Jan Alessie Joins African Collaborations Group
African Collaborations Group (ACG), a strategic project origination and collaboration platform focused on the industrialisation of sport in Africa, has appointed Jan Alessie to its Advisory Board.
Alessie is Co-Founder and Managing Director of the World Football Summit (WFS). His appointment will support ACG as it develops bankable sport and entertainment district ecosystems across Africa.
World Football Summit Leadership
Alessie co-founded the World Football Summit in Madrid in 2016 with Marian Otamendi. Over the past decade, WFS has grown into a global platform for the football industry.
The platform connects club executives, federations, leagues, sponsors, media organisations, technology providers, investors and public authorities.
Under Alessie’s leadership, WFS has hosted more than 30 events across 11 countries. It has also built a network of more than 150,000 industry members.
Furthermore, WFS has expanded its presence across Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Its 2026 programme includes WFS Mexico City, which took place in June. The event brought together more than 1,700 professionals from 43 countries.
The programme also includes the 10th Anniversary Edition of WFS Madrid in September and WFS Riyadh.
At WFS, Alessie works with major brands and sports organisations. He also manages relationships with regional partners and public administrations.
His role includes assessing markets, evaluating opportunities and determining where and how WFS should expand.
Before co-founding WFS, Alessie spent 18 years as a consultant and strategic adviser. During this period, he developed commercial, analytical and strategic expertise.
Expertise for Africa’s Sport Infrastructure
ACG said Alessie brings experience in international sports industry convening, strategic expansion and stakeholder management.
His experience includes working with commercial organisations, sports bodies and public institutions. These capabilities are expected to support ACG’s efforts to originate and structure large-scale sport and entertainment district projects across Africa.
“Jan Alessie has built one of the most respected global platforms in world sport. Over a decade, he has demonstrated exactly what it takes to originate, structure and scale a convening platform that connects commercial actors, sport institutions and public authorities across markets and continents. That is precisely the analytical, commercial and diplomatic capability ACG requires as we originate sport and entertainment district projects across Africa. His presence on our Advisory Board significantly strengthens the depth of expertise we are assembling around ACG,” said Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, Founder and Executive Chairman of ACG.
Developing Integrated Sport and Entertainment Districts
The ACG Advisory Board provides strategic guidance as the organisation works to originate and structure large-scale sport and entertainment districts across Africa.
The model brings together governments, development finance institutions, investors, sports organisations and infrastructure partners. The goal is to support financially sustainable and mixed-use district ecosystems.
According to ACG, Africa’s sport economy is projected to reach $20 billion by 2035. However, the organisation says the continent still needs integrated district ecosystems that can support large-scale development.
Instead of focusing only on individual venues, ACG aims to develop mixed-use districts. These districts are designed to generate multiple revenue streams and support long-term financial sustainability.
A Collaborative Development Model
ACG’s model brings together a broad range of stakeholders. These include governments, PPP authorities and regulators, development finance institutions and private investors.
The ecosystem also involves developers, designers, engineers, legal and transaction advisers, operators, sports federations and leagues.
In addition, event promoters, media and broadcast partners, academic institutions and host communities form part of the collaborative framework.
Through these partnerships, ACG aims to create structured pathways from initial concepts to feasibility assessment, bankability and project delivery.
Alessie’s appointment adds further international sports industry expertise to this model as ACG develops its portfolio of sport and entertainment district projects across Africa.
