as a whole - normality is close to resuming. Giannakopoulos stated that his aim was to see the Amateur Department become champions in all sports.

Furthermore, the Amateur Department of Panathinaikos owns the club’s spiritual home of Leoforos. A return to the venue for the football club would illustrate a strong relationship between various facets.

Gate 13

Gate 13 is a very serious organization that has brought tension to the club over the years. What must be noted is that there are currently many voices, views, and opinions in Gate 13, and there is no unified voice as opposed to previous years.

In recent years, the supporter group has been more prevalent in its conflicts with Alafouzos and Giannakopoulos in the areas of football and basketball, respectively. Gate 13 still supports the club in all sports. Yet, the relationship, particularly on the football front, has deteriorated to the point where a protest rally was held on the day of this season’s home derby against arch-rivals Olympiacos.

This frosty relationship could deter potential new investors from acquiring the club, and the added monetary penalties and fines would only place a further burden on the respective owners.

Votanikos

The Votanikos is the most complex, yet the simplest pending subject at the same time. In this case, everyone would benefit - the football club would have its own, modern home, and the basketball club would have its own “tailor-made” stadium. Even the Amateur Department would acquire new facilities and become self-sufficient by the revenues (the rent obtained from the rental spaces).

The municipality would play a vital role in the upgrades, and from the government’s perspective, it would create jobs. The project would put an end to the anti-Panathinaikos sentiments by the government as Panathinaikos are the only team out of the big four not to have their own stadium. It could also swing more votes in the current government’s favour come the next election.

The last important development on this front came earlier this year, where the Amateur Department was in collaboration with the local municipality to integrate other facilities such as a basketball court. However, this communication was followed by a deafening silence, and we have not heard anything since.

Giannakopoulos hinted that the government had backed down on a commitment it had made. He then met in private with Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek Prime Minister, and appeared ready to speak to the public, but this has not happened. SDNA understands that this is due to the current government shifting its focus to a new project funding, and moving away from the idea of Votanikos.

However, the biggest hindrance to this front is undoubtedly the Coronavirus. Take this out of the picture, SDNA believes that there would be more clarity around the topic of Votanikos. For now, we will have to wait until normality resumes to see any progress on this front. The main issue moving forward will be the funding of such a large-scale project.

The Rest

This is a wide-ranging group of people, from some who are minor sponsors to those that have toyed with the idea of acquiring the football club. One person that springs to mind is Spyros Theodoropoulos, who owns Chipita SA. For instance, he still injects a considerable amount of money into the football club each year. He was linked with becoming the new majority owner in December 2017, but those rumours never went further.

There are also many others who are fans but prefer to stay away from the limelight and simply support the club instead. This could be down to numerous factors such as wanting to stay away from the sports scene in Greece, avoiding past problems in their respective professional lives, or burning past bridges. This group is often ignored as they bear minimal power in the grand scheme of things.

Image Source: to10.gr

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