Founding and early history The club was founded on 18 August 1966 from the merger of five local clubs:
Esperos, Iraklis, AE Kallitheas, Kallithaikos, and Pyrsos. In 1970, Kallithea's
Grigoris Lambrakis Stadium, named after the Greek liberal politician and peace activist
Grigoris Lambrakis, was opened to the public.
Promotion to the second division Under co-managers
Kostas Nestoridis and
Takis Papoulidis, Kallithea clinched their first promotion to
Greece's second division with a 1-0 playoff win over
AO Koropi on a goal by Giannis Maxouris in extra time on 21 June 1969. Kallithea’s victory over Koropi had political significance in dictatorial Greece. During the rule of the
Greek junta, the Secretary General of Sport
Costas Aslanidis had planned a reform of the football map that would eliminate clubs opposed to the regime — including Kallithea. When Kallithea defeated regime-favored Koropi, there were mass celebrations in the streets, with
BBC Radio calling it “the first defeat of the junta.”
Promotion to the first division On 28 April 2002, Kallithea clinched their first promotion to
Greece's top division with a 0-1 win over
Chalkidona FC at
Neapoli Stadium on a goal by
Theofanis Gekas. The club's first win in the competition was a 3–2 upset of
PAOK at
Toumba Stadium, thanks to two goals from Gekas, on 14 September 2002. After four seasons in the top flight, Kallithea were relegated in the 2005-06 season.
Recent history (2021 to present) In August 2021, New York-born Greek-American Ted Philipakos, a former Chief Executive Officer and Chief Brand Officer at
Venezia FC, led the takeover of Kallithea FC with his brother and former professional footballer
Peter Philipakos and investor
Andrew Barroway. In the
2021-22 season, Kallithea finished second in
Super League 2, seven points back of league winners
Levadiakos for promotion to
Super League 1, which was the club's most successful season since it last appeared in the top division in 2005–06. In September 2022, the club rebranded as Athens Kallithea FC. The presentation of the club's rebranding was met with widespread acclaim in Greece and abroad, with London-based Versus calling it "one of the cleanest football rebrands ever." In the
2022-23 season, AKFC missed out on promotion to Super League 1 by one point, finishing second in Super League 2 for the second consecutive season. After two consecutive second-place finishes, AKFC were crowned
2023-24 Super League 2 South Group champions and earned promotion to the
Super League, returning to the top flight for the first time in 18 years. The promotion was clinched in a 1-1 draw with second-place
Chania at Grigoris Lamprakis Stadium in the penultimate round of the season on 9 May 2024, after Argentinian defender Nicolás Marotta headed in from
Javier Matilla's free-kick to level the match.
Giannis Loukinas was the team's leading scorer in the promotion-winning campaign, scoring nine goals during the regular season and nine goals in eight promotion playoff matches. ==Stadium==