AEK Handball Club is the handball department of the major Greek multi-sports club A.E.K. It was established in 2005 and it is the most successful Greek club in European handball competitions, as it won the European Challenge Cup in 2021 and was also a runner-up in 2018 and 2025. The club is commonly known in European competitions as AEK Athens HC.
History The department Handball of A.E.K. was founded by a decision of the General Assembly of A.E.K. on 12 July 2005.
On 5 August 2005, the Greek Handball Federation accepted a merger through the absorption of the association's Board of Handball GA Ilioupolis with AEK Handball Club.
During the period 2006–07, AEK Handball Club acquired the 3rd position in A1 (Greek Men's handball championship) and gained participation at European Cups for the first time.
During the period 2007–08, AEK participated in EHF Cup (European Handball Federation Cup) and was eliminated by Dinamo Baumit Bucuresti in the second round.
On 31 May 2009, with Nikos Georgantzoglou as president, AEK won the first Greek handball cup winning Filippos by a score of 33–31 in Serres.
For the period 2009–10 AEK participated at EHF Cup Winners' Cup.
For the third round of EHF Cup Winners' Cup, AEK HC played against BSB Izmir on 14 November 2009 in Athens (losing 24–29) and on 21 November 2009 in Smyrni (drawing 22–22). During the period 2009–10, AEK HC terminated at 4th position of A1, gaining its European participation for the 2nd consecutive time and for 3rd in general. In addition, AEK HC participated in the final four of Greek men's handball cup on 29 May 2010 in Lamia, but the semi-final game against PAOK did not take place due to fan "fights".
For the second round of the European Challenge Cup (2010–11), AEK HC won HC Dinamo Minsk 31–25 in Athens and lost 32–27 in Minsk and therefore AEK has been advanced to the top 16 teams. For the third round (phase of 16), AEK defeated Sporting Lisboa at penalties. AEK lost 27–23 in Lisboa but won 27–23 in Athens and so the game went on penalty-kicks, where AEK advanced to the top 8 with the final score of 32–27. For the Quarter-Final (phase 8), AEK played against Partizan of Beograd and was disqualified.
On 7 May 2011, AEK won the Greek handball championship through the playoffs and became champion for the first time in their short history. AEK needed only the win against PAOK at Thessaloniki and was losing by one goal (22–21) 30 seconds before the final whistle but with great will and power scored twice (the final goal at the exact second of the final) and gained the first championship of its history just 6 years after its establishment. AEK participated in the first round of the EHF Champions League for the period 2011–12 and also in the first round of Challenge Cup, losing to Lions (Holland).
On 17 March 2012, AEK participated in the final game of the Greek men's handball cup against PAOK but lost the game 26–24. AEK participated to the EHF Cup for the period 2012–13 but was eliminated by Diomidis Argous in the first round, losing both games at Argos and Athens.
On 3 March 2013, AEK won the second Greek handball cup in its history, winning PAOK by a score of 27–23 in Kerkyra (Corfu). The same year on 1 June 2013 AEK won the second Greek handball championship against Diomidis.
On 19 March 2014, AEK won the third Greek handball championship in its history, winning Diomidis 18–16 in Athens.
On 29 March 2015, AEK participated in the final of the Greek men's handball cup for the fifth time in a row, against PAOK, but lost the game by a score of 27–29. The team finished third in the Greek handball championship.
On 14 and 20 May 2018, AEK HC played the final games of EHF Challenge Cup 2017–18 and became one of the three most successful teams in Greek handball (including Diomidis Argous and Filippos Verias) in European achievements. In 2020, AEK won its third Greek Championship.
On 23 May 2021, AEK HC won the fourth Greek handball cup in its history, winning PAOK by a score of 24–22 in Kozani. On 30 May of the same year, AEK HC won the first EHF European Cup in its history by winning the Swedish club Ystads IF, this way AEK HC became the most successful Greek club in European handball competitions. AEK won its fourth Greek Championship on 6 July 2021 celebrating a historic treble.
At the start of the 2022–23 season, the club made several changes in the first-team squad due to last year's unsuccessful results. The first-team changes of the summer transfer period helped AEK to finish at the top of the league in the regular season. The club was drawn to play against Olympiacos after qualifying for the championship finals through the regular season. In an exciting match series, which ended 3-2 in favor of AEK, the club was crowned champion for the fifth time.
In April 2025, AEK handball club lifted its fifth Greek handball cup winning ESN Vrilissia by a score of 43-21 in SUNEL Arena at Athens.
Kits
HOME
AWAY
Honours +AEK H.C. honours aek.grTypeCompetitionTitlesWinnersRunners-upThird placeContinental EHF European Cup12020–212017–18, 2024–252018–19DomesticGreek Handball Championship5 2010–11, 2012–13, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2022–23 2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024, 2025, 2026Greek Handball Cup5 2008–09, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2020–21, 2024–25 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2026 Greek Handball Super Cup0 2023, 2025, 2026
Shared record
Tournaments
Official Tournaments 47th International Handball Tournament Struga (1): 2019 International Tournament "Andreas Papastamatis" (4): 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Unofficial team awards
European Treble (HHF League and Cup, and EHF Cup) Winners (1): 2020–21 National Double (HHF League and Cup) Winners (2): 2012–13, 2020–21
Performance in international competitions
Season Achievement Notes EHF Challenge Cup \ European Cup 2010–11 Quarter-finals lost on aggregate by RK Partizan Beograd, 28–22 (L) in Belgrade and 23–24 (L) in Athens 2017–18 Runners-up lost on aggregate by AHC Potaissa Turda, 27–26 (W) in Athens and 33–22 (L) in Cluj-Napoca 2018–19 Semi-finals eliminated on aggregate by Madeira Andebol SAD, 22–30 (L) in Athens and 27–22 (L) in Madeira 2019–20 Quarter-finals drawn against AHC Potaissa Turda but cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic 2020–21 Champions defeated Ystads IF on aggregate, 30–26 (W) and 20–24 (W) in the finals at Chalcis 2024–25 Runners-up lost on aggregate by RK Alkaloid, 25–29 (L) in Athens and 10–0 (L) (by forfeit) in Skopje
The European Cup glory paths 2017–18 EHF Challenge Cup RoundTeam Home Away AggregateQual.R3 London GD 41–21 16–4081–37L16 Göztepe SK 32–23 29–2557–52QF Berchem HC 32–25 18–3264–43SF AM Madeira Andebol SAD 23–23 21–2952–44F AHC Potaissa Turda 27–26 33–2249–592020–21 EHF European Cup RoundTeam Home Away AggregateQual.R3 KH Prishtina37–198–4178–25L16 CSM București29–2328–2352–51QF HC Neva SPb29–2721–3059–48SF RK Gorenje31–2931–31 62–60F Ystads IF 30–26 20–2454–462024–25 EHF European Cup RoundTeam Home Away AggregateQual.R2 Junior Fasano 39–26 20–3877–46R3 RK Lovćen 45–26 31–4186–57L16 MRK Krka 38–28 25–3169–53QF RK Partizan AdmiralBet 27–22 30–26The regular time score was 24-19 for RK Partizan AdmiralBet. AEK Athens handball club qualified on penalties. 53–52SF RK Izviđač37–2828–2461–56F RK Alkaloid25–2910–0The game was lost 10–0 by a court decision due to forfeit. 25–39
European competitions record
CompetitionsAppearancesPlayedWDLGF \ GA1EHF Champions League24103103–1212EHF European League/EHF Cup6246018625–703EHF Cup Winners' Cup1201146–513EHF European Cup/EHF Ch.Cup856363171,656–1,413Overall1786434392,430–2,288
EHF ranking
Rank Team Points33 RK Eurofarm Pelister15434 Fenix Toulouse15035 AEK Athens14936 Kolstad Håndball14937 RK Gorenje Velenje148
Season by season SeasonDivisionPlaceCup Super CupEurope2005–06 A1 Ethniki 8th –––2006–07 A1 Ethniki 3rd –––2007–08 A1 Ethniki 8th –– EHF Cup R22008–09 A1 Ethniki 7th Winner ––2009–10 A1 Ethniki 4th Final-4– EHF Cup R32010–11 A1 Ethniki 1st Finalist – EHF Challenge Cup QF2011–12 A1 Ethniki2ndFinalist – EHF Champions League QS EHF Cup R22012–13 A1 Ethniki1st Winner – EHF Cup R12013–14 A1 Ethniki2nd Winner – EHF Champions League QS EHF Cup R32014–15 A1 Ethniki 3rd Finalist ––2015–16 Handball Premier 9th –– EHF Challenge Cup R32016–17 Handball Premier 3rd –––2017–18 Handball Premier 2nd –– EHF Challenge Cup Finalist2018–19Handball Premier2ndFinalist –EHF Challenge Cup SF2019–20Handball Premier1st Final–EHF Challenge Cup QF2020–21Handball Premier1stWinner–EHF European Cup Winner2021–22Handball Premier2ndFinalist–EHF European League GS2022–23Handball Premier1stFinal-4–EHF European Cup2023–24Handball Premier2nd–FinalistEHF European League GS2024–25Handball Premier2ndWinner– EHF European Cup Finalist2025–26Handball Premier2ndFinalist––
In the 2019–20 season, the Greek Cup final against Diomidis Argous and the EHF Challenge Cup quarterfinal against Potaissa Turda were canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Players Squad for the 2026–27 season
Goalkeepers 16 Giannis Antoniadis 65 Matheus de Souza Albuquerque – Jérôme Ribet – Øyvind Varpe
Wingers LW 10 Lefteris Mpoutos 18 Guilherme Torriani 34 Souleimany Toure – Cláudio Chicola
RW 2 Evangelos Arampatzis (c) 15 Vinicius Perin
Line players 19 Giorgos Georgiadis 35 Guilherme Peixoto 40 Jonas Stüber – Abdeldjalil Zennadi
Back players LB 14 Ognjen Radojičić 25 Dylan Garain – Carlos Ocaña Matas CB 5 Thomas Xypnitos 11 Dimitrios Panagiotou 13 Denys Alessandro Da Silva Barros – Jan Kovačec – Hiroki Matsuoka – Rudolf Zvonimir Šafranko
RB 22 Alexandros Koukoulas 31 Giorgos Kolovos – Guilherme Linhares de Souza
Transfers Transfers for the 2026–27 season
Joining Filip Vistorop (CB) from HSG Wetzlarhttps://www.handball-world.news/artikel/nach-vertragsaufloesung-ex-wetzlarer-geht-nach-griechenland-1252902 Jan Kovačec (CB) from Jags Vöslau Carlos Ocaña (LB) from CB Caserío Ciudad Real Guilherme Linhares (RB) from CB Caserío Ciudad Real Konstantinos Kotanidis (GK) from CB Caserío Ciudad Realhttps://www.aek.gr/stin-aek-mechri-to-2028-o-kostas-kotanidis/ Cláudio Chicola (LW) from Póvoa Andebol Clube Hiroki Matsuoka (CB) from Free agent Rudolf Zvonimir Šafranko (CB) from Free agent
Leaving Adama Keïta (LW) to GRK Ohrid Omar Salem (CB) to CB Caserío Ciudad Real
Transfer history
Transfers for the 2025–26 seasonJoining Grétar Guðjónsson (GK) from US Ivry Handballhttps://www.aek.gr/stin-aek-o-gkretar-gkoyntgionson/ Julius Kühn (LB) from SG BBM Bietigheimhttps://www.handball-world.news/artikel/julius-kuehn-verlaesst-die-bundesliga-1130492 Jonas Stüber (LP) from ASV Hamm-Westfalen Omar Salem (CB) from AC Diomidis Argous
Leaving Mario Matic (CB) to Elverum Håndballhttps://www.topphandball.no/artikkel/landslagsspiller-mario-matic-klar-for-elverum-handball/ Adama Sako (LB) to CSM Constanța Petar Lulić (LP) to MRK Sesvete
Team officials Staff for the 2025–26 season
Pos.NameGeneral Manager Efstathios PapachartofylisTeam Manager Ioannis AntalisHead coach Alexandros AlvanosAssistant coach Rafa RibeiroGoalkeeper coach Evangelos RaspitsosPersonal trainer Georgios VavetsisPhysiotherapist Stylianos Lekkas
Notable former and current coaches Greece
Giannis Arvanitis Dimitris Dimitroulias Kostas Toutsis Nikos Grammatikos (2017–19) Dimitris Dimitroulias (2019–22) Alexandros Alvanos (2022–23)
Rest of Europe
Dragan Đukić (2023) Frédéric Bougeant (2024–25) Rui Silva (2025–26)
List of former and current players
Greece
Christoforos Bakaoukas (2005–16) Savvas Karypidis (2013–15) Fanis Tsaousis (2005–15) Giorgos Papadopoulos Dimitris Kaffatos (2005–07, 2009–14, 2019–20) Dionysis Georgiadis (2010–20) Giorgos Perros Alexandros Alvanos (2012–14, 2018–19) Spyros Balomenos (2012–13) Panagiotis Nikolaidis Konstantinos Tsilimparis (2013–15) Grigoris Sanikis (2013–15) Nikolaos Kritikos (2023–24) Vyron Papadopoulos (2023–24) Charalampos Mallios (2023–24)
Rest of Europe