Gate 4, is the most popular organized supporters group of the Greekmulti-sports clubPAOK. It has members all over the country and over the years played an important role in the club's course, while also openly expressing opposition to some of the club's managements. The most famous was the dispute with former club's owner Thomas Voulinos.
History
Gate 4 officially founded on September 25, 1976, but it was not the PAOK's first fan club, as others had preceded both in Thessaloniki and Athens. PAOK's first fan association was the fan club from Neapoli district of Thessaloniki, founded in 1963 and considered one of the oldest in Europe. Also, one of the biggest banners in the world was created by Michaniona fan club. The group has over 120 sub-groups in various parts of the world, in Greece, Cyprus, Australia, Belgium, United States, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. The headquarters of the organization is the so-called "Low-ceilinged", located in the Palaion Patron Germanos street. No 12 jersey is dedicated to the fans, the symbolic 12th man on the pitch. It was permanently retired by the club on 16 August 2000.
Some 3,000 PAOK fans attended the Olympic Stadium of Athens for an away match against Panathinaikos on 3 October 1999. On its way back to Thessaloniki, the double-decker bus of the Kordelio fan club collided with a truck and fell into a ditch in the Vale of Tempe, Thessaly. The aftermath of the bus crash was devastating. Six people lost their lives and many others were injured. A roadside memorial was erected at the site of the crash bearing the following inscription: "Their love for PAOK brought them here, left them here and went beyond".
Friendships
The group holds a very strong brotherhood with Grobari, the organized supporters group of the Serbian football clubPartizan Belgrade. On many occasions, fans from both clubs traveled to watch each other's games. There's also maintain good relations with the fans of Russian CSKA Moscow. PAOK fans also have good relations with the fans of OFI Crete, a friendship that started in October 1987 when OFI faced Atalanta for 1987–88 Cup Winners' Cup at Toumba Stadium and numerous PAOK fans supported the Cretans.
Rivalries
The rivalry between Olympiacos and PAOK, is long-standing, emerging in the 1960s, when Olympiacos unsuccessfully tried to acquire Giorgos Koudas from PAOK, approaching him directly without going into a negotiation with his club. A long-time rivalry also exists between PAOK and local rivals Aris. Panathinaikos and AEK, Athens' two biggest clubs, are also considered major rivals.
