Olympique de Marseille adds Ivorian side as its first African partner club
Image by OM & YFC
Olympique de Marseille has confirmed Yamoussoukro FC as the newest member of its Powered by Marseille cooperation network, the first time the French club has extended the international partnership programme to an African club.
The network launched in December 2025 with Gimnastic de Tarragone, the Catalan side, as its founding member. Yamoussoukro FC adhered to the network that same month, according to Ivorian outlet RTI Info.
Yamoussoukro FC, recently promoted to Ivorian Ligue 1, is pitched by the network as a modern, ambitious club with deep local roots and its own development plans already underway.
The relationship between the two clubs predates the formal announcement.Under the agreement, OM will exchange technical staff with Yamoussoukro FC, support the development of the Ivorian club's academy, and back initiatives meant to raise the club's sporting profile within its local and national game. Neither side disclosed financial terms. Powered by Marseille is built as a transfer of methodology and expertise, not an investment or ownership vehicle.
Scale Without Spend
The appeal of Yamoussoukro FC is scale without spend. The Powered by Marseille model lets the club plant its badge in new markets by trading coaching know-how and brand association rather than capital, the same approach that has taken clubs like Manchester City and RB Leipzig into partner networks across Africa and Asia. Ivory Coast, with a talent pipeline that regularly outpaces what the domestic league can hold onto, is a logical entry point.
Yamoussoukro FC newly arrived in the top flight, the trade is credibility and technical support it might not necessarily been able to afford otherwise. Academy backing from a club that develops and sells players for tens of millions of euros a season carries more weight for a provincial Ivorian side. The friendly played before the partnership was announced suggests this wasn't a cold approach: OM had already taken a look at the fit on the pitch. Powered by Marseille has run for barely eight months and now counts two member clubs (Gimnàstic de Tarragona in Spain and Yamoussoukro FC) as part of the network.
