Are you a football fan? Do you want to make money out of your passion for football? Then below is a sample business plan template on how to start a football viewing center.
Tope: Ronaldo wouldn’t have won the Ballon D’Or if Messi was fit. Messi just recovered from injury and in just 2 matches, he scored 4 goals…
Frank: As for me, Christian Ronaldo still remains the best footballer in the world, and he deserved the award.
Tope: Okay, let’s see who will win this year’s championship title.
Frank: Real Madrid Of course
This was the subject of conversation between two avid fans of Barcelona and Real Madrid when I went to watch a football match in a nearby football viewing center.
P.S: In this article, I will be using the Nigerian market as a case study because this is a country where the football viewing center business hold huge potential profit. If you are situated in other countries such as Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, China, India, Philippines, etc; you can also benefit from this case study because the economic conditions or cultural perception of your country is similar to Nigeria.
However, those in the united states, Canada, U.K, etc might not find the football viewing center business viable because of their cultural perception and economic condition. People residing in developed countries usually prefer to watch football matches in their privacy.
However, I must emphasize the point that this business can be profitable even in the United states; all you need is a touch of entertainment creativity and the money would follow.
Nigerians love soccer. Not just Nigerians but Africans and the world in general. We love the blues, gunners and so many others. We wish we could be present in some of these football matches, but as much as we like football, most people still cannot afford to buy a DSTV or subscribe to a cable network TV!
It’s a problem most Nigerians can’t deal with. And that’s where the real money is. In Nigeria, we have network cable companies such as DSTV, Strong, MyTV, HiTV, CTL, DaarSat, StarTimes, GOTV, etc.
Just imagine you own a football viewing center that has a sitting capacity of 500 and for each football match, your customers pay between N50 – N100 per match Multiply that 500 by 50 0r 100; and you will have a whopping N25,000 – N50,000 per match (approx. $320)! Isn’t that a good small scale business?
Now, are you interested in starting a football viewing center? Do you know that with a well established football viewing business, you can generate a monthly profit of at least N400,000 (approx. $3,000)? You may be skeptical or think I am over-exaggerating, but that’s the truth
Here’s what Mr. Linus Eze, a businessman who operates a football viewing center had to say about his football viewing business:
“For Nigeria’s game, I made over N120,000 from tickets, food and drinks because people came with their friends, relatives and even children to watch the Super Eagles. This is a big boom for us. It might sound selfish but the truth is I pray this crisis continues.
Our market is the European Champions League and other various local leagues in Europe, especially the English Premier League and the Spanish La Liga. I generate at least N30,000 from every EPL match.’’ That’s how lucrative this business is’’
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Have you heard of Nairabet.com? The largest sport betting portal in Africa, with over 300,000 subscribers in Nigeria alone, and several branches all across the country The CEO (Akin Alabi), makes approximately N50-100 million monthly from the platform alone! This is a sure proof that football betting and viewing business is a very lucrative business to venture into.
What You Need to Start a Football Viewing Center
- A wood bench to save start up costs. Plastic chairs are better but they are often damaged during the celebrations of goals and match wins.
- Carpet
- Standing fans, ceiling fans or air conditioner
- Air freshener
- A good generator and possibly a UPS in case of power outage to keep the TV running
- Cable TV or DSTV dish with monthly subscription
- Two big Television set with high resolution or projectors
- Bulbs
- Extension sockets
- A refrigerator just in case you want to add an extra income stream by selling cold soft drinks
- A printed ticket or coupons to identifying paying customers
How to Start a Football Viewing Center – Sample Business Plan Template
1. Get an Ideal Location
Get a good location; a location or building that has enough room for expansion. If it’s an open space like a football field, then you may need to get a carpenter to form a tent shed using zinc; and ensure that the structure is wide enough to contain a good number of people (say 100 to 300 sitting capacity). You should learn to think big and start small.
2. Set It Up
If you are on a low budget, the next thing to do is to get a carpenter to make wood benches for you as it minimizes start up costs and contains a lot more people. But if you have enough capital, you can opt for single plastic chairs as they are more comfortable.
You must also ensure that the room or building is properly ventilated; so as to make your customers feel comfortable. If they don’t feel comfortable watching football matches in your viewing center, then there’s a high chance they will patronize your competitors. Do you want that? I guess NO.
Five Management Tips for Running a Viewing Center
a. Get a blackboard or notice board outside your football center to write out all upcoming matches for the day.
b. If you have more capital and you want to make your viewing center top-notch, you can employ cooks to sell pepper soup, small chops, recharge card vouchers, and cold drinks. You could even sell these things yourself. If you are married, or a good cook, you could set up a pepper soup joint beside your viewing center.
c. Another strategy to stay at the top of your game is by offering bonanzas or produce T-shirts with the name of your viewing centers printed on it. Be smart and creative. There’s so much money to be made in this business!
d. Treat your customers with respect. Customers are the backbone of every business! Be friendly to your customers. They are the sole reason you are still in business. Treat them with respect, and try to build personal relationships with them.
As a final note, if you are currently unemployed, you could try out this business. It doesn’t require much capital to start and it’s very easy to manage, if you know what you are doing.