The Business of Sport in France

This summer, a group of business students from the University of Evansville had the opportunity to visit the Paris offices of marketing agency CSM Sport & Entertainment. CSM has twenty-five offices across the globe and is part of the Chime Communications group, which manages a portfolio of sports marketing, public relations, and advertising companies.

CSM develops marketing partnerships and sponsorship opportunities for its clients and manages brand and communications strategy for a portfolio of companies in the sporting industry. The firm also has a talent management arm, representing some of the biggest names in sport. The CSM Paris office is located in the 16th arrondissement, just steps from Roland-Garros stadium, which hosts the annual French Open, and Parc des Princes, home stadium to the Paris Saint German soccer team.

Students met with Gérald Poncie, CSM France’s Director of Partnership Development. Poncie has over two decades of experience managing international partnerships and representing athletes in the sporting sector. His work has been predominantly concentrated in auto racing, rugby, and soccer.

Poncie introduced himself and reviewed his portfolio at CSM. He shared examples of projects with Unilever, McDonald’s, and Coca-Cola, including event and player sponsorships related to Formula 1 racing, major tennis tournaments, and rugby competitions.

France is an ideal place to study sport business and communications, with the FIFA Women’s World Cup finishing earlier this month, the Rugby World Cup in 2023 and the Olympic Games in Paris in summer 2024.

Accent collaborates with U.S. partners during the program design process to identify company visits, expert guest speakers, and other experiential learning activities to complement program learning goals. Please reach out to Accent’s Program Development team at development@accentglobal.com if you are interested in discussing these ideas for your customized study abroad programs.