The agreement, making APO Group the club’s first African partner, was formalized today at an official signing ceremony at the club’s Robert Louis-Dreyfus training ground by Olympique de Marseille Managing Director, Laurent Colette, and APO Group Founder and Chairman, Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard.
Olympique de Marseille is one of the most renowned football clubs in the world. Founded in 1899, the club has won 30 major trophies, including the UEFA Champions League title in 1993. It is widely regarded as the most popular team in France, with the most passionate fans and the largest attendances in the country.
The links between Olympique de Marseille and Africa have always been very strong, with the city of Marseille itself heavily influenced by diverse African cultures. African football legends to have played for Marseille include Abedi Pelé, Didier Drogba and Mamadou Niang, and the club has proved to be a gateway to the international stage for dozens more African players.
Support for the club is huge all over North and West Africa, where it is an instantly-recognisable, iconic brand. OM has ten dedicated fan-clubs operating in Africa, and more than four million African followers on social media, making up 38.7% of the club’s global fanbase.
To build on its proud African heritage, Olympique de Marseille has created OM Africa, a football development programme entirely dedicated to its millions of fans from the African continent. The club has established a football academy in Diambars, Senegal, while three OM Africa schools have been set up in Algiers (Algeria), Tunis (Tunisia) and Port-Harcourt (Nigeria). At these state-of-the-art facilities, local youths are taught the beautiful game by some of the best international coaches, and dream of being the next African superstar to play at the highest level.
OM Africa also coordinates regular initiatives designed to raise awareness of the game in Africa, including charity events, exclusive content and prizes for Olympique de Marseille fans, and ‘Legends’ matches.
