Football

Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word football normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly called football include association football (known as soccer in North America and Oceania); gridiron football (specifically American football or Canadian football); Australian rules football; rugby union and rugby league; and Gaelic football.[1] These various forms of football share to varying extent common origins and are known as football codes.

PSG were founded in 1970, following the merger of Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain. The Parisians won their first major honour, the French Cup, in 1982 and their first Division 1 title in 1986. The 1990s was among the most successful periods in PSG's history; they claimed a second league title, three French Cups, two French League Cups, two French Super Cups and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1996. After suffering a decline in fortunes during the 2000s, the Red and Blues have enjoyed a revival since 2011 with increased financial backing, achieving unparalleled dominance in domestic competitions, winning multiple league titles and national cups. PSG have also become a regular feature in the UEFA Champions League, reaching their first final in 2020.

Paris SG have the most consecutive seasons playing in France's top flight and are one of two French clubs to have won a major European title. They are the most popular football club in France and one of the most widely supported teams in the world. PSG's home kit colours are red, blue, and white, and their crest features the Eiffel Tower and a fleur-de-lis. PSG have a longstanding rivalry with Olympique de Marseille; the duo contest French football's most notorious match, Le Classique.

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, owns PSG through closed shareholders Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), which purchased the club in 2011. The takeover made PSG the richest club in France and one of the wealthiest in the world. As of the 2020–21 season, PSG have the sixth-highest revenue in the footballing world with an annual revenue of €556m according to Deloitte, and are the world's ninth-most valuable football club, worth $2.5bn according to Forbes.

Paris Saint-Germain is the most popular football club in France and one of the most widely supported teams in the world.[140][141] Famous PSG fans include Nicolas Sarkozy, Tony Parker, Fabio Quartararo, Tom Brady, Patrick Dempsey, Victoria Azarenka, Teddy Riner, and DJ Snake.[142]

Lacking a big passionate fanbase, the club began offering cheaper season tickets to young supporters in 1976.[103][143][144] These fans were placed in the Kop K, located in the K section of the Borelli stand at the Parc des Princes.[144][145] Following an increase in ticket prices, Kop K supporters moved to the Boulogne stand in 1978, and the Kop of Boulogne (KoB) was born.[144][146] There, the club's first Italian-style ultra group, Boulogne Boys, was founded in 1985.[146] Other KoB groups, however, took British hooligans as dubious role models and violence rapidly escalated.[143] PSG supporters' groups have been linked to football hooliganism ever since.[146]

PSG owners Canal+ responded in 1991 by encouraging and financing non-violent fans of the KoB stand to take place in the Auteuil stand at the other end of the Parc des Princes. The Virage Auteuil was born, alongside Supras Auteuil, its most notorious ultras.[147] At first the measure worked but, slowly, a violent rivalry arose between the two stands.[147][148] Things came to a head in 2010 before a match against Olympique de Marseille in Paris. Boulogne fan Yann Lorence was killed following a fight between groups from both stands outside the Parc des Princes, forcing PSG president Robin Leproux to take action.[149][150]

The club exiled the supporters' groups from the Parc des Princes and banned them from all PSG matches in what was known as Plan Leproux.[149][150] It made PSG pay the price in terms of atmosphere, with one of Europe's most feared venues now subdued.[148][150] For their part, former Virage Auteuil supporters formed the Collectif Ultras Paris (CUP) in February 2016, with the aim of reclaiming their place at the stadium.[151] In October 2016, after a six-year absence, the club agreed to their return.[150] Grouped in the Auteuil end of the stadium, the CUP currently is the only ultra association officially recognized by PSG.[150][152] The ultra movement has also started to come back to life in the Boulogne stand. New groups Block Parisii, Paname Rebirth and Résistance Parisienne are trying to convince the club of relaunching the Kop of Boulogne.[153]