How to Start a Football Viewing Centre in Nigeria

How to Start a Football Viewing Centre in Nigeria. There is no gain repeating the obvious fact that Nigerians are chronic lovers of football or as the Americans say, soccer. A drive through the city on a weekend during the English Premier League season or the famous Tuesday and Wednesday nights which features the famous UEFA Champions League will attest to this. This article is aimed at showing you how to tap into this huge industry by teaching you how to start a football viewing centre in Nigeria.

The passion for football that used to be mainly associated with males has in recent times enveloped the female folks. This strong passion for football invariably translates into mega money. Football worldwide is valued in the region of 30 to 50 billion pounds. Therefore it is only logical to conclude that starting a football viewing centre will be a lucrative business if properly put together.

The Football Viewing Centre Business Opportunity

The passion for football shown by a majority of Nigerians means that they will always love to watch their favourite teams play. Sadly, unstable power supply and the ever increasing satellite television subscription bills means that most medium and low income earners cannot afford to watch football in the comfort of their homes.

There is also a market for those who can easily afford to fuel generators and pay for their subscription. Some people enjoy watching football alongside other lovers of the game, in the company of fans of the teams they support and their “rivals” alike. This gives them the opportunity to trade banter during and after the game.

Who Can Set Up a Football Viewing Centre?

One of the beauties of this money spinning business is the fact that almost anyone can engage in it. You do not need any special form of training or experience to be successful in it. It can be operated by almost anyone; whether a student, unemployed, working class or taken as a part time business for an extra stream of income.

The initial start off cost for a small scale football viewing centre is not high so capital is not really a hindrance, except you intend to go a large scale one.

In addressing the steps on how to start a football viewing centre in Nigeria, there are some important things that one has to put in consideration. You do not want to put in your money into a business and watch it fail. So it is important to take note of these points.

• Location

In this business as in most others, the place you decide to locate your viewing centre is extremely important. This is because a football viewing centre is the type of business that needs to catch the eye of potential customers.

Locating your viewing centre in a hidden place will greatly hinder your ability to attract new customers. You can only counter this by going on an elaborate advertising campaign, and this will cost you money.

Your ideal location for a viewing centre is along a major road in a highly populated urban area. It will also help if you can get a place with a reasonable parking space. This will make your viewing centre more visible and also accessible to potential customers.

When selecting your location it is also important to find out if there are other viewing centres around. It is best you start off from a locality where none exist. Except you have an elaborate plan on how to oust the competition.

• Capital

The capital that you will require to start will be largely dependent on some key factors.

The location you choose will go a long way in influencing what your start-up cost will be. Also, the standard of the services you intend to render will also influence the cost. You may decide to set up your viewing centre by just building a temporary wooden structure and some benches where people will sit. This setup will cost much less than if you want to go for a rented building which you might furnish with comfortable leather couches, air conditioners etc.

It is important to understand the locality where you intend to set up because this will go a long way in helping you to plan for standard of your proposed viewing centre. Assuming you intend to go for the small scale set up, after building your structure for maybe 100 people, you will need;

1. Two good television sets
2. Dual view cable TV with subscription
3. Standing fans
4. Generator set
5. Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS)
6. Wooden benches

See Sources of Capital in Nigeria

Being that the cost of these items may vary, it will be most helpful if you carry out your own market survey in your locality. Also, other cost such as rent are particular to your each location.

Some Useful Tips in Running a Football Viewing Centre

If you take a good look around your neighbourhood, I am pretty sure that you will realize the fact that lots of football viewing centres already exist. This means that you already have competition that you need to overcome for your business to stand the test of time.

Do not be discouraged by this fact because the market is there for you to explore. All you need to do is to be dedicated and creative in your approach to the business and you will succeed.

Now some tips;

• Blow Your Trumpet

As soon as you have set up the structures for your viewing centre, ensure that you let people know about it. Advertise as much as you can afford; from the simple blackboard informing people of the line-up of matches for the day to sharing flyers, if you can afford it.

• Customer is King!!!

While I am not so given to clichés this one is very applicable to this business. It is imperative that you try as much as you can to be nice to your customers. If possible, develop a kind of relationship with them. If they see you not just as someone they patronize but as a friend, there is a huge probability that they will keep coming back.

• Your Business Environment

As much as you can, ensure that the environment of your viewing centre is kept clean and conducive. Make sure your centre is well ventilated. Do not forget that females have begun to develop a keen interest in football. They are highly likely to watch football in a viewing centre that is comfortable.

• Include Side Attractions

Another way to bring in the crowd to your viewing centre is to include other side attractions. You can incorporate selling of drinks and light refreshments during the games. Watching of football and betting usually go together. You can engage an agent of one of the reputable sports betting companies to setup a stand in or around your viewing centre.

These tips are only meant to trigger your creativity. You can think about other ways that you can use to attract people to your viewing centre.

Hopefully, this article on how to start a football viewing centre in Nigeria will move you to take the necessary steps in starting up one in your neighbourhood today. If you already have one set up, I hope you have learnt something new from our business tips.

If you have other thoughts, please feel free to share them in our comments section.

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