The announcement was made during the general assembly of the Amiens SC Football Association by the deputy in charge of sports at Amiens Métropole, Guillaume Duflot. The Chapter stadium becomes the Paul Imiéla stadium, a tribute to the man who was elected Player of the Century at the end of the last century.
Guillaume Duflot indeed reported that the Municipal Council had made official the information that we had made a month ago and that the Chapter stadium would become the Paul Imiéla stadium. The deputy in charge of sports was called upon to speak and recall everything that Amiens Métropole does for the club and sport in general. He then mentioned the Chapter stage which is located a stone’s throw from the Unicorn and which has recently been once again made available to certain clubs in the cityin particular the ASC after work which was necessary and in particular concerning the synthetic. Guillaume Duflot then indicated that for two days, following a meeting of the Municipal Council, that the name of Paul Imiéla would be officially attributed to the Chapter.
Information that we had already unofficially announced in our columns. The Paul Imiéla stadium will be officially inaugurated next spring and it is the world of football that will pay a deserved tribute to this exceptional player. Paul Imiéla arrived in Amiens in 1964 and ASC was the club in which he grew up, acquired a reputation as a truly remarkable libero at a time when, under the direction of its coach André Grillon, Amiens SC practiced what was then called, line defense. Paul Imiéla was the captain of the team and he was selected by André Grillon for the French team. At the end of the last century, Paul Imiéla was named by the readers of Courrier Picard as PLAYER OF THE CENTURY. It was therefore normal that its name was that of a stadium or a street.
Let us remember thatAmiens does not forget its former athletes and football is well represented since we have Urbain Wallet, Henri Leclercq, Hugues Jullien, Maurice Thédié, Virgile Dufossé stadiums while streets honor the memory of Jacky Braun, André Grillon. We interviewed Guillaume Duflot to discuss the choice of Paul Imiéla: “First, this choice to give the name of Paul Imiéla was voted unanimously during the last council of Amiens Métropole. It is a real pride to honor our city. Paul Imiéla is part of our historysince he stayed more than fifteen years at the ASC, was an international amateur and played around 400 matches in Amiens. It is completely natural that, with Alain Gest and my colleagues, we wanted to pay tribute to Paul. Since its creation, this stadium bore the name of rue du Chapter. From now on, he will be called Paul Imiéla, who was an artist in football. We will continue to name stadiums or streets after city athletes who have worn our colors high. »
Lionel Herbert
Photo credit: Kevin Devigne – Gazettesports.fr (illustration)
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