Of all the Cypriot municipalities, Paphos is the least sporty. It has no youth sports centre, no tennis courts and the Stelios Kyriakidis football pitch is long out of date.
But the local football club is ready to remedy the situation. Recently, the management of Paphos FC announced its intention to invest €30 million in the modernisation of the aforementioned stadium.
The club hopes that the new board members of the Cyprus Sports Organisation (KOA) will support this idea. Paphos FC even has a plan for the renovation of the stadium. The club wants to turn it into a modern sports centre for the island. It is expected that the Stelios Kyriakidis stadium will have a capacity of 8,000 seats (3,000 on the two main stands and 1,000 on the two petals). It will have a running track, tennis courts and a basketball court.
The project also provides for the construction of a 3,000-seat indoor stadium next to the football stadium. The two stadiums will form a single complex. The new indoor stadium and the outdoor arena will not only provide training facilities for athletes. It will also be possible to hold large concerts and other events. In other words, the sports complex will be an excellent integrated solution for the city's infrastructure.
Recall that the Stelios Kyriakides Stadium (Στάδιο Στέλιος Κυριακίδης) is a multipurpose stadium named in honour of the marathon runner.
It was known as the Pafiaco Stadium until 25 May 2017. The stadium has a capacity of 9,394. The stadium has running tracks around the pitch for football and rugby matches and is used for a variety of sporting events throughout the year. The stadium is one of the most popular in Cyprus due to its convenient location.
The stadium is the home ground of AEP Paphos and AEK Kouklia, the latter having moved to the Pafiaco stadium following its promotion to the first division. It was also used by APOP Kiniras when they played in the first division in the 2005/2006 season. In 1992, the stadium hosted 3 matches of the U-17 European Football Championship held in Cyprus. The stadium also hosts various music concerts.
In 2007, the stadium hosted the first match of the Cyprus Rugby team against Azerbaijan. In 2010, Pafiaco became the official home ground of the national rugby team.