Four Greek football teams will play in European competition league phases during the 2026-27 season after PAOK were eliminated by Norwegian club Brann.
Greece missed out on securing a full sweep of five qualifying spots, with AEK Athens advancing to the UEFA Champions League, Olympiacos and OFI Crete entering the UEFA Europa League, and Panathinaikos competing in the UEFA Conference League.
AEK Athens draw European elite
AEK Athens earned their place in the Champions League League Phase after defeating Bulgarian side Levski Sofia in their playoff tie, completing the qualification with a four-goal victory.
The team, managed by Marko Nikolic, discovered their eight opponents for the primary stage during Wednesday's draw. AEK were drawn against Real Madrid, Manchester City, Roma, Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray, Shakhtar Donetsk, Como and LASK.
The draw paired both AEK and English side Arsenal against Borussia Dortmund. AEK and Greek international Christos Tzolis will also feature in Champions League fixtures alongside Konstantinos Karetsas and Giannis Konstantelias.
Olympiacos and OFI Crete enter Europa League
Olympiacos were the first Greek side to guarantee a spot in the Europa League League Phase after dropping out of Champions League qualifying following an elimination by Dutch side NEC Nijmegen. The Piraeus club has been placed in Pot 1 for the Europa League draw, while defender Pedersen has arrived in Athens to finalize a transfer to sign for the team.
OFI Crete made history by securing their place in the Europa League League Phase with two victories over Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia, capped by a 2-0 win away in Bulgaria. The Cretan side will enter the draw in Pot 4. OFI manager Kontis said the team delivered a performance that anyone would envy watching.
Panathinaikos drama and PAOK exit
Panathinaikos stand as Greece's sole representative in the Conference League League Phase after negotiating three qualifying rounds. The Athens club clinched qualification in a 1-2 victory away against Czech outfit Hradec Kralove, progressing through a penalty scored by Cyriel Dessers in the fifth minute of stoppage time in extra time. Panathinaikos, who will be in Pot 2 for the draw, subsequently lodged an official complaint with UEFA regarding an attack on player Giorgos Kyriakopoulos.
PAOK saw their European campaign end in August after a 3-2 defeat to Brann in Norway. Following the elimination, Lisi stated that there was no penalty in the passage of play leading to Brann's third goal.
European context and related results
The UEFA club competitions feature 36-team single-league phases that replace the traditional group stages, with teams playing eight matches against opponents from various seeding pots before advancing to the knockout rounds.
Elsewhere in European qualifying, coach Nistrup said his team showed character while noting there were areas to improve. In the Conference League qualifiers, Greek forward Charalampos Kostoulas scored a goal and provided an assist in Brighton's 4-0 win over Norwegian side Tromso to secure qualification for the English club.
