Simulating the Lost Homeland: Refugee Identity, Placemaking, and Translocal Subjectivity in AEK FC

Aim: This article investigates placemaking through the case of the Hagia Sophia Stadium (ALLWYN Arena) of AEK Football Club, focusing on how the stadium cultivates belonging and emotional attachment among AEK supporters. Founded by Greek refugees from Istanbul, AEK embodies a history of displacement that continues to shape its identity.Method: Using a qualitative interpretive approach, this study combines historical, spatial, and visual semiotic analysis of fieldwork photographs and visual materials from the ALLWYN Arena. The analysis examines how symbolic and spatial representations contribute to placemaking and the construction of collective refugee identity.Results: The analysis demonstrates that the stadium functions not merely as a physical infrastructure but as a powerful simulacrum of lost homelands, sustaining a sense of continuity and identity for the descendants of displaced populations. Through symbolic elements such as emblems, architectural design, gate names, and a refugee-themed museum, the stadium operates simultaneously as a memorial site and a lived social space where history, memory, identity and fandom intersect.Conclusion: In a globalized context where locality is increasingly fragmented and reconstituted, both AEK FC and its new stadium exemplify a form of “translocal subjectivity”—anchored in ancestral memory while continually evolving across new spatial and emotional geographies.