Brett Beresford may be fulfilling a ten-year-old dream with his five-a-side football facility. But amateur football is not simply a business opportunity, it is an opportunity for businesses that have nothing to do with football.
There are multitudes of amateur and semi-profesional teams in the UK today, all of them desperate for cash. This means that there are thousands or even tens of thousands of sponsorship opportunities suitable either for local businesses or larger concerns wanting to emphasise local involvement.
While the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal tie-up sponsorship deals worth tens of millions of pounds, you can get a sponsorship deal with amateur teams for as little as a couple of hundred. Everything from full club sponsorship including shirts and stadium name to a package sponsoring extra time (yes really) can be negotiated.
If you harbour any doubts that non-professional football is massive, here's some proof:
- There are probably 650,000 active amateur footballers in England today and as many as another 200,000 in Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
- English amateur football is probably the best organised and most competitive in the world, with around 40,000 affiliated clubs playing in 2000 leagues.
- What is known as 'small-sided football' has overtaken 11-a-side to become the most commonly played form of the game in England. Small-sided-footie includes, minifootball, five-a-side, seven-a-side and its close relation, 'futsal'. The FA claims that in 2002, 4.4 million adults played small-sided football, with over a million involved in league or cup five-a-side.
- Futsal is little known in the UK but has become big business globally. It is recognised by FIFA and UEFA with World and European Championships for club and national teams. It is basically the five-a-side game played on a slightly larger pitch with hockey-sized goals and a size four ball with a reduced bounce.
- The Football Foundation is a charity set up by the Government, the F.A. Premier League and the FA to revitalise grass roots sports in the UK. The Foundation is the UK's largest sports charity. It gives grants of between £100 and £1m for new changing rooms, community projects, floodlights, pitch drainage and even football kit. It claims to have given out £109,844,391 since 2001 to 337 different projects.
- Hackney Marshes in London holds the world record for the most full-sized football pitches in one place. On a typical Sunday, over 100 matches are played by amateur teams in several local leagues on 88 pitches. The area was originally marshland, but was reclaimed using rubble left over from air raids during the Second World War. Soon, however, its glory days will be in the past because much of the area is being redeveloped for the 2012 Olympics.
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