Athens, 1 August 2024 — Athens Kallithea FC, renowned as one of the most distinctive brands in world football culture over the last two years, have presented their highly anticipated 24/25 Home shirt, which will be debuted on the pitch later this month as the club return to Greece’s top division for the first time in 18 years.

Under president and creative director Ted Philipakos, who was previously the creative mind behind the rise of Venezia FC, Athens Kallithea have been transformed both on and off the pitch, while their kits have developed a cult following. Through the first two years of their partnership with Italian kit makers Kappa^®, the club have expressed an affinity for more classic and refined football aesthetics, typically exercising restraint and celebrating simplicity and subtlety, an approach that continues with their first release of the new season.

The 24/25 AKFC home shirt, available in long-sleeve and short-sleeve versions, is a traditionally collared shirt with a unique and stylish blue-on-blue color palette and elegant debossed lines providing a light texture, designed in collaboration with Munich-based studio Bureau Borsche for the third consecutive year.

The shirt also features the EMST wordmark of the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens, which marks the second year of a first-of-its-kind partnership between a professional football club and an arts and culture institution.

“Last season’s home shirt is one of my favorites that we’ve worked on over the years, but we wanted to pivot to a less sporty and more elegant look this season,� said Philipakos. “I think the shirt is a testament to the power of restraint and subtlety when it’s well considered, and how it can allow distinctive color to be the protagonist.

�As the centerpiece of the campaign, Athens Kallithea have released a nostalgic, 1960s inspired short 16 mm film entitled “Hold Me Close to You�, an ambitious visual statement by the club that is a complete departure from a football shirt presentation in a traditional or literal sense. The film — set on the historic island of Spetses and scored with the 1965 song “Krata Me Konta Sou� ("Hold Me Close to You") recorded by Tzeni Vanou — was written by Philipakos, who tapped emerging Athenian talents Theodore Selekos as director and Evan Maragkoudakis as cinematographer. In a link to Philipakos’ past work, the film features Theopisti Pourliotopoulou, who was the face of several Venezia FC campaigns during the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons.

“As our club was founded in 1966, we've often referenced the 1960s, and this happens to be a golden era of Greek cinema, so we wanted to tap into that,� said Philipakos. “In this case, I was inspired by Tzeni Vanou’s “Krata Me Konta Sou,� it was a mood that I wanted to explore and reinterpret. Nostalgia has been a core theme in my work, from Venezia FC to Athens Kallithea FC.� The campaign’s editorial photography was shot by Philipakos and AKFC colleague Sonya Kondratenko while on location for the film. The 24/25 AKFC home shirt is available exclusively at shop.akfc66.gr. From September, the shirts will also become available at the EMST museum shop.

 

Kappa^® is one of the brands owned by the BasicNet Group, which also includes Robe di Kappa^®, Jesus^® Jeans, K-Way^®, Superga^®, Sabelt^®, Briko^®, and Sebago^®—leading brands in clothing, footwear, and accessories for sports and leisure. BasicNet operates worldwide through a network of entrepreneurs who, under license, produce or distribute the Group's branded products. BasicNet provides these entrepreneurs with research and development, product industrialization, and global marketing services. All company processes are conducted exclusively via the Internet, making BasicNet a "fully web-integrated company." BasicNet, headquartered in Turin, has been listed on the Italian Stock Exchange since 1999.