Sports

From vision to victory: Unlocking value in sports

Ambitious national visions, surging investment, and growing global interest are transforming the sports sector in the Middle East. By building state-of-the-art sports infrastructure, nurturing local talent, attracting world-renowned athletes, and hosting mega events, the region has set itself up to become a global sporting epicenter.

To fully capitalize on this opportunity - and create a lasting impact - ecosystem stakeholders must address key challenges head-on. They need expertly crafted business plans, strong governance models, informed investment approaches, effective talent strategies, and market-tested plays to monetize sports.

Our mission is to overcome these challenges and unlock the full potential of the sports value chain that delivers economic, social, and reputational returns.

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What sets Strategy& apart

Backed by Strategy&’s global sports network and deep regional experience, we bring a unique perspective shaped by close collaboration with ministries, Olympic committees, federations, clubs, investors, and developers across the Middle East. Our longstanding relationships with these stakeholders have enabled us to craft winning strategies tailored to the region’s ambitions and dynamics, while drawing on global best practices to drive sustainable impact.

How we partner with you

Create transformative strategies and systems

We support regional and national government entities in developing and activating their in-house and sector strategies, including operating model design, governance framework definition, and detailing support.

Design community-wide sports programs

We work with cities, municipalities, and government entities to boost community sports participation through targeted behavioral change strategies and program designs that embed sports into everyday life.

Design high-performance athlete pathways

We advise Olympic committees, national federations, sports clubs, and elite academies on how to build integrated athlete development systems - from early talent identification to Olympic success.

Unlock revenue potential

We help sports organizations unlock new revenue streams by rethinking sponsorship, media rights, digital engagement, and fan monetization - all underpinned by data-driven commercial strategies.

Deliver mega-event strategy

We provide end-to-end support for mega event organizers - from bid strategy and institutional setup to operational readiness, stakeholder coordination, and legacy planning that drives sustained national impact.

Create world-class venues

We advise developers, investors, and governments on designing and delivering world-class venues - integrating smart infrastructure, sustainability, and real estate planning to maximize long-term asset value. We also ideate creative funding mechanisms, including concession-based models, to unlock private sector participation and support the delivery of high-impact, commercially viable projects.

Shape high-impact investments

We support investors, funds, and public-sector clients across the full investment lifecycle - from identifying sports-related opportunities to structuring deals. Our investment support covers commercialization, infrastructure, emerging technologies, and privatization of sports assets.

Drive sport-specific transformation

We bring discipline-specific expertise from across a range of sports to inform strategic decision-making - advising on best-in-class models, league development, talent structures, and technical enablers that drive competitive, commercial, and developmental outcomes.

Stories from our clients

Setting institutional strategy for a national ministry of sport

A national ministry needed support to revamp its strategic direction to match leadership ambitions and global peers. Strategy& developed an institutional strategy across key sporting pillars - including mass participation, talent development, elite performance, facilities, and events - and refined the ministry’s operating model to be fit-for-purpose for this new role.

Developing an institutional strategy and operating model for a national sports federation

A national sports federation sought to refresh its strategic direction following the conclusion of a national strategy that had set ambitious targets for the organization. Strategy& redefined the federation’s strategic direction, developed a new set of initiatives, and established performance targets. In addition, Strategy& redesigned the federation’s operating model to ensure it was fit-for-purpose and capable of delivering on its strategic ambitions.

Developing a medal strategy for a national Olympic committee

A national Olympic committee needed a strategy that would put its athletes on the podium. Strategy& supported this goal by defining cross-sports programs to unlock the wider sports ecosystem, outlining sports development plans for medal-potential sports, identifying facility gaps, detailing budgetary requirements, and more. Our team also developed machine learning and AI-powered models to assess each athlete’s medal potential and set overall medal targets.

Establishing a national sports sector governance model

A national ministry needed to redefine the governance model for its sports sector to ensure proper oversight, enable growth, and foster collaboration across diverse entities. Strategy& developed an extensive governance structure, secured alignment with ecosystem stakeholders, and ensured a successful implementation of the new governance model.

Supporting the privatization of national sports clubs

A national ministry needed ongoing support during its transition from an operator of sports entities (including clubs) to a pure regulator. Strategy& guided the ministry through the next phase of clubs’ privatization, driving several professional sports clubs to successful sales and ownership transfers to the private sector. This helped the ministry achieve its goal of fostering the sports sector as a key contributor to the national economy.

Designing a winning business case for a new sports entity

A regional sports authority needed to develop a strong business case for a new sports operating company. Strategy& conducted a market analysis to propose core business lines for the entity, then defined the entity’s operating and financial models, including comprehensive investment and cost assessment, sourcing models, and revenue projections. The business case was approved by executive leadership.

Developing a privatization strategy for national sports clubs

A regional ministry needed to develop a North Star approach for selling and transferring ownership of sports clubs to the private sector. Strategy& established a phased plan, built on global best practices and a region-specific readiness assessment. The plan ensured national sports clubs would be owned and led by capable private-sector players and aligned with national sports ambitions.

Identifying high-potential sports investment opportunities

A national investment fund was tasked with identifying investment opportunities to support the achievement of the country’s ambitious sports development goals. After diagnosing key challenges that hindered progress toward the sector’s target state, Strategy& outlined a set of new investment opportunities with strong potential for national development impact. These opportunities were accompanied by a set of critical enablers required to activate and sustain the proposed investments.

Creating a launch-ready business plan for a new sports-sector company

A regional giga-project wanted sports to be a key element of its value proposition. Strategy& developed a comprehensive business plan for the setup of a new sports operating company, outlining business areas of focus and defining the entity’s operating and financial models, including staffing requirements, sourcing models, and revenue projections. The business plan was approved by executive leadership.

Attracting private-sector investors to a regional sports authority

A regional sports authority wanted to attract private-sector players to invest in the region’s sports economy. Strategy& helped translate the region’s brand identity - focused on community participation, high performance, adventure sports, and sports tech—into a detailed blueprint for engagement, identifying key investment opportunities across infrastructure, events, and innovation enablement.