Nikolas Angelidis and “Time in Greece” present a major research feature bringing to light important and often overlooked aspects of sport during the years of political exile. We turn back the pages of history to a period marked by hardship for a significant part of the Greek people. Our journey begins in the early 1950s and continues through the decades that followed.
We travel to Hungary, to the village of Beloiannisz, and to other places where Greeks displaced by the Civil War put down roots, built communities, and found ways to excel—often through sport.
We speak with Giorgos Iliopoulos, former handball goalkeeper of a Greek team that rose as far as the second division. He shares detailed accounts of the teams that were formed in exile and the athletes who distinguished themselves. Some later continued their sporting careers back in Greece; others remained and competed on Hungarian courts.
The program also features historian and researcher Giorgos Goussias, as well as the rare and singular interview of Thanasis Sinatkas—who came to Greece to play for Olympiacos, settled in Trikala, and for many decades now has been living permanently in Australia.
These are stories filled with dreams and journeys, struggles and endurance—deeply human stories of people who carried hope, identity, and resilience across borders.