Pontic Greek history with organised sports began with extra-curricular activities offered by educational institutions. The students would establish athletics clubs providing the Pontic Greek youth with an opportunity to participate in organised sporting competition. The Hellenic Athletic Club, 'Pontus Merzifon' (el), founded in 1903 was one such example formed by students attending Anatolia College in Merzifon Amasya. The college's forced closure in 1921 by the Turkish government resulted in the schools relocation to Greece in 1924, much of the Greek population would also follow suit in the aftermath of genocide population exchange. This resulted in the establishment of further Pontic and Anatolian Greek sporting clubs in Greece, most notably: