The influence of club owners on international football has grown significantly over the past decade. Almost every season a project pops up somewhere in Europe, hoping to storm the top from scratch. In this series light Football zone clubs with sky-high ambitions. With today attention to Paris FC, the little brother of superpower Paris Saint-Germain, who wants to make the step to Ligue 1 within three seasons, together with the kingdom of Bahrain.
By Nick Dierckx
In the 1960s, football in Paris was in the doldrums. In an effort to bring Parisian football back to the top, Paris FC was founded. In order to get to the highest level as quickly as possible, the club merged with Stade Saint-Germain, located just outside Paris and at the time running at the second level of France. This made the step to the highest level a lot easier. A few years later, however, things went wrong within the club. The mayor of Paris kept falling over the fact that the new Paris FC was located just outside the capital. However, many of the members did not want to change stadiums, which resulted in a split. They continued as Paris FC and maintained the spot at the highest level of French football. The other part chose the name Paris Saint-Germain, descended a few levels and eventually became the mayor’s club.
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Little brother
Paris FC played its matches in the Parc des Princes in these seasons, but it did not go well in sport. Every season there was fought against relegation and in 1975 it dropped to the second level. At the same time PSG was promoted to the highest level. PSG went well financially and sportively: it bought the Parc des Princes and since then it has been the largest club in Paris. Paris FC ended up in the shadow of PSG and they never managed to leave. For many people, the great Paris Saint-Germain is the only Parisian football club they know.
A PSG fanshop in the Qatari capital Doha. PSG has been owned by Qatar Sports Investments since 2011 and has since become the absolute top club in France.
But that must change, if it is up to the new investors of Paris FC. In July 2020, the Kingdom of Bahrain bought 20 percent of the shares. According to the French newspaper L’Equipe The acquisition involved more than five million euros. The player budget of the Paris club increased by more than thirty percent, guaranteeing one of the highest budgets in the Ligue 2. In a statement on the Paris FC website, the ambitions were clearly described: within three seasons, PSG’s little brother must be active at the highest level in France.
Sports washing
The same statement also contained the following (translated) phrase: “(…) to enhance Bahrain’s image and reputation.” Paris FC must become a showcase for Bahrain to attract tourists – the same effect as has happened with Paris Saint-Germain and Qatar. That went down the wrong way with many football fans and sponsors. According to them, it tends to be too much sports washing.
Sports washing is a hot topic today. It means that a group, country or organization tries to mask their reputation – which is usually negative – through sport. This is done, for example, by organizing a large international tournament. Bahrain has previously used this technique in organizing several Formula 1 races. In the case of Bahrain and Paris FC, the kingdom is investing in Paris FC to cover their bad reputation when it comes to human rights.
An image from the Formula 1 race in Bahrain, also a form of sports washing.
A handful of sponsors and NGOs wrote a letter to the Paris city council at the time of the takeover. Why should a country that violates human rights invest in a European club with the main purpose of attracting tourists? The various organizations pointed out that the city government is granting a grant of 500,000 euros to Paris FC, which is now partly owned by this kingdom. Following the letter sent in, the Paris city council decided to still grant the subsidy, but at the same time ‘additional actions are being taken to raise awareness of human rights’. However, Paris FC was urged to remove the signs with ‘Explore Bahrain’ around the stadium.
Paris FC is doing well on a sporting level. The previous season – without input from the Bahraini – ended in seventeenth place, with only two points above a relegation place. This season the club is doing a lot better: fifth place entitles the player to play play-offs for promotion at the end of the season. The budget of the Bahraini investors has mainly been used to pick up good players from the amateur series, and with success.
Paris FC hopes to be active at the highest level within three seasons in order to slowly realize the same growth as Paris Saint-Germain. However, it will be a huge job to emerge from the enormous shadow of the Parisian world team.