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| Full name | Pau Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Les Maynats[1] Les Béarnais | ||
| Founded | 19 May 1959, as F.C. Pau [nb 1] | ||
| Ground | Nouste Camp | ||
| Capacity | 4,031 | ||
| Owner | Bernard Laporte-Fray | ||
| Chairman | Bernard Laporte-Fray | ||
| Head coach | Nicolas Usaï | ||
| League | Ligue 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | Ligue 2, 10th of 20 | ||
| Website | https://paufc.fr/ | ||
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Pau Football Club, commonly referred to as Pau FC, is a professional football club based in Pau, capital of Béarn, France. Pau FC plays its home matches at the Nouste Camp and competes in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. Nicknamed Les Maynats, Pau FC traces its origins to the patronage of the Bleuets de Notre-Dame, officially founded in 1920 in the Mayolis district. By the onset of the 1958-59 season, the Bleuets had ascended to the highest amateur division in the French football league system, prompting religious authorities to acknowledge its sporting prowess, surpassing that of a mere local football club. Under the stewardship of its founding president, José Bidegain, the Bleuets de Notre-Dame's senior team transitioned into the Football-Club de Pau. By the 60s, they had settled in the Stade du Hameau, harbouring ambitions of turning professional.
However, recurrent financial troubles weakened the club, necessitating interventions from the municipal authorities of Pau. Consequently, FC Pau endured relegation woes, dropping back to the regional South West League. Despite management's aspirations, professional status eluded them. The 90s witnessed reckless spending in pursuit of promotion to Ligue 2, culminating in financial insolvency and relegation to the fourth tier of French football in 1995.
A revival came under the guidance of former players Bernard Laporte-Fray and Joël Lopez, who rebranded the club as Pau Football Club. Financial restructuring ensued, stabilising the club in the third tier until 2007. However, subsequent relegation compounded by non-sporting crises, delayed their return to the third division until the 2016–17 season.
In 2019, marking 59 years since its inception, Pau FC celebrated the opening of its inaugural stadium, 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.
The pinnacle of their achievements arrived with victory in the Championnat National, the third division, during the 2019–20 season, earning the club promotion to Ligue 2. This ushered in a period of unprecedented success, as the club seeks to firmly establish itself in the realm of the French football league system.
- ^ "#943 – Pau FC: les Meynats" (in French). Footnickname. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
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