“Everybody who plays football in Paris knows about them”: Inside France’s ‘Sunday league’ club in pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain

At long last, it seems the city of Paris is realising its potential as a powerhouse in the footballing world.

Capitalising just as much on the city’s abundance of young, homegrown talent as their immense Qatari coffers, Paris Saint-Germain finally put an end to their lengthy pursuit of a first Champions League title back in May.

Even as the playing staff dawdled, the club’s marketing team were busy crafting what is now one of the globe’s most recognisable brands – in no small part thanks to a trailblazing partnership with sportswear moguls Air Jordan – ultimately redefining what a football club can be.

But you don’t have to look too far beneath the surface to realise there’s much more to football in France’s capital than just its top dogs.

Paris is eagerly awaiting its first top-flight cross-city derby in half a century, scheduled in January, after Paris Football Club ended their forty-six-year wait for promotion to Ligue 1 last season.

Aiming to beat their city rivals to that mantle are Paris 13 Atletico, one of French football’s most remarkable, yet little-known stories

On the rise again is five-time Coupe de France champions Red Star, the city’s oldest, notoriously progressive club, who look well-placed to follow suit and end their own five-decade absence from top-flight football.

As of yet, though, Paris probably still lacks at least that second superpower for the rest of the footballing world to take much notice. Just consider the gulf in viewership figures between Ligue 1 and Europe’s other top leagues, including the Premier League.

Aiming to beat their city rivals to that mantle are Paris 13 Atletico, one of French football’s most remarkable, yet little-known stories of the last decade.

Nestled away on a quiet backstreet on the edge of Paris’ thirteenth arrondissement, the 2,000-capacity Stade Pelé has played host to the club’s meteoric rise from France’s ninth tier – colloquially known in the English-speaking world as ‘Sunday league’ – all the way to the Championnat National, just two divisions below Ligue 1.

The club have certainly reaped the rewards of such unprecedented momentum.

Last year, when their home ground was renamed in honour of the legendary Brazilian, the ceremony was hosted by none other than FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Six months later, matchday atmospheres were forever invigorated with the establishment of the club’s first-ever supporters’ group, Gobelin Block.

But Paris 13 Atletico don’t plan on halting this momentum anytime soon.

Flags and banners draped in the club’s green and black colours adorned Stade Pelé’s single, 200-seater stand

“The city of Paris and the mayor (Jérôme Coumet, of the thirteenth arrondissement) have a bold and ambitious project which will lead to a new building, new stands, new changing rooms and more rooms for the club,” boasted club president Frédéric Pereira when Infantino came to town.

“Sure it can,” said Gobelin Block co-founder Tim, when I asked whether his club had the potential to achieve yet another promotion after I attended September’s fixture against high-flying Sochaux.

Paris 13 Atletico’s embryonic supporters’ group may be among the more juvenile of continental Europe’s famed and often-feared ‘ultras’, but their passion for the club and local area can’t be disputed.

Flags and banners draped in the club’s green and black colours adorned Stade Pelé’s single, 200-seater stand, while fans took turns with the megaphone – although there was no sign of the pyrotechnic displays that accompanied kick-off on at least one occasion last season.

“We support a third-tier team because we’re proud of our local identity,” rejoiced Tim. “Paris 13 Atletico also represents a more popular and local vision of football, far from business.”

Even more formidable was that night’s visiting support. Thanks to hundreds of Sochaliens who’d made the near-five hour trip to cram themselves into Stade Pelé’s ‘away end’ – basically a small hill overlooking one of the corner flags – I was treated to an exceptional atmosphere.

Such following shouldn’t have come as a surprise from one of France’s most historic clubs, who only languish in the Championnat National after being handed an administration-enforced relegation two-and-a-half years ago.

New local ownership, fan-led investment, and two stabilising mid-table finishes later, Sochaux are ready to plot their return to France’s fully-professional game. That night’s 3-1 win only added to an already encouraging start to the season.

The city’s cultural and ethnic diversity is fully on show on a matchday, all united by a love for local football

For Paris 13 Atletico, the calibre of their opponents even at this level served as a reminder of just how seismic their endeavour is. But it’s clear the foundations are there.

Pereira’s project aside, the club boasts some 1,800 registered members and players across all age groups, male and female, as France’s single-largest club.

Situated right in the heart of suburban Paris, you really appreciate that community feel at Stade Pelé. The city’s cultural and ethnic diversity is fully on show on a matchday, all united by a love for local football.

There were plenty of younger fans in attendance that night, too, although if the jerseys or other merchandise they sported is anything to go by, the allegiance of the thirteenth arrondissement’s youth is split somewhere down the middle between Paris 13 Atletico and their noisy neighbours.

“First of all, we have to admit that, as Parisians, Paris Saint-Germain has been a team we’ve all grown up with,” Tim accepted.

“However, since the 2010s their identity completely changed, and this has led some people to identify less with the club, especially in recent years, even though they’ve been successful.”

This is not a phenomenon that has been limited just to Paris. It seems the more the world’s biggest clubs and competitions chase record revenues from sources abroad – some legitimate and some not – they only alienate those much closer to home.

Paris 13 Atletico’s humble beginnings have undeniably served them well. Plying their trade as low as the ninth tier as recent as a decade ago, Tim is confident his club has already become something of a Parisian institution itself.

“Everybody who plays football in Paris knows about them because they’ve faced them in Sunday league at least once [ … ] Everybody in this area is related in some way to the club.”