AC Ajaccio

Football club in Ajaccio, Corsica, France

Not to be confused with Gazélec Ajaccio.

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "AC Ajaccio" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French.  (August 2014) Click [show] for important translation instructions.

* View a machine-translated version of the French article.
* Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
* Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
* You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is `Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at [[:fr:Athletic club ajaccien]]; see its history for attribution.`
* You may also add the template `{{Translated|fr|Athletic club ajaccien}}` to the talk page.
* For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

|

(Learn how and when to remove this message)

Football club

Ajaccio

Full name| Athletic Club Ajaccien
Nickname(s)| L'ours (The Bears)[1]
Founded| 1910; 115 years ago (1910)
Ground| Stade Michel Moretti
Capacity| 10,446
Owner| Holding Ajaccio Imperial Corse Investissement
President| Daniele Bufano[2]
Manager| Thierry Debès (caretaker)
League| Championnat National
2024–25| Ligue 2, 12th of 18 (administratively relegated)
Website| www.ac-ajaccio.corsica

Home colours

Away colours

|

Current season

Athletic Club Ajaccien (Corsican: Athletic Club Aiaccini), commonly referred to as AC Ajaccio, ACA or simply Ajaccio, is a French professional football club based in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. The club was founded in 1910 and plays in the Championnat National, the third tier of the French football league system after relegation administrative from Ligue 2 in 2024–25. Ajaccio play their home matches at the Stade Michel Moretti and are rivals with fellow Corsican club Bastia, with whom they contest the Corsica derby (Derby Corse).[3]

## History

[edit]

Depending on sources, it is agreed that Ajaccio began playing in 1909–10. Their adopted colors are red and white stripes. Though they used to play in what was previously utilised as a sand dump, they decided to move to another, cleaner, safer stadium upon the insistence of Jean Lluis, father-in-law of club president Louis Baretti. The new stadium that was chosen held 5,000 spectators and was in use until 1969.

AC Ajaccio were elected Corsican champions on eight occasions, in 1920, 1921, 1934, 1939, 1948, 1950, 1955 and 1964, and are one of three big "island" teams, along with Gazélec Ajaccio and Bastia, the competition between the three being kept no secret. Spectators during the 1946 Corsican Cup final, held between A.C.A. and Sporting Bastia, were handed umbrellas to shield themselves from the violence. Upon refusal of a penalty which would have been awarded to ACA, violence erupted between the fans, who used umbrellas both to cause and shield themselves from violence. This final was abandoned and replayed much later.

A.C.A. became a professional team in 1965 thanks to the ambitious efforts of the club's leaders. They initially adopted the symbol of the polar bear, but this has since been dropped in favour of a more stylised logo that uses a part of the Corsican flag. They brung back the polar bear in 2014.

In 1967, the team became the first Corsican club to play in France's top division. Prior to the 2022–23 season, they were most recently in Ligue 1 in the 2013–14 season, when they were relegated after finishing in last place, following a spell of three seasons in the top flight; the drop was confirmed with defeat at neighbours Bastia.[4]

In November 2014, Olivier Pantaloni returned for a third spell as manager.[5] His team came third in 2017–18, qualifying for the play-offs, where they beat Le Havre in a semi-final marred by violence on and off the pitch,[6] before losing the final to Toulouse.[7] The club were denied promotion in 2019–20 when the season was curtailed with ten games remaining due to the coronavirus pandemic; Ajaccio were one point off the top two, who were the only ones to go up as the play-offs could not be contested.[8] In the 2021–22 Ligue 2 season, Ajaccio were promoted back to Ligue 1 after finishing second.[9] However, with three games in hand, the club were relegated directly back down.[10]

On 27 June 2024, Ajaccio was administratively relegated to the Championnat National by the Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion (DNCG) due to financial issues.[11] They appealed the decision, and on the 11th of July 2024, they were reinstated in Ligue 2 for the 2024–25 season.[12] On 24 June 2025, the club was once again provisionally relegated to the Championnat National.[13] On 16 July 2025, relegation administratively is confirmed due to US Boulogne promoted to Ligue 2.

## Players

[edit]

### Current squad

[edit]

As of 27 July 2025[14][15]

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

| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

2  | DF |  FRA | Thibault Campanini
4  | MF |  FRA | Mickaël Barreto
5  | DF |  FRA | Clément Vidal
8  | MF |  ALG | Mehdi Puch
9  | FW |  FRA | Benjamin Santelli
11  | FW |  CIV | Ben Hamed Touré
12  | DF |  FRA | Matthieu Huard
16  | GK |  FRA | François-Joseph Sollacaro
| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

17  | MF |  FRA | Everson Junior
20  | DF |  COM | Mohamed Youssouf
21  | FW |  ALG | Ivane Chegra
23  | DF |  ROU | Tony Strata
27  | FW |  GAM | Aboubakary Kanté
30  | GK |  FRA | Ghjuvanni Quilichini
31  | DF |  FRA | Jésah Ayessa
88  | DF |  CIV | Axel Bamba

### Notable past players

[edit]

For a complete list of AC Ajaccio players, see Category:AC Ajaccio players.

## Club officials

[edit]

Position  | Staff

|

President |  Christian Leca
Sports coordinator |  Johan Cavalli
Sporting director |  Patrick Vernet
Manager |  Vacant
Assistant manager |  Vacant
Goalkeeping coach |  Thierry Debès
Fitness coach |  Joseph Leandri
Youth coach |  Antoine Hoareau
Doctor |  Guillaume Lotito
Physiotherapist |  Jean-Xavier Stefanaggi
Florian Renucci
Ghjuvan Andria Piereschi

## Coaches

[edit]

* Jean Pietri (pre–1955)
* Félix Pironti (1955–57)
* Michel Brusseaux (1957–58)
* Jean Laune (1958–59)
* Jean-Pierre Knayer (1959–63)
* Mohamed Azzouz (1963–64)
* Ernst Stojaspal (1964–65)
* Alberto Muro (1965–70)
* Louis Hon (1970–71)
* Antoine Cuissard (1971–72)
* André Mori (1972–73)
* Louis Hon (1973–74)
* Lulu Accorsi (1974–75)
* Alain Mistre (1975–76)
* François Paoli (1976–78)
* Mohamed Azzouz (1978–79)
* Unknown (1979–92)
* Baptiste Gentili (1 July 1992 – 30 June 2001)
* Rolland Courbis (1 July 2001 – 30 June 2003)
* Dominique Bijotat (1 July 2002 – 21 September 2004)
* Olivier Pantaloni (2004)
* Rolland Courbis (8 February 2005 – 11 January 2006)
* Olivier Pantaloni (interim) (11 January 2006 – 12 January 2006)
* José Pasqualetti (12 January 2006 – 30 June 2006)
* Ruud Krol (1 July 2006 – 30 June 2007)
* Gernot Rohr (1 July 2007 – 30 August 2008)
* José Pasqualetti (1 September 2008 – 23 February 2009)
* Olivier Pantaloni (23 February 2009 – 13 June 2012)
* Alex Dupont (22 June 2012 – 17 December 2012)
* Albert Emon (21 December 2012 – 28 May 2013)
* Fabrizio Ravanelli (7 June 2013 – 2 November 2013)
* Christian Bracconi (interim) (3 November 2013 – 14 October)
* Thierry Debès (interim)  (October 2014)
* Olivier Pantaloni (6 November 2014– 24 June 2024)
* Mathieu Chabert (2 July 2024– 3 January 2025)
* Thierry Debès (interim)  (3 January 2025– Present)

## Honours

[edit]

* Division 2 (Second Division)
* Champions (2): 1966–67, 2001–02
* Championnat National (Third Division)
* Champions (1): 1997–98
* Ligue de Corse (Corsican League)
* Champions (9): 1920, 1921, 1934, 1939, 1948, 1950, 1955, 1964, 1994

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "#324 – AC Ajaccio : l'Orsu" (in French). Footnickname. 15 November 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
2. ^ "DANIELE BUFANO, NOUVEAU PRÉSIDENT DE L'AC AJACCIO" (in French). AC Ajaccio. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
3. ^ Willis, Craig; Hughes, Will; Bober, Sergiusz. "ECMI Minorities Blog. National and Linguistic Minorities in the Context of Professional Football across Europe: Five Examples from Non-kin State Situations". ECMI. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
4. ^ "Berbatov inspires Monaco to win, Ajaccio relegated". Taipei Times. AFP. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
5. ^ "Olivier Pantaloni joins AC Ajaccio on two year deal". Get Football News France. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
6. ^ "Four sent off as Ajaccio win chaotic Le Havre play-off". 21 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
7. ^ "Ligue 1. Toulouse, vainqueur face à Ajaccio, est maintenu" [Ligue 1. Toulouse, winner against Ajaccio, stay up]. Ouest-France (in French). 27 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
8. ^ "AC Ajaccio : le président persiste et signe pour les barrages !" [AC Ajaccio: the president persists and points towards playoffs!] (in French). Onze Mondiale. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
9. ^ "AC Ajaccio bring Ligue 1 football back to Corsica". ligue1.com.
10. ^ "PSG close on title with Ajaccio win". ligue1.com.
11. ^ Rossi, Patrick (27 June 2024). "Ligue 2 : l'AC Ajaccio relégué en national par la DNCG". France Bleu (in French). Retrieved 29 June 2024.
12. ^ "Football. L'AC Ajaccio réintégré en Ligue 2 par la DNCG". corsematin.com. 11 July 2024.
13. ^ Zemour, Samuel (24 June 2025). "Ligue 2, DNCG : l'AC Ajaccio relégué provisoirement en National 1". Foot Mercato : Info Transferts Football - Actu Foot Transfert (in French). Retrieved 2 July 2025.
14. ^ "I ghjucatori" (in French). AC Ajaccio. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
15. ^ "L'heure de la reprise a sonné!" (in French). AC Ajaccio. Retrieved 3 July 2021.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to AC Ajaccio.

* AC Ajaccio at Soccerway

* v
* t
* e

Athletic Club Ajaccio

Information|

* Players
* Managers

Stadia|

* Stade Michel Moretti

Rivalries|

* Derby Corse

Seasons|

* 2001–02
* 2002–03
* 2003–04
* 2004–05
* 2005–06
* 2006–07
* 2007–08
* 2008–09
* 2009–10
* 2010–11
* 2011–12
* 2012–13
* 2013–14
* 2014–15
* 2015–16
* 2016–17
* 2017–18
* 2018–19
* 2019–20
* 2020–21
* 2021–22
* 2022–23

* v
* t
* e

Championnat National

2025–26 clubs|

* Ajaccio
* Aubagne Air Bel
* Bourg-Péronnas
* Caen
* Châteauroux
* Concarneau
* Dijon
* Fleury
* Le Puy
* Orléans
* Paris 13 Atletico
* Quevilly-Rouen
* Rouen
* Sochaux
* Stade Briochin
* Valenciennes
* Versailles
* Villefranche

Former
clubs|

* Alès
* Alfortville
* Amiens
* Angers
* Angoulême
* Annecy
* Arles
* Avranches
* CA Bastia
* SC Bastia
* Bayonne
* Beaucaire
* Beauvais
* Belfort
* Besançon
* Béziers
* Bordeaux
* Borgo
* Boulogne
* Bourges 18
* Brest
* Calais
* Cannes
* Carquefou
* Cassis Carnoux
* Charleville
* Chambly
* Châtellerault
* Cherbourg
* Cholet
* Clermont
* Colmar
* Colomiers
* Créteil
* Drancy
* Dunkerque
* Entente SSG
* Épinal
* Evian TG
* Évry
* Fréjus Saint-Raphaël
* Gap
* Gazélec Ajaccio
* GOAL FC
* Grenoble
* Gueugnon
* Guingamp
* Hyères
* Istres
* La Roche-sur-Yon
* Laval
* Le Mans
* Le Poiré-sur-Vie
* Les Herbiers
* Libourne St-Seurin
* Louhans-Cuiseaux
* Luçon
* Lusitanos
* Luzenac
* Lyon La Duchère
* Marignane GCB
* Marseille Consolat
* Martigues
* Metz
* Moulins
* Mulhouse
* Nancy
* Nîmes
* Niort
* Noisy-le-Sec
* Pacy
* Paris FC
* Pau
* Plabennec
* Stade Poitevin
* Raon-l'Étape
* RC France
* Red Star
* Reims
* Rodez
* Romorantin
* Roye
* Saint-Denis Saint-Leu
* Saint-Priest
* Sedan
* Sète
* Strasbourg
* Thouars
* Toulon
* Toulouse
* Tours
* Trélissac
* Troyes
* Uzès
* Valence
* Vannes
* Villemomble
* Viry-Châtillon
* Wasquehal
* Yzeure

Seasons|

* 1993–94
* 1994–95
* 1995–96
* 1996–97
* 1997–98
* 1998–99
* 1999–2000
* 2000–01
* 2001–02
* 2002–03
* 2003–04
* 2004–05
* 2005–06
* 2006–07
* 2007–08
* 2008–09
* 2009–10
* 2010–11
* 2011–12
* 2012–13
* 2013–14
* 2014–15
* 2015–16
* 2016–17
* 2017–18
* 2018–19
* 2019–20
* 2020–21
* 2021–22
* 2022–23
* 2023–24
* 2024–25
* 2025–26

* v
* t
* e

Championnat National 3 -- Group H * 2023–24 clubs

* AC Ajaccio (res)
* FC Balagne
* SC Bastia (res)
* Brétigny
* Ivry
* Linas-Montlhéry
* Mainvilliers
* Montrouge
* Neuilly-sur-Marne
* Orléans (res)
* Sainte-Geneviève
* Saint-Maur
* Saran
* Vitry-sur-Seine

*[No.]: Number
*[Pos.]: Position
*[DF]: Defender
*[MF]: Midfielder
*[FW]: Forward
*[GK]: Goalkeeper
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template