African Collaborations Group (ACG) (www.ACGafrica.com), the leading strategic project origination and collaboration platform focused on the industrialisation of sport in Africa through the origination of bankable sport and entertainment district ecosystems, today announced the appointment of Kenny Jean-Marie to its Advisory Board.
Mr Jean-Marie served as Chief Member Associations Officer of FIFA from 2020 to 2024, leading the global governing body’s relationship with its 211 member associations and overseeing the development, governance and institutional support programmes that connect world football’s central administration to the national federations that constitute it.
In this capacity, Mr Jean-Marie oversaw FIFA Forward, FIFA’s flagship football development programme, which provides tailor-made support to all 211 member associations and the six continental confederations across infrastructure, coaching, national teams, competitions, grassroots football and women’s football. He led the launch of the programme’s third cycle (2023–2026), representing a total investment of USD 2.25 billion in football development globally — a milestone widely recognised within world football as critical to the advancement of the sport’s global infrastructure and development programmes. He also played a pivotal role in the successful establishment of FIFA’s Paris office, strengthening the organisation’s day-to-day proximity to its member associations.
Prior to FIFA, he served at the Fédération Française de Football (FFF) from 2017 to 2020, first as Chief of Staff to the President and subsequently as Director of Institutional and International Relations, roles at the heart of French football’s engagement with public authorities, international governing bodies and its own federated network.
Before entering sport administration, Mr Jean-Marie spent close to two decades in senior positions across French sovereign ministries, including the Ministry of the Interior, where he held territorial and central administration functions between 2009 and 2012, and the Ministry of Defence, where he served as a Naval Officer both at sea and in headquarters staff from 1998 to 2005. A graduate of France’s École Nationale d’Administration (ENA), he combines the rigour of French public administration with hands-on experience of institutional engineering and international governance.
A native of Guadeloupe, Mr Jean-Marie was appointed by the Fédération Française de Football in March 2026 as Préfigurateur of the future Ligue Guadeloupéenne de Football, with the mandate to rebuild the territory’s football federation on new foundations following the judicial liquidation of the previous structure. His mission covers the construction of a sustainable financial architecture, the establishment of a transparent statutory and regulatory framework, and the restoration of trust between clubs, federations, public authorities and international governing bodies including FIFA and CONCACAF — a live and highly practical demonstration of the institutional reconstruction capabilities he now brings to ACG.
His appointment to the ACG Advisory Board brings to the platform a rare combination of experience across the operational governance of world football, the leadership of a multi-billion-dollar global development programme, the institutional architecture of a major national federation, the discipline of senior public administration, and the current, active reconstruction of a football federation from its foundations — capabilities directly relevant to originating and structuring large-scale sport and entertainment district projects across the African continent, where the interface between sport bodies, governments and international institutions is decisive.
“Kenny Jean-Marie brings a very particular and highly valuable profile to our Advisory Board — the combination of world football administration at the highest level, the leadership of FIFA’s multi-billion-dollar global development programme, the discipline and institutional literacy of French sovereign public service, and the current, active mission of rebuilding a football federation from the ground up. That combination is precisely what is required to originate sport and entertainment district projects that hold up under the scrutiny of governments, federations and development finance institutions alike. His presence on our Advisory Board reinforces the calibre of expertise we are assembling around ACG,” said Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard (www.Pompigne-Mognard.com), Founder and Executive Chairman of ACG.
The ACG Advisory Board provides strategic guidance as ACG originates and structures large-scale sport and entertainment district projects across the continent, aligning governments, development finance institutions (DFIs), investors, sport bodies and infrastructure partners to support the development of financially sustainable, mixed-use district ecosystems.
Africa’s sport economy is projected to reach $20 billion by 2035, yet the continent continues to lack the integrated district ecosystems required to support large-scale development. ACG addresses this gap by originating bankable sport and entertainment district projects, moving beyond single-venue development models towards mixed-use, revenue-generating and financially sustainable district ecosystems.
Through its collaborative model, ACG convenes governments, PPP authorities and regulators, development finance institutions, private investors, developers, designers and engineers, legal and transaction advisors, operators, sport federations and leagues, event promoters, media and broadcast partners, academic institutions and host communities, creating structured pathways from concept to feasibility, bankability and delivery.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Collaborations Group (ACG).
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About African Collaborations Group (ACG):
African Collaborations Group (ACG) (www.ACGafrica.com) the leading strategic project origination and collaboration platform focused on the industrialisation of sport in Africa through the origination of bankable sport and entertainment district ecosystems. By convening governments, private-sector partners, development finance institutions, sport and entertainment stakeholders, and academic institutions, ACG creates structured pathways that transform concepts into investable and deliverable district projects across the continent.
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