The club, whose history dates back to 1905 and which is simply called AJA among fans, was founded by a certain Abbé Deschamps under the name of Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise. The stadium, which can seat up to 18 541 spectators, is also named after him. AJ Auxerre won the top French competition in 1996, and the second league in the 1979/1980 season. It has also won the national cup four times (1994, 1996, 2003 and 2005) and dominated the Intertoto Cup in Europe twice (1997 and 2006).
In the autumn of 2009, this Burgundian side also played in the Champions League group stage, but finished fourth in the group in competition with Real Madrid, AC Milan and Ajax Amsterdam. Among the famous players who have worn the jersey of this team are Philippe Mexes, Djibril Cissé, Eric Cantona or Yaya Sanogo, but also Laurent Blanc and Basile Boli. Auxerre first played in the French top flight in the 1980/1981 season and currently play in Ligue 2.
