The Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club is a Monegasque football club, founded in 1924. They became a professional club after 1948. Although the club is in Monaco, it has always competed in the French football structure. For this reason, it has always been regarded with a certain suspicion by a segment of the French population. Some, like former Olympique Marseille president, have hinted that Monaco should not be allowed to use its income-tax exemption as it gives it an unfair advantage. This would roughly equal to adding 1/3 extra to A.S. Monaco's budget.

AS Monaco is also currently derided for its relatively low number of spectators (10,394 average for the season 2003/2004). However, taking into account the city's population of 30,000 and that it competes with Nice's team (300,000 inhabitants) OGC Nice 20 km nearby, Monaco as a city has one of the highest spectators/inhabitants in France.

AS Monaco's home ground is Stade Louis II , an all-seater with a capacity of 18,500 in the Fontvieille section of Monaco. The stadium, as well as the Fontvieille district, was built entirely on land reclaimed from the Mediterranean Sea.

Monaco were finalists in the UEFA Champions League in 2004, but were defeated by FC Porto.

Honours

French Champion 1 winners:

1960/1961, 1962/1963, 1977/1978, 1981/1982, 1987/1988, 1996/1997 and 1999/2000.

French Cup Winners:

1959/1960, 1962/1963, 1979/1980, 1984/1985 and 1990/1991.

French League Cup Winner:

2002/2003.

UEFA Champion's League Runner up:

2003/2004

European Cup Winners Cup Runner up

1991/1992

Notable Players

• Fabien Barthez
• Ludovic Giuly
• Thierry Henry
• Glen Hoddle
• Jürgen Klinsmann
• Roger Milla
• Fernando Morientes
• Javier Saviola
• Lilian Thuram
• David Trézéguet
• George Weah
• Delio Onnis

External link

• Official club website (in French)