This is not an April Fool’s joke, but a long-term decision. AC Ajaccio’s François-Coty stadium will officially become the Michel-Moretti stadium, starting next month. Monday April 1, AC Ajaccio, currently 11th in Ligue 2, will welcome AJ Auxerre, leader after 28 days, in its new Michel-Moretti enclosure, for the 30th day.
Through a press release this Monday, the Corsican club (Ligue 2) made public the change of name of its stadium.
The François-Coty stadium becomes the Michel Moretti stadium
AC AJACCIO has the honor and pride to announce the change of name of its enclosure. The stadium will bear the name of its most emblematic president: Michel Moretti.
Communiqué of the club 📃 pic.twitter.com/3Qv8KWqByY
— AC Ajaccio (@ACAjaccio) March 10, 2024
The new name is intended to honor the memory of Michel Moretti, president of AC Ajaccio from 1992 until the year of his death in 2008. At the ACA, Mr. Moretti is known for being the architect of the professionalization of the club.
François Coty, Corsican perfumer and mayor of the city from 1931 to 1934, lent his name to the Ajaccian stadium. The ACA specifies that this name change is the result of a promise made to President Moretti, in the context of a match against Nantes in 2008.
🎙️Alain Orsoni: Michel Moretti finally the tribute he deserves
Our former president and manager since 1992 within the Bianca è Rossa institution, Alain Orsoni, spoke about the Michel Moretti Stadium and its… pic.twitter.com/aKQW9TGc9i
— AC Ajaccio (@ACAjaccio) March 11, 2024
“The promise made in 2008 during the ACA-FC Nantes match in front of the white and red people is kept 16 years later,” said the ACA press release. The club had committed to renaming the stadium following the renovation work on the enclosure. Michel has restored our club to its former glory. It is the symbol of the success of this extremely audacious bet to return to the elite of professional football in just ten years. The ACA moved from the sixth division (Promotion d’Honneur) to Ligue 1 between 1992 and 2002. […] After more than twenty years in the amateur world, the president was able to rekindle the aceist flame within Corsican football and the professional world. Michel Moretti was an unparalleled connoisseur, an excellent manager and a visionary. »
Started in 2007, a renovation project was completed in 2022, the year of the club’s last climb to L1.
