A.O. Trikala
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A.O.Trikala, or Athlitikos Omilos Trikala Greek: Αθλητικός Όμιλος Τρίκαλα – (Athletic Association of Trikala), commonly known as AOT, is a professional football club based in the city of Trikala, in central Greece.
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[edit] History
The club was eventually formed in 1963 as a result of the merger of two rival Trikala football clubs, Axilleas and Α.Ε.Τ. The history of these original clubs can be traced back to the early 1920s.
The merger proved to be successful as, within a year, AOT had won promotion to the Greek first division.
[edit] Progress
After coming top in the Greek 2nd division (Beta Ethniki) in 1964, AOT continued its early success by competing in the Greek 1st division (Alpha Ethniki) from 1964 to 1969 (except for the 67-68 season when they were relegated to the 2nd division only to come top of that division and be promoted straight away). AOT then spent a further two years in the 2nd division before winning that league again in 1971 and being promoted. They spent a further two years in the 1st division and were finaly relegated to the second division in 1973.
The team spent a further 10 years in the second division and eventually got relegated to the third division (Gamma Ethniki) in 1983. The period between 1983 and 1995 was one of the team's worse, spending 7 of the next 12 years in the 3rd division.
In 1995 AOT re-established themselves in the 2nd division and that success was followed four years later when they won the league and were promoted to the 1st division in 1999 after a 27 year absence.
Unfortunately, the success was short lived as AOT came last in the 1999 - 2000 season which was followed by a disastrous run culminating in their relegation to the 4th division in 2003.
The team are currently competing in the Greek 3rd division.
[edit] Stadium
The Trikala Municipal Stadium has a horse shoe shaped stand with a capacity of 15,000 (seated). It is the home stadium of AOT and hosts other events such as concerts and athletics (it has served as the venue for the Tsiklitiria international athletics Grand Prix)
