Sports agents play a vital role in scouting athletes and promoting them to companies and sports teams. Such agents eventually go on to launch their own sports agencies that manage a number of professional players. This profession is perfect for anyone who is truly passionate about sports and knows how to recognise and promote talent.
If you are an aspiring sports agent who is struggling to succeed in your home country, you may have considered the possibility of opening a sports agency in another country. This is a great idea as it allows you to access a different market with a new talent pool and better prospects.
Many sports agents set up sports agencies in European countries such as the UK, France, and the Netherlands for this very reason. If you decide to pursue this strategy, this guide can help you in your journey.
Here is how to set up a sports agency in the UK, France, and the Netherlands.
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Select the Right Agency Name
The first step in starting a sports agency is to select a good name. It’s tempting to go with the first generic title you come up with. However, you need to remember that your agency name will be vital in your branding efforts and can impact your promotional abilities in the future.
For this reason, you should focus on finding a name that is both unique and memorable. This name should also align with the sports fields you will be focusing on. For example, if you intend to focus on primarily football players at your sports agency, it is best to include something football related in your title.
If you plan to amass a clientele that covers different sports, you can go with a more general name such as X Sports Management.
Once you have found a suitable name, you should research whether there is another company with the same name in the country you intend to set up your agency. You can do this by checking the government websites dedicated to this in the UK, France, and the Netherlands.
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Create a Robust Business Plan
The next step is to create a robust business plan for your sports agency. Such plans are important as they will serve as a guide to help you set up, structure, and eventually grow your company in the country you have chosen.
A well-made business plan conveys your competency in setting up and running your business. Therefore, it will also be vital if you intend to pitch your business to investors for funding.
Your sports agency business plan should include information such as:
An Industry Overview
Your business plan should include information about the size of the sports agency market in the country you have chosen. It should also mention how this market size is projected to increase in the future. You can attach information from industry reports to reports to give your claims greater backing
Executive Summary
An executive summary is designed to provide an overview of what your report contains. Therefore, it should start with a brief portion that discusses the sports agency industry before delving into your intended business and how you intend to run it in your chosen country.
Your Services
This section will discuss what services you intend to provide for athletes as well the companies and organisations you intend to match them with.
Agency Structure and Roles
In this section, you can go over your agency’s intended managerial structure. This should provide an overview of your management hierarchy and also provide information about the duties that people in each role will be expected to perform.
SWOT Analysis
The SWOT analysis lists your agency’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Target Market
This section should include information on your target market. In this case, you will be targeting both athletes and sports companies and organisations. You should determine how big the market for both these are based on your sports focus area.
Sales Forecast
Once you know you know your market size, you can forecast your sales for each year. This sales figure should project larger earnings for each successive year as your agency gains more attention and builds up a favourable reputation in the country you have chosen.
Budgeting and Expenditures
This section should discuss how much startup capital you have and how you intend to manage your expenses in different areas.
Expansion Strategy
Your expansion strategy will include information on your intention to expand your business after establishing it in a particular city. This is the eventual goal for many sports agencies as expanding allows them to reach clients in different cities and boost their total revenue.
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Register Your Company
The next and most important step is to register your company in your chosen country. The UK, France, and the Netherlands all have different registration processes for sports agencies, so you should understand each one thoroughly.
Registering Your Sports Agency in the UK
Registering your sports agency in the UK is a multi-step process. You must first register as an intermediary. Next, you must register with the associations that govern different sports. So if your sports agency intends to focus on football, you will need to register with the English Football Association.
In some cases, you may be required to pass an exam to call yourself a sports agent in certain sports fields.
Registering Your Sports Agency in France
Before registering your sports agency in France, you must first understand French laws in this area. For example, foreign-born citizens who intend to become football agents are not allowed to apply to the French Football Federation. However, you can apply for the right to practise with the Commission of Sports Agents if you have a licence from another European Union country.
Registering Your Sports Agency in the Netherlands
The Netherlands no longer requires sports agents to take an examination to work as intermediaries. However, they must still register with the appropriate organisations governing their focus sport.
For football, you will need to register your company with Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbal Bond (Royal Netherlands Football Association) or KNVB. You must also register every agent in your company with KNVB.
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Set Up Your Office
Once you are done with the sports agency registration process, you can focus on setting up your office. Be sure to choose a location in a city where you expect to find local talent and are close to sports organisations.
You should also choose this location based on the amount of startup capital you have. So it might not be worth renting out a large office space if you don’t expect to have a large number of staff at your agency in your first year of operations.
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Start Hiring Staff
Next, you should start hiring staff based on your intended company structure. This includes other sports agents, accountants, HR managers, etc…
You can bring some people over from your home country for this purpose, but it is generally better to hire locals due to their familiarity with the country you have chosen.
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Network
Now you can finally start the process of finding potential clients. You should definitely focus on marketing your business in different ways. This includes newspapers and sports magazine advertisements. You should also create an SEO-optimised website and promote your agency on social media platforms.
Networking is a vital promotion tactic that can help you in multiple ways. You can go out and meet representatives from sports teams at industry events. This is a great way to get your name out there and make contacts who may be interested in acquiring new players.
You can then attend sports games to scout out potential athletes who may be interested in joining a different team or league.
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Expand Your Business
Once you have established your business in the country and have amassed a large number of clients, you can start focusing your efforts on expanding your business in different cities.
This process should be easier than the one you went through to set up your initial agency. This is because you won’t have to register your agency multiple times and will already be familiar with the other set-up steps. You can also rely on the positive reputation you have built to help you find new clients in other cities.
How OpenAEuropeanCompany Can Help
As you can see, setting up a sports agency in the UK, France, or the Netherlands is a multi-step process that requires plenty of work. You will need to perform adequate research and ensure you understand local laws before attempting to do this.
It will be easier for you to navigate such hurdles under the guidance of the professionals at OpenAEuropeanCompany. We have helped many clients set up sports agencies in different European countries. Please reach out to us for guidance or to learn more about our services.
