PAOK W

Foundation and early years (1926–1939)

PAOK FC is the oldest department of the major multi-sport club AC P.A.O.K., which is closely linked with Hermes Sports Club, that was formed in 1875 by the Greek community of Pera, a district of Istanbul (Constantinople). The football club was founded in April 1926 after a dispute with Enosis Konstantinoupoliton Thessalonikis (E.K. Th.), a social and political organisation, by Constantinopolitans who fled to Thessaloniki after the Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War. PAOK's policy was to be open to every citizen of Thessaloniki, leading to a minor rivalry with AEK Thessaloniki, the other Constantinopolitan club of the city, from which PAOK had split prior to its foundation and was attended exclusively by refugees.

PAOK played its first friendly match on 4 May 1926 at the stadium of Thermaikos, defeating Megas Alexandros Thessaloniki 2–1, coached by Kostas Andreadis, who spent five years on the team's bench without demanding payment. The first professional contract was signed by the club in September 1928 for French footballer Raymond Etienne of Jewish descent from Pera Club (the club that PAOK's founding members played in), which ignited further controversy between the two refugee clubs. In March 1929, AEK Thessaloniki was disbanded as a sports club and their members joined PAOK. PAOK thereupon changed its emblem, adopting the Double-headed eagle, as a symbol of the club's Constantinopolitan heritage. PAOK also got possession of AEK Thessaloniki's facilities located around Syntrivani and settled there, becoming the sole refugee club in the city.

Albeit PAOK's first years in existence were marred by strife and controversy with the Macedonia Football Clubs Association and the Hellenic Football Federation, the team's ascension led to its debut in the 1930–31 Panhellenic Championship, becoming a mainstay at the national stage, with the construction of the Syntrivani Stadium being completed in 1932. The team would win its first regional title, the Macedonia Championship, in 1937, beginning a period of dominance. PAOK would reach a Greek Cup final in 1939 and the two-legged final of the Panhellenic Championship in 1940, losing both times to AEK Athens. However, the team's success would be cut short by the Greco–Italian War, where the team was dismembered, with two players dying on duty.

Regional league dominance and youth academy (1946–1959)

After World War II, in the early 1950s, a state-of-the-art youth academy named PAOK Academy was created by the Austrian manager Wilhelm (Willy) Sevcik, who played for the club in the 1930s. The academy was known as the "chicos of Willi". From the newly founded academy sprang some great football players of the period, such as Leandros Symeonidis, Giannelos Margaritis and Giorgos Havanidis.

In 1948, PAOK won their second Macedonia Championship, and then participated in the final phase of the Panhellenic Championship where they were ranked third. PAOK footballers dedicated the title to the memory of team captain, Thrasyvoulos Panidis, who had lost his life (18 February 1948) in the Greek Civil War a few days prior. In 1950, they became champions of Macedonia for a third time, and the following year (1950–51), the team reached their second Cup final, but lost to Olympiacos.

After a busy transfer period in 1953, PAOK's offensive play was significantly strengthened with an effective front three, consisting of Kouiroukidis, Papadakis and Yientzis and the club dominated the Macedonian championship for the rest of the decade, with four consecutive titles from 1954 to 1957, going unbeaten from 1954 to 1956, under the management of Nikos Pangalos, Erman Hoffman and Walter Pfeiffer, albeit results in the Panhellenic Championship were more mixed. The team also reached a third Cup final in 1955, losing to Panathinaikos. The concluding seasons of the decade were less successful, but the team's performance in the 1958–59 Macedonia Championship secured a spot in the newly found nationwide Alpha Ethniki, which replaced the region–based Panhellenic Championship.

Alpha Ethniki, domestic and international success, professionalism (1959–1989)

Having moved to the newly built and crowdfunded Toumba Stadium in September 1959, PAOK's first years in the nationwide division were unassuming, finishing no higher than sixth between 1960 and 1966, except for a fourth-place finish in 1963. Under the captaincy of Leandros Symeonidis the club slowly built a solid foundation through its youth academy, with emerging youngsters such as Giorgos Koudas and Stavros Sarafis. In this period, PAOK became a frequent guest in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and significantly increased its attacking form under Ivor Powell and Jane Janevski. In 1968, Koudas' controversial transfer from PAOK to Olympiacos was annulled, in a string of incidents that started a heated rivalry between the two teams.