When it comes to sports, thousands of different activities and events are supported and played by people all over the world. It follows that there’s a huge and potentially profitable market for sports-related businesses – and this is where sports franchises come in.
Football, cricket, rugby, badminton, tennis and table tennis are among the most popular sports globally. In fact, statistics show the world’s most popular sport is football – or soccer as it’s known in the US – with an estimated 3.5 billion fans and 250 million players.
The world’s second most popular sport is cricket, with 2.5 billion followers worldwide, while basketball has 2.2 billion followers.
People love watching sports and supporting their favourite teams or players – but it’s not just being a spectator that we enjoy. We love getting involved too. All across the world, everyone from professional sportspeople to amateurs playing just for fun take to sports fields and sports halls on a regular basis.
How many people play sports?
Research reveals 73% of youngsters and 25% of adults play sports. Even though quite a lot of people gradually stop playing sports as they get older, those who have children encourage them to make sport a big part of their life.
Around 90% of parents of older children say participating in sports benefits their child a great deal. They also believe it’s likely that their child will carry on playing into adulthood, while 26% of parents have aspirations for their children to become professional athletes.
It’s not only competitive sports that attract people, as 60% of adults like to get their tennis shoes on, keep fit, completing more than 150 minutes of exercise per week. Obviously, there’s a huge market for sports-related businesses in many different sectors.
There’s a big market for private-sector sports businesses as young people, in particular, aspire to emulate their sporting heroes. A sporting franchise can cover many different things, such as providing coaching, selling sports products in a retail environment, running sport and leisure facilities and other connected services.
So what are some of the popular ideas for sports franchises? Read on for some ideas…
Children’s fitness
Taking into account the percentage of children who enjoy taking part in sporting activities, a children’s fitness franchise is a potentially profitable business idea. Working with young people can also be valuable to help tackle child obesity.
As well as setting up your own business, you will also be contributing to looking after our children’s health. A children’s fitness franchise can encourage camaraderie and socialising among young people while taking part in a healthy activity that contributes to their well-being.
The activities can include everything from running, gymnastics and circuit training to organised sports, such as five-a-side football, badminton, netball and more.
Swimming franchises
Children’s swimming franchises are popular, as it’s useful to be able to swim and can potentially save your life, should you be involved in an accident near water. Apart from the safety aspect of being able to swim, it’s also a fun activity that exercises all the muscles.
It also gives children the chance to socialise while keeping fit, gaining a sense of achievement when they complete a milestone, such as a width or a length of the pool. Statistics show one-third of 11-year-olds today can’t swim 25 metres.
Furthermore, many schools no longer offer swimming as part of their regular curriculum due to budget cuts, leaving a gap in the market for swimming franchises to provide a solution.
Football clubs
Judging by the way football is the world’s favourite sport, starting a football club franchise is a great option, whether it’s for children or adults. One sporting activity that has never shown any signs of decline is football. In fact, it just goes from strength to strength.
Whether you’re offering football coaching for kids, setting up a new football club in an 11-a-side league, or even organising walking football for senior players, it’s a market that is ever-popular and increases the chances of success for your franchise.
It gives you a great opportunity to set up a brand for your football club, as branding is crucial, no matter what the sector. Training is vital on and off the field, so setting up a football club through a franchise means you will receive training yourself on how to move forward. It helps to love the sport, but working as a franchisee means you will receive the training and technical support you need too.
Baby classes
There are all sorts of baby and toddler sports franchises to join, from swimming for babies to running gym classes for toddlers. Other ideas include sensory and baby development franchises, toddlers’ sports and fitness franchises, kids’ dance franchises and even yoga for kids.
Any franchise deal – especially working with young people – requires a great deal of training, which can be provided through having the backing of a branded franchise. You also need to be well-versed in topics such as insurance, technology, safeguarding participants’ well-being and the appropriate background checks for anyone working with young people.
Adult sports franchises
Of course, while we have discussed plenty of children’s sports franchises, there’s also a huge market out there for adult sports franchises.
Whether you’re thinking of setting up yoga and relaxation classes for busy adults who are feeling stressed, rugby training for men and women, circuit training, tennis coaching, go-karting or just about any other sports and fitness activity, you will find there’s a market for it.
The secret is to find your niche – ideally, something you enjoy and would do for fun anyway – and then benefit from the relevant training and support from your franchise to give yourself the best chance of business success.
While being independent in a busy and competitive market can be tough, working as part of a branded franchise lets you access a tried and tested business model, with a reputation that customers trust.
What Types of Sports Franchises are Available?
