OFI Crete FC

OFI Crete FC

OFI Crete FC, short for Omilos Filathlon Irakliou, is a professional football club, based in Heraklion, Crete. The club was originally founded in 1925 and plays its home games in the “Theodoros Vardinogiannis” Stadium. OFI Crete FC currently acts in the Super League, the top league in Greece.

Besides being a football club, OFI Crete is also known for its social commitment, having organised various CSR actions, trying to positively improve peoples’ lives and help those in need. Among the initiatives included in the club’s CSR programme are school visits -which are scheduled once a week- to highlight the benefits of sports and inspire children, visiting young children who are ill in hospitals, organising actions to raise awareness on serious health issues -such as breast cancer or AIDS- helping people who face serious problems and supporting refugees to integrate in the society.

In October 2020, OFI Crete FC was declared “Sports Club of the Year 2020” in Greek Sports Marketing Awards, for its CSR programme which included the following initiatives:

• OFI stands next to the flood victims of Hersonissos In November 2020, OFI footballers and staff members went to Hersonissos, a place in Crete that was affected by severe rain which caused floods and helped the residents clean their houses and the surrounding area from the mud.

• One island, one team, one hug In March 2020, OFI Crete FC hosted more than 250 young refugees with their families in the “Theodoros Vardinogiannis” Stadium during a Super League match against Lamia FC.

• Breast Cancer Awareness Campaigns In October 2019, OFI Crete FC organised a campaign, in collaboration with the Panhellenic Cancer Prevention Society “Stohos – Prolipsi” to highlight the importance of prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

• Safe driving In November 2019, OFI initialised an action for road safety and proper driving behavior. The club released several videos, in which seven footballers and the team’s Head Coach, sent messages on safe driving and also went out on the main streets of Heraklion to distribute leaflets, informing the passing drivers about proper driving behavior.

OFI Crete FC also sending out strong messages against racism and racial discrimination.