The chapter of Prodromos Petrides as president of APOEL FC has officially come to an end. After almost 13 years, the former administrative leader of the “blue and yellows” submitted his resignation amid a storm of reactions.
Financial mismanagement brought the capital’s club into difficult times, with the result that it is searching for a lifeline in order to meet its immediate obligations and beyond. Past mistakes combined with current financial needs have created a dangerous situation, which is why decisions needed to be taken yesterday in order to save whatever can still be saved this season. As for the next one, nobody at APOEL is looking that far ahead, since the coming months are critical and require special handling. The level of debt is such that safe predictions cannot be made.
Petrides took over the presidency for a second time towards the end of 2013. He managed to record seven league titles from 2014 to 2019 and again in 2024, six of them consecutively. At the same time, he has two domestic cups to his name with final victories over Ermis Aradippou FC and AEL Limassol respectively, as well as two Super Cups with wins against AEL and Pafos FC. A reference point in his second tenure was the notable European campaigns in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. In fact, in the latter competition APOEL reached the round of 16 in the 2016 to 2017 season.
Petrides’ management has overshadowed what the capital club achieved on the pitch. Mismanagement, along with repeated promises that APOEL would not be at risk while he remained at the helm, leaves no positive balance on his second tenure. From this point on, those in charge face the difficult task of financial restructuring in order to identify the ways and resources that will allow the capital’s club to see better days. The hard times, therefore, are at the door.