ARIS ZAFEIRATOS
The football career of the founder of AZ Sports Scholarships, Aris Zafeiratos begun from the mighty Panathinaikos FC grassroots teams, which he joined when he was 5 years old. He spend more than 12 years in the academy, earning personal and team awards, while earning a spot with the Regional team of Athens and the Greek National U-17 team.
He continued playing with teams like Panerythraikos, Nea Ionia, Ethnikos Peiraios, Doxa Vyrona, Proodeftiki, but the real journey begins in 2009 when he was offered a sports scholarship at Bryant & Stratton College.
Having received his high school diploma from the Filothei High School, he started his student-athlete college life in the US, which was destined to evolve into an amazing experience that marked him for the rest of his life.
Next stop was the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he played on scholarship with the Flames in a memorable season where the team made the most wins since 1957.
Along with the Flames he conquered the Horizn League Conference, while managing to reach the final of the Horizon League Cup.
At UIC, Aris concluded his sports career and started his academic journey, entering a master’s degree at the Educational Studies in Instructional Leadership.
Upon his return to Greece in 2014, he set his goal in becoming the link between Greece and the US in sports recruiting, in order to help young talented athletes live the same experience and reach even higher goals.
Zafeiratos stood out with his performances at Bryant&Stratton College (won the NJCAA All Region, NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American, NSCAA First-Team Αll-Conference, NJCAA All-Region) and earned his degree in Business Administration.
His performances caught the attention of Indiana University. He was offered a 100% sports scholarship from the Indiana Hoosiers, one of the top programs in the NCAA, and immediately went to another level.
Along with the Hoosiers he celebrated the prestigious ΝCAA National Championship in 2012 and concluded his studies in Sports Marketing and Management.
Even though he is now dedicated to his business venture, the “football virus” in him still lingers, as he joins first Proodeutiki and then Athinaikos, with whom he conquers the Regional Championship of B’ Athens.
At the same time, he works with young athletes as a personal trainer, and organizes the Personal Training Camp for athletes aged 16-18.
Yet he stays on track with his original plan to earn sports scholarships for young talented players, by reaching an agreement with Sports Recruiting USA, based in Leeds, UK. He is assigned the position of the official recruiter/representative in Greece, and in August 2016 he sends his first 8 athletes to the US on scholarships.
He then moves to OverBoarder LLC based in New York, which lands 20 more athletes to US universities under is guidance.
After seeing the heavy interest of top university programs in the US for Greek players, in September 2018 he creates AZ Sports Scholarships and recruits his highly qualified staff who guide and advise young athletes and their families, from A to Z in order to earn the best possible scholarship and the right for a memorable journey into the student-athlete experience.