Panathinaikos begin new era under fan rule
Reuters - Wednesday 18 July 2012, 17:53
Panathinaikos began a new
chapter under fan ownership after the transfer of the
Vardinoyiannis family's majority shareholding to the new
'Panathinaikos Alliance' was completed on Wednesday.
"From now on Panathinaikos belongs to its people," said
fans' coalition group leader Yiannis Alafouzos, who also owns
the Skai media group.
"I thank all supporters and stakeholders who have made this
possible. The alliance represents the fans.
"We must learn from the losses incurred last year and start
to build a new Panathinaikos.
"We also thank the players and the coach who agreed to delay
their payments to make this a reality," he added.
Panathinaikos won eight league titles and 11 Greek Cups
under the control of the Vardinoyiannis family since 1979 before
the transfer of their 54.75 percent stake to the alliance.
Oil tycoon Yiannis Vardinoyiannis, who took full control of
the club in 2000 after buying out his uncle Yiorgos, had come
under fierce criticism from fans in recent years.
The team have repeatedly finished second best to arch rivals
Olympiakos Pireaus in the domestic championship.
NEW MEMBERS
After the completion of the share transfer, the coalition
group announced that another of the club's major shareholders,
Andreas Vgenopoulos, had also pledged to become a member.
Vgenopoulos, who was at loggerheads with Vardinoyiannis, has
owned a 20 percent stake in the club since 2008 and pledged to
offer his "full support and business expertise" to the
alliance.
The fans group - Panathinaiki Symmachia (Panathinaikos
Alliance) - was set up on May 3 and since July 2 fans have been
able to become members of the club.
Members are allocated shares based on the amount of money
invested but each of those supporters will be given just one
vote in the group's decision-making procedures.
Fans can become e-members on the Internet, by paying the
subscription of 20 euros or more, at the Panathinaiki
Alliance group's website.
By July 18, the site had recorded deposits of over 1.6
million euros from 2,829 members.
Greens coach Jesualdo Ferreira delivered on his promise to
be the first symbolic donator, the Portuguese investing 1,000
euros to kick off the scheme.
FINANCIAL STRUGGLES
After a season of financial turmoil in 2011/12 amid the
backdrop of the country's economic crisis, which has markedly
affected Greek football, Panathinaikos are pinning their hopes on
the scheme to bring stability to the club's finances.
The Greens are not the only top flight team struggling, with
the likes of AEK Athens and Aris Salonika scrambling to pay off
debts and get funds together in time to secure a licence from
the Professional Sports Commission (EEA) and avoid relegation.
While both clubs have been granted the basic licence by the
Super League, they must also acquire similar paperwork from the
EEA, a state body which regulates football clubs.
AEK have offloaded several players in the close season,
including Greece midfielder Grigoris Makos to 1860 Munich and
Victor Klonaridis to Lille as part of restructuring efforts.
However, the Yellows could still be demoted to the second
division by the EEA if by Aug. 10 the club fails to settle its
debts with the Greek tax authorities.
The issue is not so much the 3.5 million euros owed, because
AEK have raised money via merchandise sales and transfers, but
the EEA must issue the decisions for licences for clubs no later
than 15 days before the start of the season, which is August 25.
With decisions expected to be announced on August 10, AEK must
be able to submit all the necessary documents by August 7-8.