Paris
hosts a number of major international sporting events each year.
The City is the scene of some of the action from the Tour de France
held in July. It hosts the French Open at Rolland Garros. The Stade
de France hosted the final of the 1998 soccer world cup which the
French team won, beating Brazil by a 3-0 margin.
Soccer:
The City is home to one of the biggest soccer clubs in France;
Paris St Germain. The Stade de France built specifically for
the 1998 soccer world cup also hosted the finals of the prestigious
Champions League in 2006 between Arsenal from England and the
Spanish club Barcelona.
Rugby:
Stade Francais is the City’s rugby union team which competes
in the local French league. The team’s highlight was reaching
the finals of the Heineken Cup in 2005. This tournament is Europe’s
premier club rugby competition. The French National rugby team
plays some of its test matches at the Stade de France. The stadium
is set to host the final of the 2007 Rugby world cup.
Tennis:
The French Open is one of the four major grand slam tournaments
on the professional tennis circuit, alongside Wimbledon, the
US Open and the Australian Open. The tournament is traditionally
held after the Australian open normally between May and June.