The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the U.S. Army. The AEF was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of then-Major General John J. Pershing. It fought alongside French Army, British Army, Canadian Army, British Indian Army, New Zealand Army and Australian Army units against the Imperial German Army. A small number of AEF troops also fought alongside Italian Army units in 1918 against the Austro-Hungarian Army. The AEF helped the French Army on the Western Front during the Aisne Offensive in the summer of 1918, and fought its major actions in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in the latter part of 1918.
Stade de France is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the largest stadium in France. The stadium is used by the French national football and rugby union teams for international competitions. It is the largest in Europe for athletics events, seating 77,083 in that configuration. During other events, the stadium's running track is mostly hidden under the football pitch.
The Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium in Paris, France. It is located in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin and Stade Roland Garros.
The Stade Vélodrome, known for sponsorship reasons as the Orange Vélodrome since June 2016, is a multi-purpose stadium in Marseille, France. It is home to the Olympique de Marseille football club of Ligue 1 since it opened in 1937, and has been a venue in the 1938 and 1998 FIFA World Cups; the 1960, 1984 and 2016 editions of the UEFA European Championship; and the 2007 and 2023 Rugby World Cup. It occasionally hosts RC Toulon rugby club of the Top 14. It is the second largest stadium in France, behind Stade de France in Saint-Denis (Paris), with a capacity of 67,394 spectators. The stadium is also used regularly by the France national rugby union team.
The Stade de la Beaujoire – Louis Fonteneau, mostly known as Stade de la Beaujoire, is a stadium in Nantes, France. It is the home of French football club FC Nantes, known as the canaries.
The Stade Yves-du-Manoir is a rugby, track, and association football stadium in Colombes, near Paris, France.
The Stade de Gerland is a stadium in the city of Lyon, France, which serves as home to Top 14 rugby club Lyon OU. It has a seating capacity of 25,000.
The Stade Bollaert-Delelis is the main football stadium in Lens, France, that was built in 1933. It is the home of RC Lens. The stadium's capacity is 38,223 – about 7,000 more than the city's population. The stadium was originally named after Félix Bollaert, a director of Compagnie des Mines de Lens who was anxious to promote the development of sports clubs in the city. Construction began in 1931, but Bollaert had died shortly before the stadium's inauguration. It was renamed Stade Bollaert-Delelis in 2012 after the death of André Delelis, the former mayor of the city who was politician who served as the Minister of Commerce under President François Mitterrand.
Stade de Genève, also called Stade de la Praille, is a stadium in Lancy, Canton of Geneva. It has a capacity of 30,084.
The Stade Jean-Bouin is a multi-purpose stadium in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. The 19,904 capacity facility is located across the street from the much larger Parc des Princes, and is used mostly for rugby union, but is also used for American football and association football matches. It is the home stadium of Stade Français, Paris Musketeers and FC Versailles.
Stade Bergeyre was a former sports stadium in northeast of Paris, France, located in 19th district of the French capital. Built in August 1918, with financial support of Jacques Sigrand. Its capacity was approximately 15,000, and it was named after Robert Bergeyre, a young French rugby player who died at the age of 20 in World War I.
The Stade Pierre-Mauroy, also known as the Decathlon Arena – Stade Pierre-Mauroy for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-use retractable roof stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq in Northern France, that opened in August 2012. With a seating capacity of 50,186, it is the fourth-largest sports stadium in France and the home of French professional football club Lille.
Parc Olympique Lyonnais, known for sponsorship reasons as Groupama Stadium, is a 59,186-seat stadium in Décines-Charpieu, in the Metropolis of Lyon. The home of French football club Olympique Lyonnais (OL), it replaced their previous stadium, the Stade de Gerland, in January 2016. The Stade de Gerland became the home of Lyon OU Rugby. It's the third largest stadium in France, behind Stade de France in Saint-Denis (Paris) and Orange Velodrome in Marseille.
The Inter-Allied Games was a one-off multi-sport event held from 22 June to 6 July 1919 at the newly constructed Pershing Stadium just outside Paris, France following the end of World War I. The host stadium had been built near the Bois de Vincennes by the U.S. Military in cooperation with the YMCA. The event was only open to participation by military personnel who were currently serving or had formerly served in the armed forces during the War. Around 1500 athletes from a total of eighteen nations participated in the proceedings which featured nineteen sports. Following the conclusion of the games, Pershing Stadium was presented as a gift to the people of France from the United States of America. The area, still known as Le Stade Pershing, continues to be used as an open air recreation park to this day.
Ralph Edward Parcaut was an American professional wrestler in the early part of the 20th century. He served in the U.S. Marines in World War I and won gold medals at the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.) Games in Germany following the War and at the Inter-Allied Games held near Paris in 1919. He also won the title of "Middleweight Champion of the World" in 1920 and held the title until at least 1923. He was injured in a plane crash while barnstorming around 1932, ending his pro wrestling career. He later became a promoter, trainer, author, and showman for early body building.
The Stade Bauer is a football stadium in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine in the northern suburbs of Paris. The stadium is mainly used by Red Star F.C. who currently play in Ligue 2 from 2024–25 but have tasted success in the Coupe de France, winning it on five occasions.
Nicolae Mărăscu was a Romanian rugby union footballer. Born in Bucharest, he played as a centre.
Thomas William Soutar was a professional athlete and an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Albert Rénier was a French footballer who played all of his career for Le Havre. He played in four matches for the France national football team between 1920 and 1924, netting once.
Football at the Inter-Allied Games was an unofficial football event organized by the United States military and the YMCA. It took place in June 1919, a year after the cessation of hostilities on the western front, and all the matches were played at the newly constructed Stade Pershing in Paris. The tournament featured some of Europe's top players. The Inter-Allied Games is the first football tournament, official or otherwise, with national teams from two different continents.
