How To Start A Football Viewing Center Business In Nigeria

Starting a football viewing center is one of the profitable business ideas in Nigeria because football game as we know is very popular in Nigeria and a huge percentage of Nigerians watches football (both young and old, men and even sizable number of ladies) Every weekend.

They support some big teams in Europe such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletico Madrid, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, etc.  and those teams have a large fan base in Nigeria always like to watch them at various football viewing centers in Nigeria.

I am not left out too, as I go to watch the team (Liverpool) I support play in addition to other teams as many times as I can.

In a football season and using the English premier league as an example, a staggering three hundred and eighty matches are played over a period of about nine months starting from August of the present year and ending in May of the following year.

Twenty teams facing each other every week for a period of thirty-eight weeks. This outline is just for the English premier league alone, while the same outline still applies to other major leagues such as the Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, e.t.c.

The UEFA champions league and the Europa League matches are also available and of which attracts viewers.

Starting A Football Viewing Center In Nigeria

With the rate of people turning in to watch football matches at viewing center, some Nigerians have taken advantage of it and are making not just profits but a living from the running and managing of football viewing centers all over the country.

Yet, there is still a large room for more entrepreneurs to invest in this business idea as it is relatively easy and does not require high capital to start with.

Things you require to start a football viewing center in Nigeria

(1) A building/ Land

Firstly, you need a building which preferably a hall or a space in size. You will have to rent the space and incur the cost for periodically and your bargaining power matters.

However, instead of renting a building you can as well look out for land or an open space and lease it from the owner usually for a period of a year. This is more cost-effective for the future of your business than renting.

(2) A structure

This applies if you have a land or an open space you just leased . You need to build a structure on the land which usually is like a hall or a mini ballroom that is well  constructed and designed.

The size of the structure depends on how large or wide you want your viewing center to be.

(3) Chairs

You can either get plastic chairs for your customers to sit on or chair furniture. Some furniture is cheap to make and it contains about 5 people for one.

The average price for watching a big match or a star match ( as matches involving big teams are called) in a viewing centre is #70. Think of 100 customers paying you #70 each translates to about #7000 made on a single match in a day.

(4) A Dstv Decoder, Television sets

Most importantly, you need a DStv decoder with a dish satellite that you are going to be subscribing to enable you to have access to every match.

There is a Dstv dual view decoder which can allow you view two channels on two different television sets and that is exactly what you will need.

The price is usually not more than #20,000 and the subscription fee is #11,500 in a month.

You need a minimum of two television sets to start with, which can either be new or fairly used, depending on your financial power. You should budget nothing less than #100,000 if you plan on getting two brand new television sets with the right specification.

(5) A Generating set

You need a standby power generating set, as we both are aware of the epileptic power supply in Nigeria. A 2.5 KVA generator is recommended but you can also get a generating set that can power all your electronics and electricity.

You can buy the generating set online either on Jumia, Konga or offline at the nearest market next to you. You can budget #60,000 or less for your generating set.

Other things required are;

You need two or more standing fans ( ceiling fans are not good to use because of the potential damage it may cause to your viewers considering the excitement that occurs in a viewing centre). You can get air conditioning system too if you can afford it so that your football viewing centre will attract more gentle customers.

You need a UPS, in a situation, there is a blackout and you have to put on your generating set.  The UPS will keep your television set and decoder on in the meantime till you power on the generating set.

Be prepared to get the right person that will install the satellite dish for you and usually, such workmanship is  in the range of #5,000.

Having gotten a viewing center, the next thing required is to let people know about it.

How To Market Your Football Viewing Centre

• Give your viewing center a name people can remember; that is called branding. Usually viewing centers are often named after popular football stadiums like Old Trafford. You can either follow that line or give your viewing center any other name you fancy.
• Print handbills and share with people in your vicinity to let them know about your business.
• In your first week or weekend of operation, run free matches for people to come and watch.
•  Get a mini blackboard or any other solid surface that you can constantly update people on the match fixtures you will be showing and make sure you place it at a good position where people can easily see and read out the written words ( beside main roads work best and people passing by can easily view what you wrote).

After all that has been said, the football viewing center business in Nigeria is lucrative and it is good to know that with #500,000 (part from land or space) you can become an owner of a center.

It is also advisable to partner with someone if you can’t fund it alone or if you can’t devise strategies that will help boom your business.