Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C.
| Full name | Athlitiki Enosi Larissa Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Βασίλισσα του Κάμπου (Queen of the Plains) Οι Βυσσινί (The Crimsons) | |||
| Short name | AEL | |||
| Founded | 17 May 1964 | |||
| Ground | AEL FC Arena | |||
| Capacity | 17,118 | |||
| Owner | Achilleas Ntavelis | |||
| President | Achilleas Ntavelis | |||
| Head coach | Savvas Pantelidis | |||
| League | Super League Greece | |||
| 2024–25 | Super League Greece 2, 1st (promoted) | |||
| Website | aelfc.gr | |||
|
| ||||
Athlitiki Enosi Larissa Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ ΑΕΛ – Αθλητικής Ένωσης Λάρισας, romanized: Athlitiki Enosi Larissa, lit. 'Athletic Union of Larissa'), often known as AEL or Larissa, and AEL Novibet for sponsorship reasons, is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Larissa, capital of Greece's Thessaly region.
AEL are one of the biggest Greek football teams and widely considered as the biggest team in Greece outside Athens and Thessaloniki behind OFI Crete.Founded in 1964, when 4 of the most prominent local football clubs decided to unite, it is directly associated with the city of Larissa and its representation. The club's emblem, is a rising horse and its colors are crimson and white. It is the only team based outside of the major Greek cities (Athens and Thessaloniki) to have won the Greek Championship, which happened in the 1987–88 season. AEL has also won the Greek Cup twice (1984–85 and 2006–07) and came runners-up in the Cup finals of 1982 and 1984. This record places the club among the 5 top teams in the history of professional Greek football. The team is followed by a loud and loyal fanbase, and has a strong rivalry with other big teams in Greece, such as PAOK and Olympiacos.
AEL had also participated in European competitions, reaching the league phase of UEFA Cup in 2007-2008. Most notably, it has reached the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup Winner's Cup during the 1984–85 season.
AEL play their home games at AEL FC Arena, a pure football ground with a capacity of 17,118 seats which can expeand to 33,000 making it the third largest Stadium in Greece. The team will compete in the top-tier Greek Super League competition, after sealing the North Group league of Super League 2.