Scope

• Sponsoring strategy
• Internationalization strategy
• Market & company analysis

Context & Problem

This work was carried out as part of a recruitment process for my final-year internship. The brief was to identify three strategic partnership opportunities for AS Monaco for the 2026–2027 season, and then explore in greater depth the one that could represent the strongest fit for the club.

The core challenge was to find partners that could help AS Monaco grow in the right direction, while staying aligned with the club’s identity and ambitions — and I only had a few days to build the recommendation.

Understanding & Insights

By analysing AS Monaco’s positioning and strategy, I understood that one of the club’s main objectives today is to expand the AS Monaco brand internationally, while also strengthening its image as a high-performing and innovative club.

At the same time, it was important to preserve the local, premium and distinctive identity that makes AS Monaco so unique. The real challenge was therefore to find the right balance between the club’s heritage and its international growth ambitions.

The ideal partner had to be aligned with these objectives, but also have the positioning, credibility and activation potential to create engaging and meaningful experiences.

I initially selected three potential partners:

Samsung
A strong option to support international expansion, especially in Asia, while reinforcing AS Monaco’s image as an innovative club. However, the partnership felt slightly too ambitious and not directly connected enough to performance.

Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer
A very relevant partner to strengthen Monaco’s premium and local identity, while creating new hospitality and VIP experiences. However, it was less aligned with the club’s internationalisation and innovation ambitions.

WHOOP
An international brand that perfectly combines performance, innovation and premium positioning. WHOOP also represents a sector not yet covered by AS Monaco’s current partners, is already connected to football, and is still a growing player in the European market. These elements made WHOOP the most interesting partner to explore further.

What Is WHOOP?

That is why I chose WHOOP as the strategic partner to recommend for AS Monaco.

WHOOP is a wearable performance tracker designed to measure strain, recovery and sleep, helping elite athletes better understand how their bodies respond to training, competition and recovery.

Backed and worn by global icons such as Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James and Michael Phelps, WHOOP is already very strong in North America and is continuing to expand across Europe.

Why It’s Relevant

This partnership creates a strong alignment of values and objectives between both brands. WHOOP stands for performance, premium positioning and innovation — three pillars that are also at the heart of AS Monaco’s development strategy.

WHOOP has also recently entered the football market through a partnership with PSG, showing its interest in investing in premium football clubs and expanding its presence in European football.

For AS Monaco, the partnership could help to:

• Reach new markets, especially in North America
• Reinforce the club’s image around “innovation for performance”
• Improve recovery, training and performance tracking through technology
• Reach international fans and create new global opportunities

For WHOOP, the partnership could help to:

• Gain visibility and rights through a premium football club and high-profile players
• Continue its expansion in Europe
• Strengthen its brand image by associating with a club that shares the same values: premium positioning, innovation and performance

Type of Activations

This partnership would allow AS Monaco and WHOOP to combine branded activations with real relevance for athletes, the club and fans.

WHOOP technology has the potential to connect athlete health, performance data, entertainment and fan engagement. For this case, AS Monaco asked me to propose two activations: one involving five AS Monaco players, and one dedicated to social media platforms.

One of the activations I proposed was The Cold Bath Challenge.

This would be a YouTube video format featuring five AS Monaco players, filmed at the AS Monaco Performance Center. In the middle of the room, there would be a cold bath. Each player would wear a WHOOP band and enter the cold water for 30 seconds, one after another. The WHOOP band would track each player’s heart rate. The objective would be to stay calm, control their breathing and keep their BPM as low as possible. At the end, the player with the highest BPM during the challenge would lose the game and have to give back his WHOOP band.

This concept is interesting because it directly links the product’s functionality with recovery and performance, while placing it in a credible environment: the AS Monaco Performance Center. It is a strong mix of entertainment, product storytelling and athlete recovery. It is also easily replicable through other challenges, and fans could even recreate the challenge at home and share their own results.

The choice of players was also strategic. For example, including Paul Pogba would make sense because of his strong connection with recovery and his journey to return to his best level. Including an international player such as Folarin Balogun would also help WHOOP connect with its North American audience.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed working on this project. It was a great opportunity to present my ideas to a football club that I have followed and appreciated for a long time. I received very positive feedback from the team, and I was honoured to see that my work resonated with professionals who play an important role in the sports industry. A big thank you to Guillaume and Nicolas for the opportunity and for the great exchange we had.