Pafos FC's Champions League Debut Marks Remarkable Rise for Cypriot Club

Wed Oct 22 2025 11:45:21 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Pafos FC prepares for its first-ever Champions League match, a remarkable achievement just 11 years after its formation. The team, bolstered by star signings like David Luiz, eyes glory on the European stage.

Pafos FC is set to debut in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, just 11 years after its establishment. They have made significant progress in recent years, reaching the group stage after overcoming several qualifying rounds. With legends like David Luiz joining, ambitions are high for this rising Cypriot club.

Cypriot side Pafos FC will make their Champions League debut on Wednesday - just 11 years after their formation.

The club has made waves in recent years, playing in Europe for the first time last season and reaching the Conference League last 16, as well as winning their first league title.

And this season they have reached another huge milestone in coming through three rounds of qualifying to reach the Champions League proper - one of only two teams, alongside Kazakh outfit Kairat Almaty, to feature for the first time.

Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Dynamo Kyiv, and Red Star Belgrade were all dispatched by Pafos through qualifying.

Their reward is eight matches in the league phase, including a home game against Bayern Munich and a trip to Chelsea, but they start with a trip to Greece to face Olympiakos on Wednesday.

Everybody was in ecstasy, former Brazil and Chelsea defender David Luiz, who joined the club in August, told BBC Sport about the moment Pafos qualified.

Everybody was totally happy because we did something amazing. Nobody expected us to be in the Champions League this season.

I'm very happy to be here because I can see this feeling, with everybody's hunger, to do something great.

Pafos were formed in 2014 when two clubs from the region merged - AEK Kouklia and AEP Paphos - which themselves had been formed in a 2000 merger of two other teams in the district.

They started in the second tier and bounced around between that and the top flight until the 2017 takeover of Roman Dubov, a Russian businessman with British citizenship who aimed to make Pafos a competitive and sustainable football club.

The arrival of Spaniard Juan Carlos Carcedo in June 2023 changed the club's fortunes. Having previously served as Unai Emery's assistant manager at Arsenal, Carcedo led Pafos to its first trophy, the 2023–24 Cypriot Cup, and ultimately to becoming champions of Cyprus. This season, they aim to leave a mark in Europe.

David Luiz, who joined Fafos this summer, is keen to showcase his talents on this grand stage, stating it would be a big opportunity for us to show our qualities for the world. With aspirations running high, all eyes will be on Pafos FC as they step onto the European stage for the first time.