UJA Maccabi Paris Métropole
French football club formed by 2012 merger of two community clubs.
UJA Maccabi Paris Métropole is a French football club from Alfortville, a Paris suburb. The current side was created in 2012 when UJA Alfortville (founded in 1926) merged with SC Maccabi du Paris (founded in 1948). The team competes in the Division d'Honneur Paris Île-de-France, the sixth tier of French football, and has spent one season in the Championnat National.
SC Maccabi de Paris was set up in 1948 as a social and sports club for Paris’s Jewish community, later evolving into a general community sports club. UJA Alfortville, originally called Union de la Jeunesse Arménienne d'Alfortville, started in 1926. Over a decade, Alfortville climbed the French league system quickly: promoted from Promotion d'Honneur in 1998, then to Division d'Honneur Régionale the next season, and to Division Supérieure Régionale in 2000. After six years in the seventh division, it moved up to the Île-de-France Division d'Honneur, then to CFA 2 the following season. Alfortville won its CFA 2 group in its first year, earning promotion to the Championnat de France amateur for 2008–09. After two seasons in the CFA, the club was administratively promoted to the Championnat National when RC Strasbourg Alsace was demoted for financial reasons, but was relegated after one season.
In June 2012, UJA Alfortville merged with Maccabi Paris, a Division Supérieure Régionale side. The new club was relegated to CFA 2 in its first season and has stayed at that level since.
Notable former players are listed in the category UJA Maccabi Paris Métropole players. A youth player of note is Leny Yoro. Honours include the Championnat de France Amateur 2 in 2008, the Division d'Honneur (Île-de-France) in 2007, and the Division Supérieure Régional (Île-de-France) in 2006.
- field
- Association football
- nationality
- French
- known_for
- Merger of Armenian and Jewish community clubs; one season in Championnat National
- home_stadium
- Parc Départemental des Sports, Choisy-le-Roi
- current_division
- Division d'Honneur Paris Île-de-France (level 6)
Quick Facts
- Clubname
- UJA Maccabi Paris
- Fullname
- UJA Maccabi Paris Métropole
- Founded
- 1926 as "UJA Alfortville" / 1948 as "Maccabi Paris" / 2012 as UJA Maccabi Paris Métropole
- Ground
- Parc Départemental des Sports / Choisy-le-Roi
- Chairman
- Pascal Laloux
- Manager
- David Le Digarcher
- League
- DH Paris Île-de-France
- Season
- 2016–17
- Position
- CFA 2, Group A, 14th (relegated)
- Website
- https: · maccabi-paris.footeo.com
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
UJA Alfortville was formed in 1926 under the name Union de la Jeunesse Arménienne d'Alfortville. Over a decade, it ascended quickly through the French league system, earning promotions from Promotion d'Honneur in 1998 to the Championnat de France amateur by 2008. The club won its CFA 2 group in 2008 and was administratively promoted to the Championnat National for the 2009–10 season after RC Strasbourg Alsace was demoted due to financial issues, but was relegated at the end of that season.
SC Maccabi de Paris was established in 1948 as a social-sport club for the Jewish community in Paris, later acting as a simple sport club for a wider French community. In June 2012, UJA Alfortville merged with Maccabi Paris, which had been playing in the Division Supérieure Régional. The new club, UJA Maccabi Paris Métropole, was relegated to CFA 2 in its first season and later dropped further to the Division d'Honneur (level 6).
Reader's Guide
UJA Maccabi Paris Métropole represents a unique fusion of two distinct community clubs: the Armenian-founded UJA Alfortville and the Jewish-founded SC Maccabi de Paris. The club's significance lies in its rapid rise through the French football pyramid, culminating in a single season in the Championnat National, the third tier of French football, achieved through administrative promotion. This brief top-level experience highlights the volatility of lower-league football, where financial issues of larger clubs can create opportunities for smaller ones. The merger in 2012 aimed to consolidate resources, but the club faced immediate relegation. Its legacy includes notable youth development, such as future professional Leny Yoro, and its role as a symbol of multicultural community sport in the Paris suburbs. The club continues to compete at the sixth level, maintaining its presence in regional football.
Did You Know?
- The club was formed in 2012 through a merger of UJA Alfortville (founded 1926) and SC Maccabi du Paris (founded 1948).
- UJA Alfortville was originally named Union de la Jeunesse Arménienne d'Alfortville.
- The club played one season in the Championnat National after being administratively promoted due to RC Strasbourg Alsace's financial demotion.
- Notable youth player Leny Yoro came through the Lille OSC youth system, not UJA Maccabi Paris Métropole.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is UJA Maccabi Paris Métropole?
It is a French amateur football club based in Alfortville, a suburb south of Paris. The team was created in 2012 through the merger of UJA Alfortville and SC Maccabi du Paris, bringing together Armenian and Jewish community football traditions.
How did UJA Maccabi Paris Métropole come to exist?
In 2012, UJA Alfortville—originally an Armenian youth organization dating to 1926—combined with SC Maccabi du Paris, a Jewish community sports club founded in 1948. The two groups folded their operations into a single Parisian football entity.
What level of French football does UJA Maccabi Paris Métropole compete at?
The club currently plays in the Division d'Honneur Paris Île-de-France, the sixth tier of the French league system. At one point in its history the team also spent a season in the Championnat National.
Where does UJA Maccabi Paris Métropole play its home games?
The team hosts matches at the Parc Départemental des Sports in Choisy-le-Roi, a neighboring suburb in the southern Paris region.
Why is UJA Maccabi Paris Métropole notable in French community football?
The club stands out as a rare living link between two distinct immigrant and minority sporting communities—Armenian and Jewish—that have roots going back to the 1920s and 1940s. Its 2012 merger preserved both heritages under one banner rather than letting either dissolve.
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