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The list of African and African players who have worn the Olympique de Marseille (OM) jersey is already long. From the Franco-Algerian Djamel Belmadi to the Malian Salif Keïta, passing by the Senegalese Mamadou Niang or the Burkinabé Charles Kaboré, the names of these prestigious footballers remind us that the Marseille club is undoubtedly, in France, the one that has built up the thread strongest relations with Africa. And the OM has decided to further develop these links with the continent, through a bundle of initiatives called "OM Africa"
The first projects were born in the fall of 2019, with the opening of two football schools in Algiers and Tunis and the signing of a partnership with Diambars, the famous Senegalese training center from which, among others, , Idrissa Gueye, today at Paris-Saint-Germain. Another school will soon open its doors in Morocco and OM is chatting with several clubs or academies, including the famous TP Mazembe (DRC), one of the most powerful in Africa.
"For the OM, Africa was obvious. The club is very popular in the Maghreb, in Senegal in particular, and the city of Marseille is itself a city that has forged ties with Africa ", explains Laurent Colette, managing director of this club which is owned, since 2016, by the American businessman Frank McCourt.
Strengthen its presence in the Maghreb
The partnership with Diambars has been in the pipeline for several years already. It will last at least three years and will focus on technical exchanges between French and Senegalese trainers. If the two entities remain very discreet on the financial side of the operation, they are more verbose on its sporting aspects. OM will provide support in the medical and performance areas. It also has a priority option on two Diambars players each season, and "If the OM wants three or four, we would find a solution"said Saer Seck, the Senegalese president.
Laurent Colette clearly dissociates the different facets of this African project. "With Diambars, it's a partnership with an elite academy, which trains players for the highest level, he emphasizes. Soccer schools (for 5-16 year olds), This is another thing. These, insists the Director General, are open to everyone, regardless of level. Young people need to learn "OM values, OM methodology, benefiting from the presence of an OM technical director"continues Mr. Colette.
In North Africa, OM is a club particularly appreciated and followed on social networks by hundreds of thousands of supporters. "There are 300,000 on Facebook in Morocco", specifies the Olympian leader. The strengthening of its presence in the Maghreb could generate interesting economic spinoffs. The opening of the football school in Algiers has resulted in a substantial increase in the sale of jerseys. "We wish to bring together and unite supporters of OM on the African continent", announces Mr. Colette.
Club popularity in Africa
When, on December 9, 2019, during the Marseille-Bordeaux match, the OM Africa project was officially launched, several African players who had worn the Olympian jersey were invited. Among them, the Cameroonian Joseph-Antoine Bell, who spent three years (1985-1988) at OM, is no stranger to the popularity of the club in Africa: "I became the first black goalkeeper in France, while in Europe there was a certain form of mistrust: an African, considered nonchalant, could not occupy such an important position in a team. " For the player, this recognition has helped strengthen the bond between Marseille and Africa. "Africans saw OM as innovative, capable of making an African their number one goalkeeper, and even their captain. For them, I was not only an important player of a big French club, but also someone capable of expressing myself well on TV ", he specifies.
The former goalkeeper of the Indomitable Lions between 1976 and 1994 is inevitably satisfied to see the OM set up more significantly in Africa. "It could even have happened earlier, OM should have turned to this continent much longer"said Bell, who remembers five years ago discussing the matter with a member of the club’s former management.
Laurent Colette says he wants to register this project " in the time " and does not rule out the possibility of associating former African OM players with it, "Depending on their availability, especially if our system is likely to expand". Basile Boli, the former French international of Ivorian origin from OM, is already the club's official ambassador.
