Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Local Politics, Identity and Football in Paris

2009; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 17; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/09639480802639785

1469-9869

David Ranc,

Sports Analytics and Performance

The creation of the Paris Saint-Germain Football Club in 1970 has been best described as a gamble which, 35 years later, has proved stupendously successful: PSG has enjoyed remarkable sporting success and built up a sizeable audience. Why has PSG thrived where forerunners had failed? One of the most convincing explanations put forward is political. In 1977, Paris elected a Mayor for the first time since 1794. The incumbent, Jacques Chirac, took personal interest in the development of the club. A study of the PSG case, and the City council's policy towards PSG, elicits both the role played by a football club in building a local identity and the importance of this identity in local elections, notably after Jacques Chirac became the President of the French Republic in 1995.