Youth sports franchise opportunities: models, costs and other routes

The common models

Kids sports franchises tend to fall into a few broad groups. Details differ a lot from brand to brand, so treat these as patterns, not descriptions of any one offer.

• Program and league operators. You run recreational leagues, classes or skill programs for young children, often in rented gyms, schools, parks or community centres. You recruit families, hire and schedule coaches, and handle registration and payments.
• Camps and clinics. You run seasonal camps or short clinics in school breaks. Work comes in intense bursts, and bookings, staffing and venues decide how a season goes.
• Sports training franchise opportunities. You operate a training facility or a mobile training business focused on speed, strength or sport-specific skills. Facility models usually carry a lease and equipment costs; mobile models carry fewer fixed costs but depend on venue access.
• Specialised venues. Some franchises are built around a venue type, such as an indoor field or a skills centre. These are usually the most capital-intensive, because you take on property and fit-out.

In every model, you are operating a sports business: you are responsible for staff, safety, insurance, venues and the families you serve.

What you pay and what you run

A franchise usually involves several kinds of cost. Exact amounts depend on the brand and the market, and the disclosure document is where you find them.

• Initial franchise fee for the rights to the brand and system.
• Setup costs such as equipment, uniforms, a vehicle, a facility fit-out, technology and launch marketing.
• Working capital to cover the months before the business pays for itself.
• Ongoing royalties, often a share of revenue, and marketing or brand fund contributions.
• Your own operating costs: coach wages, venue rental, insurance, background checks, payment processing and software.

What you run is a real operation with seasons, staff turnover and families who expect a safe, well-organised program. Many youth sports franchises are owner-operated, so your time is part of the cost.

Disclosure rules that protect buyers

Franchise laws in many places require the franchisor to give you a disclosure document before you sign or pay.

• United States. The FTC Franchise Rule requires a Franchise Disclosure Document at least 14 calendar days before you sign a binding agreement or pay. It sets out items such as the initial fee, other fees, the estimated initial investment, any financial performance representations and the franchisor's financial statements. Some states add their own registration or disclosure rules.
• Ontario. The Arthur Wishart Act requires a disclosure document at least 14 days before you sign or pay, and gives buyers rescission rights in some cases.
• Alberta. The Franchises Act also requires disclosure before signing or paying.

• Elsewhere. Other Canadian provinces have their own franchise acts. The United Kingdom has no franchise-specific disclosure law, so buyers rely on general contract law and their own due diligence. In Europe, rules are set country by country, and several, including France and Italy, require pre-contract disclosure.

A local lawyer can tell you which rules apply where you live. Whatever the rules, read the whole document, not just the summary.

Questions to ask before you buy

• What is the full cost, now and over the term, including royalties, brand fund and required purchases?
• Does the disclosure document include financial performance information, and what is it based on?
• How many units opened and closed in recent years, and can you speak with current and former franchisees?
• What territory do you get, and is it exclusive or not?
• Who supplies insurance, background check processes and safeguarding training for coaches?
• What happens if you want to sell, or if the agreement ends?
• Which venues are realistically available in your area, and at what cost?

An independent franchise lawyer and an accountant are worth paying for before you sign anything.

Other ways to work in youth sports

Not everyone who searches for a youth sports franchise wants to run programs. Some people mainly want to build something of their own around sport without large upfront costs or staff to manage. Other routes include:

• Starting an independent program without a franchise, with full control and no royalties, but no brand or system to lean on.
• Coaching, officiating or private training as a side income or a career.
• Working for a club, league or facility in operations, coaching or development.
• Selling to clubs: equipment, apparel, services or software.

The Territory Partner pilot

Play 2 Earn Sports is piloting a Territory Partner program for independent people who know their local sports community. Partners bring clubs, leagues and academies onto the Play 2 Earn Sports platform and earn a share of the platform fee each time one of those clubs' players registers and pays, every season.

You don't run programs, hire coaches or rent venues. Territory Partners pay a one-time territory fee for an exclusive area: about CAD 5,000 in Ontario. The fee depends on where you are, and we confirm it in writing before you sign. In Ontario this is a franchise under the Arthur Wishart Act. Because the total initial investment is $15,000 or less, no disclosure document is required, but the Act's duty of fair dealing still applies. We don't sell territories where a disclosure document or registration would be required, including British Columbia, Saskatchewan and several US states. There you can join as a Sports Ambassador instead, which has no fee. After the fee it is commission only. The terms are proposed and can change before you sign, and the signed agreement is what applies.

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