Paris Saint-Germain F.C.

Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (French pronunciation: ​[paʁi sɛ̃ ʒɛʁmɛ̃]), commonly referred to as PSG, is a French professional association football club based in Paris, whose first team play in the highest tier of French football, the Ligue 1. The team was formed in 1970 by the merger of Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain.

Domestically, PSG have won five Ligue 1 titles, nine Coupe de France, a record five Coupe de la Ligue, five Trophée des Champions and the Ligue 2 title once. In international club football, the Parisian side have won one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and one UEFA Intertoto Cup. PSG is the joint-most successful club in France and one of only two French clubs (with Olympique de Marseille) to win a major European club competition.

The Parc des Princes has been the home stadium of PSG since 1974. The Camp des Loges has served as the club's training centre since 1970. The Tournoi de Paris has been hosted by the capital club at Le Parc since 1975. PSG shares an intense rivalry with Marseille and contest the most notorious football match in France, known as Le Classique. PSG is the second-highest supported football club in France after rivals Marseille.Qatar Sports Investments became the club's sole shareholder in 2012. The takeover made PSG the richest club in France and amongst the richest in the world.

Paris

Paris (UK: /ˈpærɪs/ PARR-iss; US: ⁱ/ˈpɛərɪs/ PAIR-iss; French: [paʁi]) is the capital and most populous city of France. Situated on the Seine River, in the north of the country, it is in the centre of the Île-de-France region, also known as the région parisienne, "Paris Region". The City of Paris has an area of 105 km² (41 mi²) and a population of 2,241,346 (2014 estimate) within its administrative borders essentially unchanged since 1860.

Since the 19th century, the built-up area of Paris has grown far beyond its administrative borders; together with its suburbs, the whole agglomeration has a population of 10,550,350 (Jan. 2012 census).Paris' metropolitan area spans most of the Paris region and has a population of 12,341,418 (Jan. 2012 census), or one-fifth of the population of France. The administrative region covers 12,012 km² (4,638 mi²), with approximately 12 million inhabitants as of 2014, and has its own regional council and president.

Paris was founded in the 3rd century BC by a Celtic people called the Parisii, who gave the city its name. By the 12th century, Paris was the largest city in the western world, a prosperous trading centre, and the home of the University of Paris, one of the first in Europe. In the 18th century, it was the centre stage for the French Revolution, and became an important centre of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, a position it still retains today.

FC Basel

FC Basel 1893 (Fussball Club Basel 1893), widely known as FC Basel or just Basel, and sometimes referred to as FC Basle in English or FCB, is a Swiss football club based in Basel. They are one of the most successful clubs in Swiss football, having won the Swiss Super League 17 times, the second most for any Swiss club. Besides their current dynasty, they were most successful in the late 1960s and 1970s, winning the title a total of seven times between 1967 and 1980. The 1980s saw hard times for Basel as they had an absence from European competition for many years and they were relegated in 1987. In the 2000s Basel returned to the top of Swiss football; winning their first title for 22 years in 2002 and going on to win the title nine more times over the next 13 seasons. FC Basel have also won the Swiss Cup 11 times.

They have competed in European competition every season since 1999–2000. In the 2001–02 season, the club reached the UEFA Intertoto Cup final, losing to Aston Villa; in the 2002–03 season they qualified for the Second Group Stage of the UEFA Champions League; and in the 2005–06 season, they reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. They have been in the Champions League more times than any other Swiss club — a total of six times — and are the only Swiss club to have ever qualified directly for the Champions League group stages.

AS Nancy

Association Sportive Nancy-Lorraine (French pronunciation: ​[a.sɔ.sja.sjɔ̃ spɔrtɪv nɑ̃si-lɔʁɛn], commonly known as AS Nancy-Lorraine, AS Nancy, ASNL, or simply Nancy) is a French association football club based in Nancy, Lorraine. The club was founded in 1967 and currently play in Ligue 2, the second level of French football. Nancy plays its home matches at the Stade Marcel Picot in Tomblaine, a commune located in the Arrondissement of Nancy.

Nancy was founded as the successor to FC Nancy, which collapsed in 1965. The club has spent its entire life playing in either Ligue 1 or Ligue 2. Nancy has never won the first division, but has won the second division on four occasions. Nancy's biggest achievement came in 1978 when the club won the Coupe de France defeating Nice in the final. The club has also won the Coupe de la Ligue in 2006. Nancy is presided over by Jacques Rousselot. Rousselot serves as a vice-president of the French Football Federation and is also a member of the federation's Federal Council.

Parc des Princes

The Parc des Princes (French pronunciation: ​[paʁk de pʁɛ̃s], literally "Park of the Princes" or "Princes' Park" in English) is an all-seater football stadium located in the southwest of Paris, France. The venue, with a seating capacity of 48,712 spectators, has been the home of French football club Paris Saint-Germain since 1973. The current Parc des Princes was inaugurated on 4 June 1972, endowed with very avant-garde architecture for the period. Comfort and visibility were the key words of project architects Roger Taillibert and Siavash Teimouri. PSG became the resident club of the new stadium in June 1973 and its image and history has since been associated with Le Parc. Named after the Monarch's hunting grounds that it sits on, it was initially opened as a multi-purpose venue on 18 July 1897.

Overview

Officially opened on 4 June 1972, the Parc des Princes has a seating capacity of 48,712 spectators and also used to host concerts. Conceived by architect Roger Taillibert and built all in one piece from concrete, the Parc has been said to resemble a washbowl, with its capacity for resonating supporters' chants making it such an atmospheric venue. On particularly electric nights, it is even possible to feel the stadium ripple beneath your feet as thousands of fans jump up and down. The ground based in Porte de Saint-Cloud was also home to the France national football team until the Stade de France arrived on the scene.