13 facts about Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain Football Club

Nabeela

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Cover image credit: Paris Saint-Germain

Paris Saint-Germain is in Doha this week for their traditional annual winter tour of Qatar. For four whole days PSG will take advantage of the state-of-the-art training facilities located in the Aspire Zone and Doha’s weather at this time of the year.

The tour will benefit both PSG and Qatar. PSG will train in Doha for their upcoming fixtures because Qatar offers ideal conditions for training, according to Chairman and CEO of Paris Saint-Germain, Nasser Al Khelaïfi.

Through PSG, Qatar will be showcased as a tourist destination, PSG will also get the chance to meet its fans in Qatar and also inaugurate a brand new PSG Academy in Qatar. There is lots of entertainment scheduled for the fans who will get the opportunity to watch the team train at Khalifa International Stadium on 15 January amongst other things.

For those of you who are not so familiar with PSG and what they represent in Qatar, here are some facts about the Paris Football Club.

1. What is Paris Saint-Germain?

Paris Saint-Germain is a professional French Football Club that is based in the city of Paris. It is more commonly called Paris SG, or simply PSG.

2. When was PSG formed?

PSG was formed on 12 August 1970 after merging together the Paris FC which was formed in 1969 because Paris did not have a top club, with the Stade Saint-Germain which was formed in 2904.

PSG plays football in in the top tier of the French football Ligue (League) 1 and since 1974, has played all its home matches at the Parc des Princes which has a seating capacity of 47,929 in the 16th arrondissement of Paris.

3. Who does PSG belong to?

PSG is owned by Qatar’s Oryx Qatar Sports Investments (QSi) which is chaired by Nasser Al Khelaïfi since 2011 when QSi acquired PSG making it France’s richest football club, the seventh richest in the world in terms of revenue with a yearly revenue of €486.2m and the 11^th most valuable club in terms of value with €825m.

4. How do Qatar and PSG benefit each other?

Since 2012, the Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC) and PSG have formed a strategic partnership to promote sports and leisure tourism in Qatar. QNTC has organised several tours for Paris Saint-Germain’s teams, including the 2014 and 2015 Qatar Handball Tour, the 2015 Qatar Ladies Tour and the 2013 and 2015 Qatar Tour.

Within the framework of this partnership, QNTC benefits from a constant presence in the Parc des Princes, where thousands of football fans can get a taste of Qatari culture and hospitality thanks to their promotion of Qatari culture and heritage.

5. What is PSG’s identity?

PSG colours are red, blue and white. PSG represents Paris and Saint-Germain-en-Laye (a commune in the Yvelines department in the Paris’ western suburbs) in the colours of the club. Red and blue symbolise Paris and the white colour symbolises Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

The club’s crest is made up of the Eiffel Tower which is red in colour and symbolises Paris along with the blue. The white borders in the crest and the gold/yellow fleur de lys (‘flower of light’ in English is a stylised lily that is used as a decorative design or motif) towards the bottom centre of the crest symbolise French royalty and Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

6. What are PSG’s nicknames?

Les Parisiens (the Parisians) and Les Rouge et Bleu (the red and the blue) are the two well-known nicknames that PSG is often referred to as.

7. What is PSG's motto?

PSG Motto — Image credit: Qatar Sports Investments

PSG's motto is 'dream bigger' which can be translated as PSG's aim to become one of the world's biggest and most sought after sports brands

8. What are PSG’s team slogans?

PSG’s slogans include ‘Ici, c’est Paris!’ (here is Paris), and ‘Paris est Magique’ (Paris is magic).

9. What is the PSG’s anthem?

The official anthem of PSG is ‘Allez Paris Saint-Germain’, which has been made using the tune of ‘Go West’, by the US pop band, Village People which was released in the 1970s. They also have another anthem: ‘Ville Lumière’ made using the tune of the ‘Flower of Scotland’ by the Scottish folk group The Corries in the 1970s.

10. Who is the PSG mascot?

Germain the lynx. The lynx is one of the strongest member’s of the cat family and is a skilled hunter with great hearing and vision. Seen these characteristics can also be transformed into sports capabilities, the lynx was chosen as PSG’s official mascot and given the name Germain, after the Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

11. What are some of PSG’s achievements?

PSG Achievements — Image credit: Dragon Rouge

PSG is France’s most popular and most successful football club, and also one of the international teams that is most supported world over. And, we can see why.

With a total of 38 trophies in its name, PSG is the only French football club to continuously retain a position in the Ligue 1. It has played the most consecutive seasons in Lique 1; 45 to be exact. It is also only the second club in France that has won major European titles that include the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1996 and one UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Within France, PSG has won seven Ligue 1 titles, a record of eight Coupe de la Ligue, a record of 12 Coupe de France, along with a joint record of eight Trophée des Champions and a Ligue 2 title.

12. Who are some of the most famous PSG players?

Some of PSG’s most famous players over the years include: Zlatan Ibrahimović , Mustapha Dahleb and Carlos Bianchi, Safet Sušić, Luis Fernández and Dominique Rocheteau, David Ginola, George Weah, Valdo, Ronaldinho, Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, Edinson Cavani and Pauleta.