The French group, which included members of the National Olympic Committee of Zambia (NOCZ), was in town recently to examine possible cooperation that would go beyond the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Maxime Roth, Assistant Director for Southern Africa & the Indian Ocean, and Florian Despons, Desk Officer for Southern Africa, met with NOCZ President Alfred Foloko and Secretary General Boniface Kambikambi. The goal of the meeting, which was also attended by H.E. Thomas Rossignol, the French ambassador to Zambia, was forging a long-term alliance to support sports in Zambia. Technical cooperation between the French and Zambian sports federations, with a focus on improving coach and athlete development, was one of the main topics of discussion. The goal of the discussions was to raise the OYDC Zambia - Sports Development Center to international high-performance standards by evaluating and improving it with the help of French expertise. The French initiative that helps players balance their academic pursuits with their athletic careers was a noteworthy point of attention. The team from Zambia conveyed a strong desire to implement an analogous concept, possibly initiating with OYDC Zambia as a test center. Insights from a successful project carried out in Mauritius were also presented by the French delegation, which NOCZ intends to investigate and perhaps duplicate. Looking ahead to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, both parties agreed and discussed the potential appointment of a technical director to be based at OYDC Zambia and support sports federations. The OlympAfrica Centre was also highlighted as a key environment for talent identification that could benefit from French support. Image credits: NOCZ.