Paris FC

Full name Paris Football Club
Nickname(s) Paris FC
Founded 1969 (1969)
Ground Stade Charléty,
Paris
Ground Capacity 20,000
Chairman Pierre Ferracci
Manager Fabien Mercadal
League Ligue 2
2016–17 Championnat National, 3rd (lost promotion playoff)
Website Club website

Paris Football Club (French pronunciation: ​[paʁi]; commonly referred to as PFC) is a French association football club based in Paris. The club was founded in 1969 and competes in Ligue 2, the second level of French football. Paris plays its home matches at the Stade Charléty located in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. The team is managed by Réginald Ray and captained by defender Thomas Veldemann.

Paris FC was founded in 1969 and later merged with Stade Saint-Germain to form Paris Saint-Germain. The current Paris FC exists as a result of the club splitting from Paris Saint-Germain. Unlike its counterpart, which has gone on to establish a solid foundation, Paris FC has struggled to establish itself, having spent the majority of its existence playing in the amateur divisions. The club's highest honour to date was winning its group in the Championnat de France amateur in 2006. Paris FC last played in Ligue 1 in the 1978–79 season.

Though Paris FC have struggled domestically, the club has served as a springboard for several youth players who have gone on to have successful professional careers. Notable players who started their careers at PFC include Jean-Christophe Thouvenel, Mamadou Sakho, Tijani Belaid, Aymen Belaïd, and Gabriel Obertan. Sakho and the Belaïd brothers have since became senior internationals for their respective national teams, while Thouvenel went on to win a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Manager Roger Lemerre started his managerial career with the club before leading France to titles at UEFA Euro 2000 and the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup.

History

In an effort to re-launch professional football in the city of Paris, Paris Football Club was founded on 1 August 1969. The objective of the club was to be playing in the first division by 1970. An attempted merger with CS Sedan Ardennes was refused so Paris went looking in the second division and, subsequently, merged with Stade Saint-Germain to form Paris Saint-Germain, the professional club that currently plays in Ligue 1 today. The current incarnation of Paris FC came into being in 1972 when the club split from Paris Saint-Germain after coming under pressure from the capital city's mayor, who refused to support a non-Parisian club (the club had originally been situated in nearby Saint-Germain-en-Laye). As a result, a bitter split occurred and both Paris FC and Paris Saint-Germain remained as separate football club with the main agreement being that Paris FC had the right to keep the splitting entity's first division and professional status, as well as all the professional players. Paris Saint-Germain were, on the other hand, administratively relegated to the third division and given all the former entity's amateur players.

At the beginning of the 1972–73 season, Paris were playing in the first division hosting matches at the Parc des Princes. Two seasons later, the club was relegated to the second division, which coincided with Paris Saint-Germain's rise to top-flight and the acquisition of the Parc des Princes. After four years of playing in Division 2, Paris returned to the first division for the 1978–79 season. However, the season was a difficult one and resulted in the club falling back to Division 2 after one season. Paris FC have since yet to return to the top-flight league of France.

In 1983, Paris FC, then led by the industrialist Jean-Luc Lagardère, merged with Racing Club de France. While Racing remained in the first division, the remaining entity that was PFC was administratively relegated to the fourth division. Due to having limited resources, Paris fell to the Division d'Honneur after one season and, subsequently, spent four seasons in the fifth division before returning to Division 4 in 1988. Another promotion the following season saw Paris earn a place in Division 3. Paris remained in the division for 12 years becoming inaugural members of the Championnat National in the process. In 2000, the club finished 17th and were relegated to the Championnat de France amateur. Paris spent six years in the league before returning to National for the 2006–07 season. After a successful 2014–15 campaign, the club gained promotion to Ligue 2, the French second division, alongside its local rival Red Star F.C. However, it would stay in Ligue 2 for only one year and was relegated back to the Championnat National for the 2016-2017 season.

Players

Current squad

As of 31 July 2017.[1]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 France GK Vincent Demarconnay
2 Cameroon DF Frédéric Bong
3 France DF Thomas Delaine
5 Guinea DF Ousmane Sidibé
6 France MF Martin Mimoun
7 France MF Rayane Aabid
8 France MF Redouane Kerrouche
9 Democratic Republic of the Congo FW Patrick Etshini
10 Tunisia MF Saifeddine Alami
11 France MF Mathieu Robail
12 Madagascar MF Lalaïna Nomenjanahary
14 France MF Cyril Mandouki
No. Position Player
16 France GK Thomas Aupic
17 France DF Samuel Yohou
18 Cameroon FW Malik Tchokounté
19 Ivory Coast DF Hervé Lybohy
20 Algeria MF Julien López
21 Liechtenstein MF Guillaume Khous
23 France DF Souleymane Karamoko
24 Ivory Coast MF Ogou Akichi
27 Ivory Coast MF Yannick Gbessi
28 France MF Idriss Ech-Chergui
29 France FW Ibou Cissé

Notable players

Below are the notable former players who have represented Paris and its predecessors in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1969. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 80 official matches for the club.

For a complete list of Paris players, see Category:Paris FC players

Ownership

Club hierarchy

As of 31 December 2013
Position Name
President Pierre Ferracci
Vice-president Christian Amara
Manager Christophe Taine

On November 25, 2014 two entrepreneurs decided to enter the account of the Parisian club, then take control. Kayque Garbacchio Saldanha, co-owner of the Mumbai City FC, is son of a Russian billionaire and is a new sports investor. Sulaiman Al Fahim is director of Royal Football Fund, has been owner of Manchester City and Portsmouth. They wish to set up a team to fight at the top of Ligue 1.[2][3] In early 2017, Royal Football Fund shareholders left the club for disagreement with the other shareholders.

Managerial history

Honours

Supporters

The club used to be the biggest and most well supported in the city, with over 20 000 supporter members at the time of the club's formation.[8]

In 1970 the club merged with Paris Saint-Germain F.C., but quickly left the merger. In the 1973 season, the first after leaving, the club still averaged an attendance of 13 202.[9] However, after that, the two clubs' fortuned varied drastically, and as PSG's popularity rose, PFC fell into obscurity and languished in the amateur divisions. It is only when it reached the third tier its popularity started growing again, however the club currently only attracts in the region of a few hundred to very low thousands fans for each match.[10]

In 2000s the club used to have a supporter group called Blue Wolves founded in 2008. Officially apolitical, they tended to have right-wing views. However they were disbanded in 2010 after several hooligan incidents occurred, the last of which during a match against FC Gueugnon[11][12][13]

They were replaced by the group Old Clan, founded in 2010, and ultras group Ultras Lutetia founded in the summer of 2014. After the expulsion of PSG fans from Parc des Princes in 2010,[14] PFC has attracted some of that support, particularly from the left-wing group Virage Auteuil,[15] but also a few from right-wing group Boulogne Boys.

The fans have a friendship with fans of SR Colmar, in the past also fans of Stade Reims.

The club has rivalries with fellow neighbours US Créteil and Red Star F.C.[16] with whom they contest the Parisian derbies.[17] Although both clubs are officially apolitical, due to Red Star fans left-wing political tendencies and PFC's past right-wing political tendencies, the derby is particularly fierce. The derby with US Créteil is a geographical one as both club play in the southern suburbs of Paris.

References

  1. ↑ "Effectif et staff". Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  2. ↑ Foot - National - Un Emirati au Paris FC ?
  3. ↑ Advertiser, Croydon (2014-11-24). "Crystal Palace team up with Mumbai City FC in search for Indian star". Croydon Advertiser. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  4. ↑ France – Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs
  5. ↑ http://www.parisfootballclub.com/equipe-pro/communique-fabien-mercadal-remplace-reginald-ray/
  6. ↑ Reserve team.
  7. ↑ The club's reserve team won the 2010 title.
  8. ↑ http://psg70.free.fr/historique.htm
  9. ↑ Paris-fc saison 1972 / 1973
  10. ↑ Foot - National - Qui s'en sortirait le mieux en L2?
  11. ↑ camperemu.com
  12. ↑ Les hooligans du PFC - France
  13. ↑ "Des hooligans gâchent la sortie du PFC - Le Parisien". Leparisien.fr. 2010-05-22. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  14. ↑ Paris is Earning | The Classical
  15. ↑ Quand les supporters du PSG se retrouvent autour du PFC
  16. ↑ Le Red Star remporte le derby Capital
  17. ↑ On a assisté au derby Paris FC-Red Star - Ligue 2 - France
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