Two dancers, floodlights, a ballad from 1963: Athens Kallithea presents its first new kits in two seasons with the short film “Apopse.” Behind the staging lies an attitude.
A second-division club from Athens releases a short film shot on 16mm: a dance duo moves across the pitch under floodlights, set to a Greek ballad from 1963. This is how Athens Kallithea unveils its new kits, the first in two seasons.
Apopse: the short film behind Athens Kallithea's new kits
The film is called "Apopse," meaning "Tonight," and was shot at El Paso, the club's home ground. In front of the camera: Katerina Mageraki, a dancer trained at the Greek National Opera, and actor Konstantinos Georgalis. The music was composed by Mimis Plessas and performed by Tzeni Vanou, a song from 1963 that gives the film its name.
The idea grew out of a planned partnership with the Greek National Opera, which is based in the Athens district of Kallithea. When the joint project was postponed, the club held on to the dance idea. Football barely features in the film, and yet it captures what the sport is about: movement, expression, rhythm.
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The kits themselves stay true to the club's pared-back style. The 2026/27 jerseys carry understated details marking the club's 60th anniversary, with EMST, Athens' national museum of contemporary art, returning across the chest. Once again, they were designed by Munich-based studio Bureau Borsche together with kit supplier Kappa, with creative direction of the campaign coming from Ted Philipakos, who serves as both the club's President and Creative Director.
Why Athens Kallithea released no kits last season
The fact that there are new kits at all is news at this club. Last season, Kallithea deliberately sat out the kit cycle and extended the life of its existing collection instead. The club pointed to the industry's overproduction and its own ambition to create enduring pieces.
The pause didn't prompt any grand rethink, though, Philipakos tells SoccerBible. The club simply doesn't follow a fixed kit cycle, new jerseys arrive when the time feels right, "just going with the flow."
It's exactly this mix that has made Kallithea an outlier in European football for years: a museum as shirt sponsor, a renowned design studio as a permanent partner, kit campaigns that feel closer to editorials than to sports marketing. The new jerseys, presented with a dance film rather than a mere announcement post, carry that line forward.
Both home and away jerseys are available exclusively via the club's online shop; from September, the shirts will also be sold at the EMST museum shop.
