How a club can earn from sponsors – advertising materials

What the club has to sell – an inventory of advertising space

Many clubs open a sponsor conversation with 'could you help us financially' rather than 'here is the space we have for you'. That is a big difference. A sponsor, especially a local business, pays more readily for something they can see and count.

Before you prepare an offer, list everything the club can provide:

• Pitch and hall – the fence around the pitch, stand balustrades, hall walls, the court floor, the scoreboard, the venue entrance.
• The team – match shirts (front, back, sleeve), training kit, travel tracksuits, kit bags.
• Media – the interview backdrop, match posters, the matchday programme, the club website and social media profiles.
• Transport – the minibus or coach the team uses for away games. A vehicle like that travels all over the region.
• Events – tournaments, camps, open days, anniversary matches, where a sponsor can have a stand or gazebo.
• Academy and children – children's shirts, bottles, tournament packs. Players' parents are a very local and loyal group.

Only with a list like this can you build packages.

Sample sponsorship packages and material costs

Where the figures come from (rates from our price list):

• 3 × 1 m board in coated banner – approx. €21 in a large board order (€7/m²) up to approx. €39 ordered on its own (€13/m²),
• 6 × 1 m board – approx. €42–54, 100 × 200 cm roller banner – from approx. €65,
• 2 m² court logo in R10 anti-slip floor vinyl – approx. €60 plus contour cutting (approx. €1.20/m),
• print up to A4 on 40 shirts (2 kits of 20) – 40 × approx. €3.30 = approx. €130, shirts extra,
• 300 × 230 cm interview backdrop – from approx. €240 (banner) to approx. €400 (fabric),
• minibus side graphics in cast vinyl with laminate, approx. 4 m² – approx. 4 × (€29 + €8) = approx. €150.

The price of the package to the sponsor is set by the club – it depends on reach, league and the local market. From our side one thing matters: materials are usually a small part of that sum, so it is not worth saving on them at the expense of appearance.

A printed sponsorship offer – how to prepare it

An offer emailed as three paragraphs of text loses to one that the club chairman places on the sponsor's desk in a presentation folder. Local business owners get plenty of requests for support – the one that looks professional stands out.

What it should contain:

1. A few sentences about the club – history, number of teams and players, league, achievements. Real numbers, no exaggeration.
2. Reach – how many spectators attend matches, how many people follow the club online, where the team travels for away games.
3. Packages – 2–3 options with a clear list of what the sponsor gets. Ideally with visuals: a photo of the pitch with the board added, a shirt with the logo.
4. Photos – from matches, with fans, with academy children. Photos sell better than text.
5. Contact – one person responsible for sponsors.

We print these materials: printed presentation folders (A4, 100 pcs approx. €135 net), catalogues and brochures (A4, 16 pages, 100 pcs approx. €220 net). Our studio can prepare mock-ups of boards and shirts with the sponsor's logo – a simple design approx. €43 net, studio time approx. €35 net per hour.

How to keep a sponsor for next season

A sponsor is easiest to win a second time – as long as they feel their money was well used. What works in practice:

• An end-of-season report – a few pages with photos of the boards, shirts and backdrop carrying their logo, plus the number of matches, spectators and media mentions. It does not need to be long, it needs to be specific.
• A thank-you that lasts – a certificate, a sponsor plaque or an award at the end of the season. Things like that end up on display in the company's reception.
• An invitation to a match, an anniversary, a meet-the-team event – the sponsor and their staff in the VIP area or by the backdrop.
• Replace materials in good time – a faded board from last season signals that the club does not look after its sponsor. After 2–3 years a banner is due for replacement.
• Merchandise with the club's and sponsor's logos for the sponsor's staff – mugs, bottles, T-shirts. More ideas in our guide fan merchandise and club materials.

We can also print the sponsor report – as a brochure or catalogue in a few copies.

Contracts and accounting – what to keep in mind

This is not legal or tax advice, but a few points are worth bearing in mind:

• The sponsorship agreement should set out exactly what the sponsor gets (board size, position, number of shirts, period) and who pays for the materials. It avoids disputes if a sponsor leaves mid-season.
• How sponsorship is invoiced (an invoice for advertising services, a donation, barter) has tax consequences on both sides. Agree it with the club's accountant before signing.
• If the venue belongs to the local council, check the lease or use agreement to see whether the club may put up sponsor advertising on the fence and in the hall itself.

We make the materials for every option (from boards and backdrops to minibus graphics) in one place, at our plant in Wieluń, and install them with our own crews. Boards are covered in detail in our guide pitchside advertising boards for clubs, and backdrops in sponsor backdrop for interviews. Our full offer for clubs is on the sports clubs page.