There’s no other sport that offers a larger global reach than football. In the UK alone, it’s a sport that’s watched, played and consumed by millions of people, every single week. From local parks and Sunday leagues, to 5-a-side courts, amateurs, professionals and of course, the elite of the Premier League.
And there is little sign that this appetite is slowing among people of all ages; given the near 21 million who tuned in for England’s Euro 2020 matches.
With such a high profile, it’s not a great surprise to learn that there’s such a demand for football camps, classes and coaching courses among school kids across the country. Whether attached to the community trusts of local pro clubs, private enterprises or local authority and education providers, there are hundreds of different soccer camps and football-based activities on offer across pretty much every part of the UK, either in-school or after-school clubs and school holiday camps.
And there are some compelling reasons why.
Increasing participation in the sport
While it may be the ‘global game’, the lifeblood of football, like any other sport, is the number of people playing.
Whether the local football club, grass roots leagues, Premier League academies or national federations (e.g. FA, FAW, SFA or IFA), increasing participation and getting more kids playing football is of strategic importance for long-term sustainability.
Increasing participation among kids means:
- More opportunity to spot talent at an early age
- More long-term sustainability in the sport
- More ‘fans for life’
- Improvements in health and social skills among kids
- More kids of differing backgrounds and genders taking up the sport
Football camps offer a fun alternative to day care
School holidays are long, and with parents at work, the need to find safe and entertaining ways for kids to be ‘looked after’ can be a challenge.
Organised activities offer an ideal solution; providing an opportunity to leave your kids in the care of qualified, licenced professionals
Such is the popularity of football, then camps that allow kids to get out and play under controlled and supervised conditions can offer huge peace of mind for working parents, safe in the knowledge that not only are their kids being properly attended to, but that they are having fun in a sport they love.
Image by Josh Dick from Pixabay
Football camps provide a consistent stream of revenue
When we hear stories of huge transfer fees, sponsorship deals and TV contracts, it’s easy to think that football at all levels is awash with money.
The reality, of course, is that the cash at the top does not always trickle down to the local levels. For schools, sports clubs or local representative football bodies, putting on holiday camps can play a major part in creating the revenue streams needed to survive and thrive.
Put on quality football camps with good coaches and leaders and you can create a cash cow with recurring value, as parents send their kids to camps year after year (typically camps can start as young as 4 or 5 years old and go through to 16 year olds).
Maximising the placements and bookings on your football camps
Football camps retain a popularity among kids and parents, from those looking for day care options and a bit of fun, to those with hopes of being the next Messi or Ronaldo. From a commercial perspective, they remain popular because they offer a continued stream of revenue and customer-loyalty.
But this popularity means that the market in many cities and towns, is pretty saturated, with a lot of choice for a lot of football camps. Which means competition for places and a need to maximise the bookings at each camp.
Making it imperative to:
- Have a simple multi-channel and online means for parents to search, book and pay for a camp
- Create a simple on-boarding and registration process
- Be able to automate confirmations and reminders
- Have a simple means of communicating and engaging with customers
- Create a following via social media channels, making it easy to direct your followers straight to the camps you want to promote
- Automate and simplify bookings, registrations and camp management so your staff can focus on delivering the best experience for the kids.
At thinkBooker, we specialise in online booking systems for training courses, classes, activities and events – optimised for efficiency, growth and ongoing client satisfaction.
Browse the site to learn more about course booking systems, sports booking systems, event booking systems and more, or get in touch directly to find out how we can help you.
