New member: OFI Crete FC joins EFDN

The European Football for Development Network (EFDN) is welcoming OFI Crete FC and their community to the network. The Greek club hopes, by working directly with EFDN and its experienced partners, to exchange thoughts and experiences, learn from other members and show people what can be achieved through football.

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 behaviour. 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 behaviour.

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

Minas Lysandrou, Chief Executive Officer at OFI Crete FC states: “We are very happy and honored that we join such a significant network, as the European Football Development Network (EFDN), with some of the biggest and most successful clubs in Europe as members.

OFI Crete FC is more than just a football club, with a vision, principles and values that are fully in line with those of EFDN and aims at highlighting the social power of football”.

Hubert Rovers, CEO of EFDN: “It’s a real pleasure to welcome OFI Crete FC as a new member to our network. We are happy that OFI Crete FC, with all the great initiatives they created already, will help to extend our network in Greece and are looking forward to a successful collaboration.”

OFI Crete FC will come to the Netherlands for their pre-season preparation. They will face among others our Dutch EFDN members Vitesse Arnhem (on July 13th) and AZ Alkmaar (July 28th) and they will end their training camp with a match against NEC Nijmegen (July 30th).

To find out more information about the initiatives of OFI Crete FC, please visit their member page here.