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The Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club is a Monegasc
football club, founded in 1924. They became a professional club after 1948. Although the club is in
Monaco, it has always competed in the French football structure. For this reason, it
has always been regarded with a certain suspicion by a segment of the French population. Some, like current Olympique Marseille president, have hinted that Monaco should not be
allowed to use its income-tax exemption as it gives it an unfair advantage. This would roughly equal to adding 1/3 extra to A.S.
Monaco's budget.
AS Monaco is also recurrently derided for its relatively low number of spectators (10,394 average for the season 2003/2004).
However, taking into account the city's population of 30,000 and that it competes with Nice's team (300,000 inhabitants) OGC Nice 10 km nearby, Monaco as a
city has one of the highest spectators/inhabitants in France.
AS Monaco's home ground is Stade Louis II, an all-seater with a capacity of 18,500 in the Fontvieille section of Monaco. The stadium as
well as the Fontvieille district was build entirely on land claimed over the sea.
Monaco were the beaten finalists of UEFA Champions League in 2004.
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