AE Messolonghi

Full name	Athlitiki Enosi Messolonghi
Founded	1931 (1931)
Ground	Messolonghi Municipal Stadium
Capacity	3,500
Chairman	Vasilis Katsaganis
Manager	Andreas Kalavriziotis
League	Gamma Ethniki
2022–23	Aetoloacarnania FCA First Division, 1st (promoted)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

A.E. Messolonghi Football Club (Greek: Α.Ε. Μεσολογγίου) is a Greek football club based in Messolonghi, Aetolia-Acarnania, Greece.

The club was founded in 1931. They will play in Gamma Ethniki for the season 2023–24.

History

At the dawn of 1930, various sports clubs were founded in Messolonghi, including Panetolikos and Olympiacos, which created football teams. Panetolikos will be superior, it will give friendly meetings with Panetolikos Agrinio and the weaknesses that will appear will lead to the need to create a strong team in our city, through the unification of clubs. Finally, after meetings of agents and the persuasion of the then Prefect of Etoloakarnania, the establishment of a joint acceptance group, called Athlitiki Enosis Messolonghi, was achieved at the beginning of 1931 (perhaps within March). Its first vital potential consists of players mainly from Panetolikos and Olympiacos, while other sources also mention the participation in the merger of other smaller teams (Niki, Keravnos, Asteras, Dafni, Atromitos, etc.). Its first board of directors consists of Messrs. Kaloulis, Katassos, Mores, Papoutsopoulos, Kantzouros etc., while its main players during the pre-war period were Dres (GK), Fakkas, Giannopoulos, Linardatos, Katsaitis, Zavitsanakis, Makedonopoulos, Galanis, Valakros, Valsakas, Vsaromakis, Stavropoulos Lampiris etc. The captain of the club and its first scorer during this period was Panagiotis Stavropoulos, later a member of the ERE. After a mediocre start, AE Messolonghi is slowly being organized, creating a strong team that is gaining experience and in 1934 is recording its top pre-war success, winning the championship of Etoloakarnania, defeating Panaitolikos Agrinio. Unfortunately, in 1936, the club became inactive and almost disbanded, due to the degradation of football in the Greek countryside, but also the actions of the dictatorship of Metaxas (establishment of EON, etc.).

After the liberation, two new football clubs were founded in Messolonghi in 1946, Niki and Ethnikos, which are characterized by their political differences (left and right). In December 1946, they fought each other in two friendlies and Niki won overwhelmingly. A few days later, administrations and players of the two unions, leaving aside their political passions and in the midst of the civil war, are the first to set the example of reconciliation and re-establish the historic AE Messolonghi. Undertakes an steering committee from Messrs. Katasou, Lykoudis, Papatheodorou, Kyrili, Satrazemi, Galanopoulou, Fakka, Rapesi etc. and at the beginning of 1947 the old ace of Iraklis Thessaloniki, Dimitris Kollias, was hired as a player-coach. With his knowledge and experience, he will create a famous team, which in the next two years will at least achieve great and wonderful victories, impressing the fans. The executives of this wonderful group were Theofilatos, Synodinos, Nezeritis, Katsantonis, brothers Rigas and brothers Livieratou, Hasiotis, Raftopoulos, Papanastasiou, Karyofyllis, Kapnisis, Karavias, Apostolopoulos etc.

Honours