How To Start A Football Viewing Center In Nigeria

Football viewing center business is trending these days. This is because football is one of the most loved sport with a large fan base all over the world. It is a form of entertainment for people of different cultures, backgrounds, ages, and gender.

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Many young Nigerians leave the comfort of their homes to watch football matches with other football enthusiasts in public places. These public places; viewing centers, bars, or café make watching a football match fun because you have the company of club fans. Besides some people cannot afford a DSTV decoder coupled with the epileptic power supply that is prevalent in Nigeria.

As a result, operating a football viewing center has become a profitable business to venture into. International clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Man City, etc. all have fans who cannot wait to watch them play live. Also, the result of these matches determines the fate of bets.

This is a viable business opportunity for anyone to start especially if you have an interest in sports. In this piece, I will take you through the steps of starting a football viewing center in Nigeria.

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Football Viewing Center

Football is a unique sport in the sports and entertainment industry. It is a team sport that involves varying degrees of actions like kicking a ball to scoring a goal. This game can be watched in a viewing center

Football viewing center is a place with an indoor facility where football lovers pay a certain fee to watch live football matches. It is driven by the need for customer satisfaction and can be operated as a sole business or with other complementary services like bars and café.

Also, it is a kind of business that thrives in high-spirited public places, residential areas, higher institutions, and every area dominated by youths especially males.

You might be wondering, is it easy to start? First, nothing is easy. You have to put in the work if you want a sustainable business. I will take you through the steps of setting up a football viewing center.

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How To Start A Football Viewing Center In Nigeria

Have A Business Mindset

Every business requires strategic planning. Before you set out in this business, you have to have the right mindset and understand that you are not in for jokes. You have to come to terms with the fact that you are starting a business that has the potential to grow.

You have to understand what works and what does not work. Also, develop and learn people’s and management skills, because you will be dealing with diverse people of different cultures and orientations. Ultimately, you have to be professional and set ground rules right from the beginning.

Business Plan

Next, prepare a business plan. A business plan is a document that states the aims and objectives of the business. It contains the direction to your desired business destination which can be improved as time goes on. It involves goal identification, market research, and strategy, pricing, competitors analysis, financial analysis, etc.

Having a business plan ensures you have a road map and it goes a long way to ensure the success of the business.

Business Registration

The next thing you need to do is to structure your business by registering it with CAC. This shows you are running a business and not a hobby. There are many benefits to registering your business. Aside from being a trusted business, you can access loans and other benefits tailored to entrepreneurs from corporate entities.

To get your business registered and structured, go to the CAC website or contact companies like ReDahlia. ReDahlia is a solution center for entrepreneurs across the globe and offers business support services to entrepreneurs.

Capital

Capital is very important to start and run any business. Setting up a standard football viewing center might cost about 800,000 naira (more/less) depending on the location.

How do you raise the capital for this business? You can start with your savings, or money from family and friends. It may be a bit difficult to get bank loans for this kind of business but you can look for investors or seek out partnerships with persons who can fund your business.

If you are seeking funding from investors or from partners, make sure that terms are written down and signed. Please do not sign anything you don’t understand. Employ the services of a lawyer to help you out.

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Location

This is the most important thing in setting up a football viewing center. It is best located in busy and residential areas. The location should be safe from any hazard, crime, high tension cable, etc.

Also, a football viewing center can also be situated in developing or underdeveloped areas, and higher institutions where the majority of football lovers are without a cable network TV.

Your location determines how much profit you will make. A location where the prospective audiences can access easily will ensure you have a steady stream of customers.

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Set Up Venue

When you have found your location, build, or create a shelter. You can make a trampoline, or build a small hall based on your budget. Just ensure it is built in a way that onlookers who are not paying for the services won’t intrude.

Also, consider the number of people the building can accommodate and possible expansion plans. Create space for chairs, television set stand, e.t.c.

You can start with a space that can take 50 people if you don’t have much capital. The rule is always to start with what you have and grow from there.

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Equipment For Football Viewing Center

The basic items you need to operate a football viewing center are:

Television Set

Television is the most important item you need for this business. You can get two to three depending on the size of the space. For instance, there could be two to three matches going on concurrently. This way, viewers can view any match of their choice.

Even during a single match, these TVs can be positioned in places where people won’t have to strain their necks while watching the match. The bigger the screen, the better the view.

Quality coloured flatscreen television with a good sound system is better. Based on your budget, you can get a brand new or a fairly used TV that has the above qualities.

You can also get speakers to enhance the sound and a projector as the business grow.

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Chairs

This can be wooden or plastic depending on your budget. If you have adequate capital, you can get a very comfortable chair that suits the standard you want to create.

Fans or Air conditioner

Except you want the whole environment mopped up with odours, there is a need for ventilation. Depending on the size of the space, you can get 2-3 air conditioners or fans.

The center needs to be comfortable for continued patronage. Otherwise, people will leave you for the competition.

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Decoder  

For this business, the best decoder is DSTV because they own the right to airing matches from most of the top leagues. You can do your research as things change every day. Get 2-3 decoders, so you can air different matches at the same time.

For instance, if in the Champions Lague, Liverpool vs Barca is scheduled to play at 2 pm and Man Utd vs Arsenal is also scheduled to play at 2:15 pm in the Premier League the same day, what happens? Remember that these are important matches.

Having more than one decoder will help you satisfy different customers at the same time. Make sure that the subscription you have with DSTV meets your need.

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Electricity

A standby generator is a must-have in a standard football viewing center. In case there is a power supply interruption, the generator will be a backup plan.

Also, you can invest in an interrupted power supply (UPS) system or affordable solar inverter. This is because a DSTV or Gotv loading time is about 3-5 minutes which can be frustrating especially during ongoing matches if there is a power interruption. Hence, a UPS or inverter can save you from the rebooting time before the generator is switched on.

Board

With boards, you can advertise upcoming match fixtures and time in order to keep viewers abreast of upcoming games. Specify the date in the West African time.

For the board, you can make use of a white or a blackboard, just ensure it serves the primary purpose. You can also use electronic ones if you can afford it

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Other Equipment include;

• Electric power stabilizer: To regulate the television in case of light fluctuation.
• Air freshener: To make sure the center smells good.
• Bulbs: To illuminate the atmosphere especially at night
• Wire/Cables: To connect the TV, and decoder to the power source. Here, you must ensure that wire and cables are properly connected to avoid fire outbreak or explosions.
• Tickets: As confirmation of payments for entry purposes. This is important so people don’t play smart on you. You can give printed slips as a receipt in exchange for cash at the entry point. This way, they are paying for the service you are rendering.
• Extension Socket: You can make provision for as many sockets as you can so customers can charge their devices while watching football.
• Table: This is optional except you intend to add other services.

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Marketing

As soon as the viewing center is ready, create awareness by telling your neighbors and friends first. Erect sign post in strategic areas within your environs so people from far and wide can be informed about the business.

At inception, you can offer free viewing for about two days and ensure to provide your best service. It is a way to get people to try your service and if they like your service, they will surely return.

Also, get listed on business directories, so you can be found by a football enthusiast who is new in town. These sets of people can do an online search to know the nearest football viewing center. You need to build your social media presence as well where you announce fixtures.

In addition, make sure your prices are competitive enough. They shouldn’t be too high so you don’t lose customers and should not be too low either so you don’t run at a loss. For instance, in some localities, viewing centers charge between 50 – 200 naira per match. So, do your research and price yourself accordingly.

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Important Tips

A football viewing center is a business that can be operated with other complementary businesses. Football matches are seasonal, so you have to look for other viable businesses you can run alongside the football viewing center.

Some businesses that you can run alongside your center are: bars, pepper soup joint, café, betting house, games play station, movie viewing center, etc. Put on your thinking cap.

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Conclusion

Running a football viewing center business requires certain skillsets like coordination, management, and a good client-centric approach.

Like we mentioned before, the center is home to many, therefore you have to pay extra attention to security. Most of the people may not be professional, they may be rowdy, and careless talkers, so you need to learn how to manage these sets of people without hurting your business.

As with every business, nothing is written on stone. You need to work hard and be determined to succeed before success will come.

Are you currently running a football viewing center in Nigeria? We will like to read how you started in the comments.

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