Doxa Drama Football Club () is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Drama, Macedonia, Greece. Founded in 1918, the club's home ground since then has been Doxa Drama Stadium.

Doxa Drama is considered one of the most historic and major teams of Greece and was one of the founding members of the Super League, the first tier of Greek football.

History During World War I, near the city of Drama, Macedonia, a team of English soldiers who played football regularly in their camp inspired the local Greek population to create the first football club in the region. Founded as Peleus in 1918, the team was renamed Doxa (Glory) in 1919.

Initially, the team colors were black and white with the logo of a black clover. After the war, the team's logo was permanently changed to a black eagle, while the team colours of black and white remain until today.

The first formal match of Doxa was against AO Kavala, the team of neighbouring city of Kavala. In that first game, Doxa lost 3–0. Doxa Drama is one of the founders of the Greek League Alpha Ethniki, the highest tier of Greek club football. Doxa reached the final of the Greek football Cup in 1953–54, 1957–58, and 1958–59, but lost all three finals from Olympiacos.

Doxa Drama participated in Alpha Ethniki for 21 seasons. Financial and administrative turmoil, however, led to the club being relegated to Greece's amateur division, Delta Ethniki. In 2008–09, Doxa had a strong year in the Third Division and clinched the Gamma Ethniki North title with two games to spare. Doxa returned to Beta Ethniki after 11 years for the 2009–10 season, where the team finished 14th in the regular season and 13th after the Beta Ethniki play-outs.

Financial problems continued for Doxa Drama which was never able to return to Alpha Ethniki (Nowadays named Super League). In season 2018–19, it plays in the Greek Football League (2nd level of Greek Football).

In February 2019, a group of Russian, and Lithuanian investors based in Delaware purchased 15% of the team (Minority stake).

During the 2020–21 season, Doxa was relegated to the Gamma Ethniki after four years following the rejection of its participation certificate by the Professional Sports Committee.

During the 2021–22 season, Doxa recorded a mediocre to decent campaign, securing division survival on the final matchday following a 2–2 draw against Ethnikos Sochou. The following season proved far more comfortable, with the club finishing in 4th place without facing relegation threats, despite ongoing administrative difficulties surrounding the team.

However, this stable run ended in the 2023–24 season—the third consecutive year in the third tier—which marked one of the darkest chapters in the club's history. Following a disappointing performance, Doxa finished in 12th place and was relegated to the regional Drama FCA league for the first time after 65 consecutive years in the national divisions.

During the 2024–25 season, Doxa won the regional championship undefeated, winning all 26 league matches to earn qualification for the 2025 Greek Football Clubs Association Winners' Championship special promotion tournament, through which the club secured promotion back to the national divisions. Additionally, Doxa completed a domestic double that same season by winning the Drama FCA Cup.

During the 2025–26 season, Doxa returned to the Gamma Ethniki, delivering a strong campaign to finish in 3rd place in Group 1 with 52 points.

Stadium Doxa Drama's stadium is a multipurpose stadium used primarily for football matches in Drama. It is the physical seat of Doxa Drama with a capacity of 10,000 spectators. In its early years, the club was trying to find a place to be able to have a stable seat. They did it in 1953, when Athanasios Doubesis, with his official donation, gave an area to build the stadium. After World War II, and after rebuilding the stadium, it was originally only the western platform. In the 80s, the northern part of the stadium was built, while in the same decade attempted to build the left-hand side, which did not start, but was completed in 2011, when the works on the stadium were over.

Crest and colours

Crest The primary crest of the club was the clover. Each leaf of the clover was written a letter from the GSD (initially the words "Gymnastic Association of Drama"). The crest changed in the 1950s after many fans' reactions, removing the preference for black clover and putting the black eagle in its position, which the team has today.

Colours The colours of the club are black and white. The black clothing honors those Doxa Drama's footballers who were killed during the Greek-Bulgarian War. Doxa's Takis Loukanidis had said:

Rivalries Matches between Doxa Drama and Kavala draw significant interest, carrying the character of a local derby in a longstanding regional rivalry.Γειτονικό ντέρμπι στην Καβάλα , thessports.gr

Seasons in Leagues +(from 1959)TierSeasonParticipations1st252nd273rd134th(*not exist from 2013)4Local(*include 2024–25)1

Seasons in the 21st century (details) +SeasonCategoryPositionCup2000–01Delta Ethniki (4th division)3rd2001–02Delta Ethniki (4th division)6th2002–03Delta Ethniki (4th division)1st2003–04 Gamma Ethniki (3rd division)10th1R2004–05Gamma Ethniki (3rd division)8th1R2005–06Gamma Ethniki (3rd division)6th2R2006–07Gamma Ethniki (3rd division)11th1R2007–08Gamma Ethniki (3rd division)17th1R2008–09Gamma Ethniki (3rd division)1st2R2009–10Beta Ethniki (2nd division)14th2R2010–11Football League 2 (3rd division)5th2R2011–12Super League (1st division)18thR162012–13Football League (2nd Division)9th1R2013–14Football League (2nd division)10th1R2014–15Gamma Ethniki (3rd division)4th2015–16Gamma Ethniki (3rd division)3rd2016–17Gamma Ethniki (3rd division)2nd2017–18Football League (2nd division)5th2018–19Gamma Ethniki (2nd division)8thQR2019–20Super League 2 (2nd Division)10th4R2020–21Super League 2 (2nd Division)10thCancelled2021–22Gamma Ethniki (3rd Division)7th2022–23Gamma Ethniki (3rd Division)4th2023–24Gamma Ethniki (3rd Division)12th2024–25Drama FCA First Division1st2025–26Gamma Ethniki (3rd Division)3rd2026–27Gamma Ethniki (3rd Division)

Key: QR = Qualifying Round, 1R = First Round, 2R = Second Round, 3R = Third Round, 4R = Fourth Round, 5R = Fifth Round, GS = Group Stage, R16 = Round of 16, QF = Quarter-finals, SF = Semi-finals.

Notable managers

Kostas Vasilakakis (1981–95) Michalis Grigoriou Apostolos Charalampidis Makis Katsavakis

Notable players

Paraskevas Antzas Georgios Georgiadis Takis Loukanidis Theodoros Pachatouridis Kyriakos Tohouroglou

Honours

Domestic

Leagues Football League (Second Division) Winners (3): 1962–63, 1978–79, 1987–88 Gamma Ethniki (Third Division) Winners (1): 2008–09 Delta Ethniki (Fourth Division) Winners (1): 2002–03 Drama FCA First Division Winners (1): 2024–25 East Macedonia FCA First Division Winners (9): 1937–38, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59

Cups Greek Football Cup Runners-Up (3): 1953–54, 1957–58, 1958–59 Drama FCA Cup Winners Winners (4): 2000–01, 2001–02, 2015–16, 2024–25 Drama FCA Super Cup Winners Winners (1): 2015–16

Bibliography «ΔΟΞΑ ΔΡΑΜΑΣ 1918–1965 ΛΕΥΚΩΜΑ», Βασίλης Τσιαμπούσης, 1996, εκδόσεις Δ.Ε.Κ.ΠΟ.Τ.Α. Δήμου Δράμας Γράμμα στη Δόξα, έκδοση 1918–2008 ενενήντα χρόνια Δόξα Δράμας, Δράμα, 2009. «Δόξα Δράμας 1980–1995 τα δεκαπέντε χρόνια της Δόξας στην Α΄ Επαγγελματική κατηγορία», Θεόδωρος Μπουδακίδης, Δράμα, 2018.

References

External links Doxa Drama at UEFA http://www.stadia.gr/drama-f/drama-f-gr.html https://www.panoramio.com/photo/106218990