APOEL spokesperson Nektarios Petevinos spoke to SPOR FM 95, referring to Sunday’s anniversary match (November 8) marking the 100th anniversary of the club’s founding, as well as other issues concerning the “blue-and-yellows.”
Among other things, he discussed preparations for the match against Aris, Ivan Jovanović’s attendance at the celebratory events, advance ticket sales, as well as developments regarding the investment plan.
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The Futsal Cup draw will take place next Monday
Key points:
On the 100th anniversary: “There are two parts to this match. There’s the competitive aspect, which we all need to take seriously, and the second part is the celebration. From 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., we all need to support the team and be there to back them up. We need to keep the competitive aspect separate; obviously, we’ll celebrate regardless of the result because APOEL’s history includes both joys and sorrows, but the game is different from the celebration. We’ll try to get the event that follows started soon; it will be dedicated to the past, the present, and the future, which is why we have reached out to APOEL’s veterans’ group to ask them to attend. One of the people who will be there is Ivan Jovanović; he accepted our invitation and will be at the stadium on Sunday.”
Regarding available tickets: “As I’ve said, this is a competitive league match, so a special arrangement had to be made for the North Stand, with an allocation of 1,000 tickets, and we’ll have another 2,000 tickets available. Right now, we’re approaching 50% of the availability of those tickets (for the North Stand). We’re currently approaching 17,500 to 18,000 tickets.
Regarding the match against Aris: “Archangelos has been kept out of the loop regarding what’s happening, and the team is preparing for the match—a game against a tough opponent. Aris is a very fast and highly effective team, and they’ve had better results than we have. We want to get the better of our opponent; our sole goal is the three points.”
On the lineup: “Sastre is out due to suspension, and Sotiriou is also out because he’s not ready yet. Kattirtzis is also out, though we expect him to return for the playoffs.”
On the investment structure: “I’m aware of what was stated in the club’s announcement, but these are three separate agreements. Right now, we’ve been having many days of intense discussions, and as I’ve mentioned, we’re very close to the company announcing the convening of an extraordinary General Meeting. We’re waiting to finalize everything and then inform the public.”
On what the future holds for APOEL if the deal falls through: “We’re at a point where APOEL is going through a very difficult period, and we know all too well how dire the financial situation is, but APOEL is still here, and no investor has come on board yet; so I cannot comment on these hypothetical scenarios.”
Regarding the appeal filed by APOEL: “We’ve submitted the appeal; the Cyprus Football Association (KOP) has informed us that it has received it and will let us know the date that will be set.”
Final remarks: “On November 8, there are two reasons for anyone to be at the stadium. The first is the game itself—we all need to go to the stadium and support the team from start to finish—and the second is the festive atmosphere.”
