The club was formed in 1917 and was a foundation member of the
Hellenic Football Federation. At the start of the 1950s, the team was relocated to the suburbs of
Vyronas and merged with Nea Elvetia (Greek: Αθλητική Ένωση Νέας Ελβετίας), the local club, which was formed in 1935. The club was named
Athinaikos Neas Elvetias AS (
Greek: Αθηναϊκός Νέας Ελβετίας Αθλητικός Σύλλογος), but it was commonly referred to as
Athinaikos or
AthNE (
Greek: ΑΘ.Ν.Ε.). The team plays in the municipal stadium of Vyrona, which has a capacity of 4,340. The team's nickname is
Lords of Byron, a reference to
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, commonly known as Lord Byron, who fought and died for Greek independence. The area of
Vyronas was named after him as a tribute. Athinaikos established two more departments of
Handball and
Basketball. The most historical moment of the club was in season
1991-92 when they played against
Manchester United in the first round of the
Cup Winners' Cup. They drew the first leg 0-0 at home and took the English giants into extra-time at
Old Trafford before losing 2-0. ==Honours==