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.

Olympique de Marseille

Olympique de Marseille (French pronunciation: ​[ɔlɛ̃pik də maʁsɛj], locally [ɔlɛ̃ˈpikə də mɑχˈsɛjə]; also known as l'OM IPA: [lo.ɛm], locally [loˈɛmə]) or simply Marseille, is a French association football club based in Marseille.

Founded in 1899, the club play in Ligue 1 and have spent most of their history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions ten times (nine times in Ligue 1) and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In 1993, coach Raymond Goethals led the team to become the first and only French club to win the UEFA Champions League. In 1994, Marseille were relegated because of a bribery scandal, losing their domestic trophy, but not the Champions League title. In 2010, Marseille became French champions again under the stewardship of former club captain Didier Deschamps.

Marseille's home ground is the 67,000-person-capacity Stade Vélodrome located in the southern part of the city, where they have played since 1937. The Stade Vélodrome is renowned for its lively atmosphere. The club has a large fan-base, having regularly averaged the highest all-time attendance in French football. Marseille's average home gate for the 2008–09 season was 52,276, the highest in Ligue 1. The stadium underwent renovation in 2011, going from its previous capacity of 60,031 to 42,000. Following completion in August 2014, the final capacity is 67,000 ahead of France's hosting of UEFA Euro 2016. The club is ranked 16th globally in terms of annual revenue, generating €135.7 million in 2012.

Stade Malherbe Caen

Stade Malherbe Caen (French pronunciation: ​[stɑd malˈɛrb kɑ̃]; commonly referred to as SM Caen or simply Caen) is a professional French football team, playing in the city of Caen, Normandie. The club was founded on 17 November 1913 following the merger of Club Malherbe Caennais and Club Sportif Caennais. The team takes its name from Lycée Malherbe, named after François de Malherbe (1555–1628), a poet, critic and translator, who was a native of Caen.

For the longest part of its history, SM Caen remains one of the leading amateur club in France, playing upon its foundation at Stade de Venoix. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the rise of Stade Malherbe into French football hierarchy. In 1985, Stade Malherbe adopted professional status. Three seasons later, it was promoted for the first time in first division. In 1992, several months after it was narrowly saved from bankruptcy, the club ends at fifth place of Division 1 and qualifies for the UEFA Cup. In 1993, the club moved to the modern Stade Michel d'Ornano, but was relegated two years later. Despite a second division title won in 1996, SM Caen quickly fell back into the anonymity of the second division.

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.