On Wednesday, 2 September, at 22:00 Athens time, Voice of Greece’s “Remarkable Personalities”, with Stavroula Karali, welcomes author Andreas Baltas for a program exploring the history of sports in Asia Minor.
A professor at the Hellenic Open University and author of ““Refugee Sports Clubs in the Interwar Period, 1922–1940” (Baltas Publications), Baltas discusses the vibrant sporting life that flourished before 1922 in Smyrna, Constantinople, Pontus and the major urban centers of Asia Minor.
From Panionios and Apollon Smyrnis to lesser-known clubs, he examines how these organizations promoted sporting ideals while playing an integral role in the education, social life and identity of the Greek communities of the East.
The discussion highlights Panionios and the contributions of Dimitros Dallas and Dimitros Karabatis, alongside AEK, Kostas Negrepontis and other clubs founded by refugees. Their stories reveal the important role refugees played in shaping Greek sports during the interwar years.
Baltas also explores the impact of the Asia Minor Catastrophe and displacement, tracing the fate of clubs, athletes, archives and emblems after 1922. Despite the hardships they faced in Greece, refugees rebuilt their sporting communities, preserving the memories, team colors and ideals of the homelands they had left behind.
Particular attention is given to women in sports and Panionios’s pioneering role at a time when female athletes faced deeply rooted social stereotypes.
The program also examines the ties between sports, society and politics in the interwar period, the sporting press, fan violence and social tensions.
An exploration of sports as a means of preserving memory and identity, and of the people who carried the symbols and values of their homelands into a new life in Greece.
Presented and edited by: Stavroula Karali
Sound editing: Giorgos Kostopoulos
Broadcast: Wednesday, 2 September 2026, at 22:00 Athens time
