About ASU
A unified Pan-African sports market drives growth, in Africa and beyond.
Founder
Gabriel Ajala
ASU began with a dissertation. While researching the Nigerian Professional Football League for his postgraduate studies, Gabriel looked for the data and reporting any serious market analysis needs and found very little. When he raised this with people working in the industry, the answer was always the same: “there is no go to place for this.”
That gap — between the scale of Africa's sports economy and the support available to grow it — is why ASU exists. Gabriel combines sports business expertise with years of programme and project delivery, so advice comes with a plan to deliver it.
- MBA, SOAS University of London
- MSc Sports Management, Birkbeck, University of London
- BA Economics and Law, University of Leicester
- PRINCE2 Practitioner and Agile Scrum Master
The opportunity
Sport contributes 0.5% of Africa's GDP against a global average of 2%.
Closing that gap would quadruple the sector's economic contribution. Getting there takes more than ambition. It takes reliable market intelligence and the strategic expertise to act on it.
Source: African Union Sports Council
Our mission
To grow sport's contribution to Africa's economy by giving the organisations that shape it the advice, intelligence and connections to succeed.
What we do
Advisory
Strategic advice for governments, federations, rights holders, investors and brands — from commercial strategy to policy and investment readiness.
View Advisory ServicesIntelligence
Original research and analysis on deals, media rights, sponsorship and investment across the continent, including the ASU Deals Tracker and market reports.
Explore IntelligenceASU Insider
A membership connecting decision makers with the intelligence and people they need to act with confidence.
Explore ASU InsiderEngage with ASU
Explore the ways to work with us and access our intelligence.