As early as 2019, in an interview with Sport-Ivoire, Mahama Coulibaly set out a thesis that remains the backbone of our agency:
An economy
A match involves far more than two teams: ticketing, transport, catering, hospitality, equipment makers, security, broadcasting rights. Every major event, such as AFCON 2023, powers entire industries. Treating it as a sector means it can be measured, planned and opened to investors.
A medium
Sport gathers audiences few programmes still reach. It creates appointments, heroes and stories. For a brand or an institution, it is a communication channel in its own right, provided it is treated as one, with an editorial line and content, not just advertising space.
An employer
Behind the athletes are professions: club managers, trainers, journalists, broadcast technicians, event organisers, marketers. Structuring sport opens careers, especially for young people.
What it changes in practice
For governments, it means sports policies assessed like economic policies. For federations and clubs, professional management and diversified revenue. For companies, partnerships designed as investments. That is exactly where Esprit d’Équipe comes in: advise, structure, promote and train.
Mahama Coulibaly likes to recall another line: “Sport is politics in miniature.” A country that organises its sport well shows it knows how to organise, full stop.