Olympique de Marseille is the city’s most important sports club, playing its home games at the ‘Stade Vélodrome‘ stadium, a short drive from the city center.
Olympique Marseille, founded in 1899, is one of the most celebrated football clubs in France, having won such competitions as…
- European Champions League (1993),
- eight national championships, and
- 10 Coupe de France victories.
The club has played its home games since 1937 at the Stade Vélodrome football (soccer) stadium, which is located south of the city center.
You can easily get to the stadium using, for example, Marseille subway, with the closest exit being at “Rond-Point du Prado” station.
PHOTO: If you want to purchase the club’s fan products, there is one official OM store (pictured) selling them within central Marseille, at 31, Rue Saint Ferréol. You can familiarize yourself with their selection beforehand (or order online) at the store’s official website, atboutique.om.net.
PHOTO: Olympique Marseille plays its home games at the pictured Stade Vélodrome, which can fit, at a maximum, about 60,000 spectators. The arena has also been an event venue for two FIFA World Cup competitions, in 1938 and 1998.
In addition to being a world-famous football club, Olympique Marseille also operates within several other sports fields, of which rugby has given the club its official slogan: “Droit au But”, in English “Directly to the Goal”.
In France, the most anticipated football games during the season are between Olympique de Marseille (OM) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), and these games are commonly called with the nickname “Le Classique”.
The significance of these games goes beyond football, as the rivalry is also between northern and southern France, and between the France’s “chosen” team (PSG) and the league’s “enfants terribles“.
…while you’ll often find good seats and plenty of ‘carnival’ atmosphere at the center of the stadium, watching the game live with about 52,000 other spectators (on average).