Paris Saint-Germain Judo, commonly referred to as PSG Judo, is a French professional judo club based in Paris, France. It operates as the judo department of Paris Saint-Germain FC. After existing from 1992 to 2003, under the name PSG Alliance Judo 77, the section was reestablished in 2017. The Espace Omnisports dojo in Le Plessis-Robinson, Hauts-de-Seine, is the club's home ground. It houses the training facilities for professional judokas, as well as the club's youth system, the Paris Saint-Germain Academy Judo.
Founded in September 1992 at the initiative of former judoka Thierry Rey and with financial support from Canal+, owner of PSG, the judo section was the club's first to win a continental trophy. Led by star judokas David Douillet, Cécile Nowak, Djamel Bouras and Frédéric Demontfaucon, the Parisians clinched the Champions League in 1995 and the French 1st Division Championship in 1997. However, PSG judo experienced a sharp decline thereafter, leading Canal+ to withdraw in 2002, before PSG closed the section in June 2003.
Conceived by Bouras, who was part of the original iteration of the section, PSG Judo was officially reestablished on 1 September 2017. Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi announced the project in a press release. He also confirmed the signing of French judoka Teddy Riner as the team's leading figure, while Bouras was appointed president. Initially an all-male project, PSG Judo eventually evolved into a mixed-gender team. Since their return, the PSG men's and women's teams have enjoyed domestic and European success.
In total, PSG Judo have won fifteen trophies, two in the 1990s and thirteen after their resurgence in the late 2010s. The men's team have won four French 1st Division Championships, one Europa League, one Champions League, and one French 2nd Division Championship. Meanwhile, the women's team have claimed four French 1st Division Championships, one Europa League, and one Champions League. Finally, the club have won two more Champions League titles with a mixed team composed of male and female judokas.
History
PSG takeover and Champions League title
In September 1992, Paris Saint-Germain FC and its owners Canal+ established PSG Alliance Judo 77 by selecting Parisian club Alliance 77 as the foundation for the judo department. Led by Charles Biétry, PSG's multisport project maintained active sections in handball, volleyball, rugby league, boxing, and basketball. The judo project was spearheaded by club president Thierry Rey, a former judoka and 1980 Olympic champion, who later served as a judo advisor at Canal+. PSG inherited the Dojo Léon-Bonnet from Alliance 77, which remained the section's home venue until 1998. By the end of 1992, the women's team had recruited French star Cécile Nowak, joining Laetitia Tignola, Laurence Sionneau, and Karine Petit, while the men's squad featured French internationals Nasser Nechar, Philippe Demarche, Bertrand Amoussou-Guenou, and Philippe Taurines.
PSG's ambitious recruitment drive quickly established the club, alongside Orléans, as one of the leading forces in French judo during its inaugural 1993 season. In February, the club hosted the 22nd edition of the Grand Slam Paris at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin, with nine PSG judokas competing against the world's elite. In October 1993, the club further strengthened its squad by signing France's most promising judoka, David Douillet, from Maisons-Alfort. His impact was immediate, helping PSG secure victory in a friendly tournament the following month.
The 1994 season began with Jean-Pierre Gibert taking over as manager and the addition of several prominent signings, including Christophe Brunet, Raymond Stevens, and Nicolas Gill. The season also marked the retirement of Cécile Nowak, the club's first star. Her final tournament was the French Championship in January, where the women's team finished third, while the men's team lost to Orléans in the final. Despite David Douillet missing the first two rounds, PSG made a strong run in the Champions League, with Douillet returning in the semi-finals against Berlin, where he suffered his first defeat in over two and a half years, resulting in PSG's elimination from the competition.
PSG opened the 1995 season with another disappointment in the French Championship in January. With both teams tied in the final, the men's title slipped away to the capital club in the playoff, when Nechar lost to Laurent Calleja of Orléans. The women's team suffered the same fate, falling to Levallois in the final. PSG turned its season around in November 1995 when the club's men's team was crowned European champion in Germany. After their triumph against hosts Abensberg in the semifinals, the Parisians defeated Ukrainian side Taifun Dnipro in the final, becoming the third French club to win the Champions League after Orléans and Racing. It was also PSG's first international title, across all disciplines.
French champions and Bouras affair
After their continental triumph, the 1996 season was difficult. The men's team lost to Racing in the semi-finals of the French Championship in January, while the women's team advanced but lost to Levallois in the final. In October, the club signed French stars Djamel Bouras and Frédéric Demontfaucon. That same month, despite strong results, PSG also announced the liquidation of the women's section. Christine Cicot, who had just joined as Nowak's successor the previous season, left at the end of the year, but it was not until the departure of Petit in November 1999 that the women's team was finally closed. Weakened by the prolonged injury of Douillet, who suffered a serious motorcycle accident, PSG were unable to defend their European title, finishing fourth.
The signings of Bouras, Demontfaucon and British star Jamie Johnson, along with Douillet's return to training in January, seemed to herald a promising 1997 season. However, Bouras tested positive for nandrolone following PSG's victory over Dnipropetrovsk in October, forcing him to be ruled out of the Champions League final and risking a three-year ban. Douillet was also forced to withdraw with discomfort in his left shoulder. Destabilized by these events and without two of their best judokas, the Parisians lost the final against German side Abensberg. With a four-month suspended sentence, Bouras eventually featured in PSG's winning side, defeating AC Boulogne-Billancourt in the French Championship final to secure their first national title.
With Douillet plagued by injuries and Bouras being suspended for two years by the French Judo Federation in April, the 1998 season again proved challenging for the club. Furthermore, Jessy Euclide, one of the club's promising youngsters, was killed in a car accident in May at the age of 23. A minute's silence was observed during PSG's Champions League victory against Romanian side Oradea. Among the good news was a fourth consecutive continental semi-final despite Douillet's absence and the club's new dojo at the Aquaboulevard. In November, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) allowed Bouras, following an appeal, to participate in the Champions League final four in Germany.
Bouras and PSG, without Douillet still injured, managed to eliminate Abensberg, three-time European champions in the last four seasons, but lost the final to Dutch side Kenamju Haarlem in an unfavorable atmosphere, with the German fans booing Bouras. In the French Championship, Bouras was once again the center of controversy. The club relied heavily on him, as Douillet was sidelined due to injury and new signing Franck Bellard was unavailable. However, Bouras refused to fight, citing angina, and the team finished third. Angered, PSG president Rey threatened to expel him from the club. Demontfaucon was now PSG's great hope after the failed season of Bouras and Douillet.
Decline and dissolution
Serge Dyot replaced Gibert as manager for the 1999 season, which was also disrupted by the Bouras affair. Following a heated exchange with Rey, the judoka was confirmed at PSG, but the CAS extended his suspension until March 1999. Meanwhile, Douillet, who had just recovered from his wrist injury, was quickly ruled out again due to back pain. His prolonged absence hurt the club's ambitions; despite excellent campaigns from Demontfaucon and Scottish judoka Graeme Randall, PSG finished fifth in the French Championship and failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Following the 2000 Summer Olympics, in which fellow PSG judokas Bellard, Cyril Soyer and Lionel Hugonnier also competed, Douillet retired and Bouras signed for US Créteil. Nevertheless, the Parisians remained a strong presence in France throughout the 2000 season, securing a Champions League spot following Hugonnier's victory over Maisons-Alfort in the final of the qualifying tournament in December. Demontfaucon continued his individual rise to prominence in 2001, but the club endured a disappointing campaign. PSG missed out on a podium finish at the French Championship in April, losing to Orléans in the third-place match, and then narrowly lost to Moscow a month later after drawing with the Russians (7 wins each, 70–65 to the Muscovites).
PSG's sporting decline was accompanied by the withdrawal of Canal+, their main financial partner, effective after the end of the 2002 season. The Council of Paris stepped in and guaranteed the club's survival beyond that date, with president Rey and manager Dyot still at the helm. After a strong run of qualifying, PSG finished second in the French Championship, synonymous with Champions League qualification, despite the absence of Soyer, who was sidelined with a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee. The club's future became even more turbulent in August 2002, when the press confirmed the imminent departure of star judoka Demontfaucon, who joined former PSG manager Gibert at Toulouse Judo.
On the verge of bankruptcy during the 2003 season, with its judokas unpaid for several months, PSG Judo—led by Soyer, Hugonnier, Bellard, and French prodigy Jean-Dominique Vanbever—reached the final of the French Championship in March, where they were defeated by Parisian rivals Racing Club de France. Lacking the financial means to cover visas and hotel costs for their European campaign, the Council of Paris stepped in to fund the trip. PSG defeated Croatian side Samobor in the first round but were eliminated by two-time European champions Yawara Neva of Saint Petersburg. This marked the final competition for PSG Judo in its original form. In June 2003, after eleven years, PSG's involvement quietly ended. The dissolution of PSG Alliance Judo 77, the last remaining section of the club, officially brought to a close PSG's first multisport project, originally envisioned by Charles Biétry and Canal+ a decade earlier.
Rebirth and Europa League double
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi announced the relaunch of Paris Saint-Germain Judo, the club's judo department, on 1 September 2017. French judo star Teddy Riner signed to lead the project and Djamel Bouras was named club president. Both Bouras and a young Riner, who rose through the ranks at the Parisians, were part of the first iteration of PSG Judo between 1992 and 2003. Laurent Calleja in 2017, as well as Nicolas Mossion and Julien Boussuge in 2018, were appointed as managers.