Sponsorship

What is Sponsorship?

For many clubs, sponsorship is the financial lifeblood of the club. It sounds awesome but not everyone necessarily knows the answer to “what is sponsorship”.

Raising funds through sponsorship doesn’t have to be difficult. Before we look at the strategies for attracting and maximising sponsorship packages, let’s look at some basic fundamental concepts of sponsorship.

What is sponsorship? Put simply, sponsorship is a mutually beneficial business relationship between two parties, the business (sponsor) and the club (sponsored).

In terms of sporting clubs, having sponsors can significantly help clubs to reach their goals and objectives. The financial support of sponsors is often for cost reduction around the club. This could be of players, of uniforms and competitions while also supporting the general running of the club.

Sponsorship may be in the form of cash, donated goods and services or access. Whether that is to resources or staff of the sponsor.  These goods and services can become more valuable than simply cash sponsorship through fundraising events or specialised services.

For many clubs competing in semi-professional competitions, where some or all of the participants get paid, their hopes and dreams may actually rest on the ability of the sponsorship Co-ordinator. It is their job to attract a high level of sponsorship to the club.

The more sponsorship revenue raised, the more players of (perceived) better quality they can recruit. The better their chances of success. For these clubs, their season hinges on the performance of somebody who doesn’t even take the field. This person could be a volunteer who may or may not even want to do the job, or have the skills to be successful.It is amazing how often we see this reality in clubs. The worst part about it is they don’t realise their season’s success is effectively in the hands of one person, the Sponsorship Co-ordinator.