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Final Preparation Workshop

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EUROPEAN SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS | Nilsa Pereyra | Word count: 2693

Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................................2
Body.......................................................................................................................................................3
Introduction and background to the industry................................................................................3
Why is this project important to me?.............................................................................................4
My sources of data............................................................................................................................6
My Research Question:....................................................................................................................8
Hypothesis:........................................................................................................................................9
Methodology:..................................................................................................................................10
Conclusion:.........................................................................................................................................12
Bibliography.......................................................................................................................................14
Appendix.............................................................................................................................................17

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Introduction

In this respective essay, I intend to elaborate on formats that will be conducted not only now

but also during the process of my final dissertation. As my final project will be a business

plan explaining the opening of a youth football academy for underprivileged SA, I will use

this essay to explain methods on how I intend to find information and whether the plan is

realistic.

What will be explained in this essay includes points regarding the youth academy business

itself, my primary sources of data, my research question and whether it is SMART, what I

believe is the answer to my research question and how my hypothesis may be evaluated along

with forms of primary data collection to be used.

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Body

Introduction and background to the industry

This plan will be part of the amateur football industry, giving youths between the ages of 13

and 18 years of age the opportunity to be part of a football academy whilst gaining full-time

education, onboard accommodation at their respective schools as well as food and transport.

Upon graduation from this program the players will have the opportunity to be seen by

various worldwide professional scouts and could become professional, a method previously

used by the KZN Academy.

In terms of the industry itself, youth football is a huge industry whether it be professional or

amateur youth teams, youth sports, in general, is widely practised around the world with the

markets expected to reach $77.6 billion by the year 2026. In SA itself there are 832 football

teams with their respective youth teams divided into fifty-two leagues.

With regards to elite football academies partnering with local schools, it is something new and

this is the process whereas players of that elite academy will gain a full on-board scholarship

to a partnered school which will cover their education, food, and accommodation. In return

the players will represent the schools’ football teams during the season. An example of this is

the partnership between the youth academy of Amazulu FC and Glenwood High School, from

the year 2015 they have had a partnership whereas the athletes receive up to fourteen sessions

per week along with education which is all facilitated by the school. Another example

included the partnership between the KZN academy and Durban North College.

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We want to keep kids off the streets and turn their attention and energy into something better,

an example will be Olympic boxing silver medallist Amir Khan who classified himself as a

misbehaved child before getting himself involved in sport and he then managed to divert his

energy into something positive for himself and his community as he is now a huge role model

not just in the city of Bolton but in the United Kingdom in general.

Why is this project important to me?

Being a footballer and football fan from SA who has been fortunate enough to have

footballing opportunities in Europe, I personally know how young SAns can prosper abroad

should there be given the chance. In SA however, even though football is the most played

sport amongst the youth, the investments in youth football within amateur teams as well as

schools are not as great compared to other sports such as rugby and cricket.

Another aspect as to why this is of personal importance is to allow kids in these

underprivileged areas to have a chance at not just fulfilling their football passions but also to

gain an education and keep their minds and bodies active focusing on something positive as in

SAn rural areas (townships) there is a lack of opportunity for anything, the inequality is

almost frightening.

Unfortunately, in SA, the socioeconomic inequalities are huge, only 10% of SAns live in

wealth whilst 35% are ranked as middle class and more than 50% live in extreme poverty. In

these townships, some of the economic characteristics include high levels

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of unemployment, uneven access to basic public services, low forms of housing and

infrastructure and an enormous amount of crime and violence. Furthermore, in those areas,

access to good education and extramural activities are extremely limited.

Furthermore, within the academy I intend to make a B team whereas players who can pay to

play can join the team via paying a monthly subscription. They will receive an equal amount

of treatment in terms of training and exposure to professional clubs. For any business to work,

there needs to be money, and this is how the project of my business plan will aim to generate

its money.

Financially the football business is reaching its pinnacle, whether it be the amounts paid to

clubs for footballers or aspiring players paying subscriptions to join teams. For the academy I

intend to construct, professional teams who will want to sign players from my academy will

be required to pay a fee, the intention is to give these young SAns an opportunity to get the

attention of clubs abroad preferably in Europe and a fee being paid through a European

currency for a player will be great considering how low the SAn rand is.

These are just some of the reasons why this is of great personal importance to me, not only do

I want to give youth footballing prospects an opportunity on the football front, or education

but also to give some people from these townships an opportunity in life and to become role

models in their communities.

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My sources of data:

In general, I will be making beneficial use of contextual data, which is data that gives context

to a person, entity, or event. It is widely used by business organizations for market research

and prediction. This sort of data can be formed by a variety of factors such as socioeconomic

background, general environment, and other factors.

Some examples of primary data will include interviews with managers of academies like my

business plan. Moreover, questionnaires set out for members of the management team in

academies like mines being the likes of SIA academy as well as KZN Academy. Gathering

such information will assist me in answering research questions that are needed for a business

plan of such.

Also, I intend to make use of first-hand published articles and journals such as the importance

of formal education in the training of athletes (Abasalei and Popescu, 2015), Sport as an

opportunity for community development and peacebuilding in SA (Keim and Marion, 2006)

and also How to write a business plan (MP Mckeever, 2018). Furthermore, running an

organization or business requires having a tailored business model whereas it’s elements must

contribute to the success of the whole enterprise. Therefore, I will be gathering information

from an article regarding sport clubs and their business models (Wiśniewski, 2021).

Additionally, in the football world, there is a strong need for effective management and

marketing of football clubs in an internationalized commercial world, hence I will be making

use of a well recommended book going by the name of Football and management

comparisons

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between sport and enterprise (Soderman, 2013). Finally, Andras and Havran (2015)

thoroughly investigated new strategies of football clubs in functions over the last few years

that I find highly educative whereas I intend to make effective use of it.

Other sources to be used will be Contextual factors influencing the SAn elite sporting system:

an ‘open system approach (Jacobs and Shaundre, 2021), Sport and Recreation SA

(Treasure.gov.za.2022) and also a book going by the name of Global Sport- For-

Development: Critical perspectives (Adair, 2014) another important book will be Developing

youth football players. Human Kinetics (Wein and Horst, 2007).

These academic papers, journals, governmental websites showing statistics and books are just

some of the researches that will be used in the preparation of my business plan. These

examples cover different topics from the education of the athlete, to how to write up a

business plan, how sport can be an opportunity for the underprivileged SAns as well as how

much the SAn government has invested in sport in recent years, the development of youth

footballers and the approach/methods taken by SA for their elite sports/sportsmen.

To gain extra information from current professionals in this field, I will set out a questionnaire

consisting of about 5-10 questions regarding the potential market gaps in granting entry to the

football business in SA, the environment/working team needed to construct such a project, the

strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to a proposal regarding the opening of

a youth football academy as well as the financial figures to keep in mind during a construction

of such.

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My Research Question:

What are the possibilities of creating an elite male youth football academy for underprivileged

teenagers in SA?

In terms of elaboration to the context it is important to understand that this business plan is

based on giving social opportunities to underprivileged youngsters by giving them football

and educational opportunities and allowing them to spend their time productively.

Fortunately, with the growing investments on amateur sport, with constructive planning and a

promising purpose, creating an elite academy and gaining sponsorships as well as partnerships

does make the process feasible and achievable.

This research study aims to identify the process needed to form a football academy amongst

the youth of a third world country. Therefore, to gain an understanding of what is required,

my research question is “What are the possibilities of creating an elite male youth football

academy for underprivileged teenagers in SA?”

The research questions need to be precise and SMART. SMART stands for specific,

measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound. Table 1 in Appendix describes the SMART

criteria guiding me to set my goals and objectives.

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Hypothesis:

First, what needs to be understood is what a hypothesis is, a hypothesis is a given explanation

of something made based on the evidence at a starting point for further investigation.

My assumption that I take great confidence in is that an academy of such can be formed at a

level that could be considered world class or elite. It has been proven via academies who have

previously followed a process similar to that of my intended business plan, by creating

opportunities for the underprivileged through football which is the common interest and talent

amongst many young people in SA, especially those coming from rural areas has a high

chance of having a positive social impact on them and their communities.

The investments, partnerships, and enormous amount of interest in football allows for

academies of such to have all required facilities and equipment, with the correct exposure and

nurturing of player talent which then creates professional opportunities for those players

giving the business success stories to build on and becoming known as an elite academy.

Many footballers in the modern game like Cristiano Ronaldo have come from humble

beginnings and a prime example will be SAn youngster Sphephelo Sithole who was part of

the KZN academy (similar to the one of my business plan) and then got signed to Portuguese

giants Sporting Lisbon. Not only do these footballers who come from underprivileged

backgrounds make it big in the footballing world, but they also become role models for their

communities bringing in positive influences and a sense of allowing youngsters within their

community to dream big and pursue their goals.

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Academies like that of my business plan in SA include KZN Academy as well as the Stars of

Africa Academy, both of which have provided many footballers who have gone on to be

professionals. With that along with the demand for more footballing opportunities for young

SA as well as the government’s investment in sport, I believe that it may be extremely

possible to open an academy of such as well as further creating professional opportunities for

its participants.

Methodology:

Regarding methodology, it is the study of research methods or a contextual framework for

research based on beliefs and values that guide the choices researchers make.

In terms of testing how accurate my hypothesis could be and which sources of primary data

collection I am going to use, I am going to make use of qualitative research. Qualitative

research is gathering information and analysing non-numeral data to comprehend concepts,

opinions, or experiences.

To gather qualitative information of such, there are some methods that I intend to make use of

which will differ between academy managers and academy players. With regards to the

academy managers, I intend to make use of one-on-one interviews (telephonically,

questionnaire or via video call) whereas various questions in terms of the creation of a

football academy and the logistics that come with that will be asked.

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These examples of primary sources that I do have will also be followed by books and will be

backed up by secondary sources such as journals and websites. Upon gathering the required

information from all these sources, I will have more insight on what needs to be done and

how I can then set up a feasible business plan.

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Conclusion:

To conclude, it is of significant importance that correct planning and preparations in terms of

the construction regarding the processes needed for the business plan is followed through.

Therefore, it is essential that these methods are thoroughly followed, whether it be having

useful forms of primary data, a clear explanation of the business itself, what motivates me to

choose such a business plan and why it is important to me. Additionally, how SMART the

research question is and how well other questions of research correlate with the main research

question as well as what I believe the potential outcomes could be and how they may be

backed up.

To make such an academy happen, one needs to have the correct information and data in

gathering information, one needs to speak to those who have done it before as well as part of

the academy, one needs to have and gain the correct knowledge of such a process as well as

be hopeful for positive outcomes and needs data which gives confidence to gaining positive

outcomes.

Finally, to conclude it is important to get a final understanding regarding the purpose of this

business plan. With any business plan, money needs to be made and in the football business

money is usually made from player transfers and player subscriptions. In the football business

money is usually saved through sponsorships and partnerships and it will be no different with

the academy of my business plan.

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Upon graduation of high school, players will be made available to be transferred for a fee to

professional clubs. With the business assisting players in gaining opportunities through

personal contacts, individual video footage of players being sent to scouts and put on social

media as well through agents who handle everything between players and club, the same ways

followed by academies like the KZN academy SA and Stars of Africa academy in Ghana.

The social aspect however is the priority as we intend to give these underprivileged teenagers

an opportunity to showcase their footballing abilities to a wider audience but also further their

knowledge in academics by giving them the opportunity to finish high school and maximize

their opportunities of even furthering their opportunities educationally should football not

work out for them or if they prefer to follow the university path.

These create success stories, whether it be those who achieve the status of a professional

footballer or those who have gone on to work towards a European degree. However, these are

the things that people in those underprivileged areas look up to and with the partnerships in

terms of high schools giving these athletes the opportunity to study or sponsorships with a

sports company sponsoring equipment to the academy, which then makes the process feasible

and brings the whole community together. Opportunities like this gives the youth the chance

to spend time constructively, turn their dreams into realities as well as increase the number of

positive influences and role models in the communities of SA.

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Bibliography

Adair, D., 2014. Global sport-for-development: Critical perspectives. Springer.

András, K. and Havran, Z., 2015. New business strategies of football clubs. APSTRACT-

Applied Studies in Agribusiness and Commerce, 9(1-2), pp.67-74.

Anon, 2021. Soccer. Glenwood High School. Available at:

https://www.glenwoodhighschool.co.za/sport/soccer/ [Accessed March 21, 2022].

Anon, Inequality in SA is a 'ticking timebomb'. UCT News. Available at:

https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2021-05-21-inequality-in-south-africa-is-a-ticking-

timebomb [Accessed March 21, 2022].

Abasalei, B. and Popescu, V., 2015. The Importance of Formal Education in the Training of

Athletes. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Jacobs, S., De Bosscher, V., Venter, R., Patatas, J.M. and Scheerder, J., 2021. Contextual

factors influencing the SAn elite sporting system: an ‘open system’approach.

International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics.

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Keim, M., 2006. Sport as opportunity for community development and peace building in SA.

Sport and development. Leuven, Belgium: Lannoo Campus.

McKeever, M.P., 2018. How to write a business plan. Nolo.

Research and Markets, 2019. Youth sports market projected to reach $77.6 billion by 2026 -

Comprehensive Industry Analysis & Insights. GlobeNewswire News Room. Available

at: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/12/26/1964575/0/en/Youth-Sports-

Market-Projected-to-Reach-77-6-Billion-by-2026-Comprehensive-Industry-Analysis-

Insights.html [Accessed March 21, 2022].

Soderman, S., 2013. Football and management: Comparisons between sport and enterprise.

Palgrave Macmillan.

Sport and Recreation SA, 2003. Sport and Recreation SA. Ministry of Sport in SA.

Techopedia, 2016. What is contextual data? - definition from Techopedia. Techopedia.com.

Available at: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/31778/contextual-data [Accessed March

21, 2022].

Wein, H., 2007. Developing youth football players. Human Kinetics.

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Wiśniewski, A., 2021. Sport club business model. Journal of Physical Education and Sport,

21, pp.999-1005.

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Appendix

Table 1 SMART criteria for the business plan

SMART Criteria to guide the objectives

S – Specific, the aim needs to be visible and What are my intended outcomes (social

thorough. outcome by giving underprivileged talented

footballers the opportunity to excel on the

football pitch as well as get an education)?

Why is this important to me?

Where is it based (SA)?

M – Measurable, it is vital to have How much - (an estimated amount of How

measurable goals to stay motivated and Much money do I need to start this project)

focused on what needs to be done. How many - (how many people will I need

on my management team)

A – Achievable, the goal should be realistic Based on potential challenges such as

and within reach of success. breakdown in negotiations with partners

how possible will it be to achieve the goal?

Is the goal within reach given all the

circumstances (budget, time, team)

Are there back up plans to get back on track

should there be a mishap? (what is to be

done

should we need to exceed the budget)

R – Relevant, this is about making sure that Is this the right time?

the goal is of importance and correlates with Am I fit for these tasks?

other relevant goals. Everyone needs support

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and help in reaching aspirations; however, it Is this beneficial? (Apart from being

is necessary to maintain control over them beneficial to the athletes involved, is this

and making sure that you are still beneficial to the management team, will

responsible for achieving your own goal. they get paid well, will they get recognized,

is this

beneficial to partners)
T – Time – bound, every goal need a due When? (When can negotiations be

date so that you have a deadline to keep in undertaken, and when can we aim to open

mind and work towards. Gantt graphs can be up the academy?)

a useful method to set and structure time. What can be done today?

What can I do in one month?

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