Pau FC

Pau Football Club (French: [po futbol klœb], Bearnese [paw futˈbɔl klub]), known simply as Pau, is a French professional association football club based in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, capital of Béarn. They compete in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football.

Pau FC
Full namePau Football Club
Nickname(s)Les Maynats
Les Béarnais
Les Pionniers
Founded16 May 1995 (1995-05-16)
GroundNouste Camp
Capacity4,031
OwnerBernard Laporte-Fray
ChairmanBernard Laporte-Fray
ManagerDidier Tholot
LeagueLigue 2
2021–22Ligue 2, 10th of 20
WebsiteClub website

Pau FC were founded in 1920 as Bleuets de Notre-Dame de Pau, although their official founding date is in 1959, when Football Club de Pau were first formed. Bleuets de Notre-Dame joined the highest amateur league in France in 1958 after success in the French South-West League (Ligue du Sud-Ouest). However, the religious authorities argued that the football section had outgrown the rest of the club and financial support was withdrawn. As a consequence, José Bidegain, a local businessman, created the Football Club de Pau. In the early years after the club's formation in its original home of Pau, they played their home matches at many different grounds until finally settling at the Nouste Camp.

The club's achievements include winning the Championnat National in 2020, winning the National 2 title twice in 1998 and 2016 and winning the French South-West League in 1958 and 1968.

Pau FC have long-standing rivalries with several other clubs in Southern France in the Adour river basin. The most notable of these are Bayonne, Mont-de-Marsan and Tarbes. With the rise of Pau FC and the decline of Bayonne, Mont-de-Marsan and Tarbes, Pau recently became a strong rival to Bordeaux and both form the New Aquitaine derby.

History

Football in Pau and South-West France

Since the Belle Époque, football had to play second fiddle to basketball and especially rugby union in Pau. Nowadays, the popularity of both Pau's rugby union and basketball clubs – Section Paloise and Élan Béarnais, respectively – remains greater than that of Pau FC.[1][2]

Historically and culturally, rugby was probably closer to the values of the place (Gascony), replacing the Béarnese and Basque rural sports in the hearts of the people of Béarn and Gascony.[3]

Recent history

On 16 January 2020, Pau eliminated Ligue 1 side Bordeaux from the Coupe de France following a 3–2 victory.[4][5] Les Maynats went on to face national champions Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 of the cup, losing 2–0. Pau registered their highest attendance ever that day, with 16,707 persons witnessing the Parisian victory.[6]

When the 2019–20 Championnat National season was prematurely ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pau were top of the table, and were declared promoted to Ligue 2 by the FFF executive committee.[7] In the 2020–21 season, the club placed fourteenth in Ligue 2.[8]

Key dates

1920: Foundation of Bleuets Notre-Dame de Pau.[9]

1923: First football season of Bleuets Notre-Dame de Pau.

1951: French youth champion

1956: Reached the top level of the French South-West regional football league.

1958: Champion of the French South-West regional football league. Promotion to the third tier of French football.

1959: Football Club de Pau split from Bleuets de Notre-Dame de Pau.[10]

1995: The club went to administration, reformed, changed their name to Pau Football Club and were relegated to the fourth tier of French football.[11]

1998: Champion of the Group C of the Championnat de France Amateur and promoted to the Championnat National. The club also reached the round of 16 of the Coupe de France, where they lost 2–0 to Paris Saint-Germain.

2008: Relegation to the Championnat de France Amateur.

2016: Promotion to the Championnat National.

2020: Promotion to Ligue 2.[12]

Colours and badge
The flag of Béarn

For the 2022–23 season, the club decided to update their logo.[13] Their new crest has a round shape and gathers many symbols of Béarn and the city of Pau: the Pyrenees mountain range, the Pic du Midi d'Ossau and the two cows that feature on the province of Béarn's flag.[13]

There are various references to the coat of arms of the city of Pau such as King Henry IV's crown, the three posts that gave the city its name (pau [paw] in Béarnese) and the peafowl, a clear example of canting arms, as its name (pavon or pau [paw] in Béarnese) was used as an approximation to represent the city of Pau.[14]

Current squad
As of 31 January 2023[15][16][17][18]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 DF  FRA Jérôme Prior
2 DF  CAN Diyaeddine Abzi
4 MF  CIV Xavier Kouassi
5 DF  FRA Noé Sow
6 MF  BEN Sessi D'Almeida
7 DF  CIV Erwin Koffi
8 FW  FRA Loïck Lespinasse
9 FW  CRC Mayron George
10 MF  SRB Jovan Nišić
11 FW  CGO Mons Bassouamina
12 FW  FRA Eddy Sylvestre
14 FW  FRA Yanis Begraoui (on loan from Toulouse)
15 DF  FRA Marius Ros
16 GK  SEN Massamba Ndiaye
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 DF  FRA Antoine Batisse
18 FW  GUI Mohamed Yattara
19 MF  VIE Nguyễn Quang Hải
20 MF  SEN Henri Saivet
21 MF  FRA Steeve Beusnard
23 MF  SCO Charles Boli
25 MF  FRA Jean Ruiz
26 DF  FRA Jean Lambert Evans
27 MF  FRA Quentin Boisgard (on loan from Lorient)
28 DF  FRA Nathan Monzango
29 FW  MTN Pape Ibnou Ba (on loan from Le Havre)
30 GK  FRA Quentin Galvez-Diarra
33 MF  FRA Théo Bouchlarhem
34 MF  FRA Paul Meliande

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— FW  FRA Walid Jarmouni (at Paris 13 Atletico until 30 June 2023)

References
  1. "Top 14 2020/21 club-by-club season preview: Pau". www.rugbypass.com. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  2. "Speed date: motor racing returns to Pau". The Guardian. 29 April 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  3. Bliss, Dominic (2 November 2020). "Discover Pau, the Belle-Epoque Playground with Pyrenees Views". France Today. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  4. Devin, Adam White and Eric (20 January 2020). "There is still magic in the French Cup". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  5. "Bordeaux stunned by Pau in French Cup | New Straits Times". NST Online. Reuters. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  6. "Pau v PSG Match Report, 29/01/2020, Coupe de France | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  7. "No title awarded in France's 3rd division this season, but Pau & Dunkerque still promoted | Get French Football News". www.getfootballnewsfrance.com. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  8. "Ligue 2 2020/2021 Table, Results, Stats and Fixtures". FootballCritic. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  9. "Déclaration d'Association". Gallica, L'Indépendant des Basses-Pyrénées. 1 October 1920. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  10. "Carnet bleu & blanc". La République des Pyrénées. 14 January 1960.
  11. "Entre le FC Pau et ses Ehpad, Bernard Laporte-Fray est sur tous les fronts". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  12. "Le Pau FC est le Petit Poucet de la Ligue 2 : nous vous expliquons pourquoi". LaRepubliqueDesPyrenees (in French). Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  13. "Ligue 2 Club Pau FC Release All-New Logo - Evokes Memories of Manchester City & Toulouse". Footy Headlines. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  14. Dictionnaire topographique de la France. 25, Dictionnaire topographique du département des Basses-Pyrénées / réd. par M. Paul Raymond,... ; publ. par ordre du ministre de l'Instruction publique ; et sous la dir. du Comité des travaux historiques et des sociétés savantes. 1863.
  15. "Effectif". paufc.fr. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  16. "Pau FC". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  17. O’Connor-Clarke, Charlie (15 June 2022). "York United fullback Diyaeddine Abzi transferred to French Ligue 2 side Pau FC". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  18. "Nguyễn Quang Hải est...Il portera le n°19 du Pau FC". Twitter (in French). 29 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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