A town on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus is playing host to one of this years great European fairytales. Pafos FC are about to take their premier bow in Europe having qualified for the 2024/25 edition of the UEFA’s Conference League. We take a look at how they got there and just what makes Cyprus’ new boys and its home town an ideal away
day.

Pafos FC – Who are they?

The village of Paphos is 8th largest city in Cyprus and is a popular holidaying destination for British tourists, it would probably one of the last places you’d expect to find a gem of an away day. Pafos themselves are only a relatively new club at just 10 years old, founded in 2014. Pafos FC play their home games at the Stadio Stelios Kyriakides with a small capacity of just under 10,000. In fact, the city itself is only around 36,000 people meaning the whole population would fill just over 2/3 of Hampden. They are managed by ex- PSG, Sevilla and Arsenal assistant Juan Carlos Carcedo.

With a squad value of around £20 million they are valued higher than all Scottish clubs outside of the big two. Last season the club won the Cypriot cup slotting them in to Europa League QR1. An 8-2 aggregate defeat saw them drop in to the Conference. A run of games saw them stroll to the league phase, seeing off the likes of CSKA Sofia and Cluj comfortably. This year in the newly revised league phase they will face some tough opposition, with the likes of Astana Lugano and Fiorentina.

This year they have successfully broken the status quo of dominance from APOEL Nicosia and even that of recent success of their capital neighbours Omonia. This is a guide to seaside holiday resort turned Cypriot away day.

Where to stay? How to get there?

Around a 5 hour flight from Glasgow or Edinburgh you will arrive in Paphos which enjoys around 340 days of sunshine a year. Flights are offered by the likes of EasyJet and Jet2. Flights are usually on the steep side for Europe with anything under £150-200 a rarity.

Expect to pay a going rate of £300 for a hotel/apartment for the week. You can bookthrough a package holiday or arrange flights and accommodation separately. While there it is highly recommended to hire a car, this can be done at a far cheaper rate compared to other European countries hence why doing so is so popular there. From experience, this unlocks your ability to see far more than you otherwise would have. This will likely only set you back €120 for the week. Paphos and its closely situated neighbouring villages all make an ideal resting point for your away day.

Paphos will give you the ideal bustling city feel and many hotels are situated close to the stadium itself which is within Paphos’ old town. My tip however would be to stay in either neighbouring villages. A €2 bus journey from the main bus terminal takes you to Coral Bay or Peyia. Coral Bay features stunning beaches with the highlight being a 10 year old ship wreck enabling some exciting photo opportunities. For a typically Greek Cypriot feel, Peyia offers this with small Tavernas offering some of the best cuisine like that of Moussaka, Gyros and of course Halloumi.

While not exactly being as cheap as many eastern European nations like Hungary or Poland. Cyprus is still relatively affordable. A meal will set you back around £20pp and a pint will set you back on average around €4. English is vastly spoken on the Island with all road signs featuring English translations from Greek so don’t sweat if your Greek isn’t up to scratch.

Cyprus – What is there to do outside of football…

You would be forgiven for coming to the conclusion that due to a mass influx of British tourism that the island would be awashed with Irish bars and €1 pints. While this is very much the case it is well worth highlighting that there is far more to both Paphos and Cyprus than just this.

As an ex-commonwealth nation, as you can imagine, Cyprus is steeped in politics both old and new. The island still plays host to two RAF bases within British annexes on the island. In addition to this, the lesser known Turkish sector of the Island cut off after the 1974 invasion is well worth a visit and is situated through the northern half of the capital Nicosia around a two hour drive north of Paphos.

Furthermore, within the checkpoint between the Cypriot republic and the Turkish third lies an area known as “no mans land”, or the U.N’s “Green line”, which stretches the entire width of the country, is designed to segregate both sides. Untouched since that day in 1974, the area is as wide as a football pitch in the capital and as sparse as that of 180kms wide. For any history or politics buffs it is well worth experiencing.