Attracting sponsorship to support your local Rugby Club

As the cost of buying all the kit and rugby equipment, sometimes for school as well as a club side, can be somewhat challenging, a great way to make it affordable is to obtain sponsorship.

The majority of parents will go to great lengths to help their kids get on, whether that be through driving them all around the country for training and matches, offering to wash the team’s kit (not for the faint hearted), feeding them all the correct nutritional foods, being supportive in all ways generally, but the financial burden can be a nightmare.  However, fear not - some parents/local companies are in a position to help financially – this is where sponsorship come in.

If your club/school has all the players’ email addresses, then sending out a message to everyone asking for sponsorship outlining the benefits is the first step.  This can be followed up by the coach when all the players are having their post training talk on the pitch and a short letter can be handed out; parents are usually waiting nearby to take the darlings home, so this is an ideal time to raise the possibility informally, answer questions and have a chat about it.

The sponsor’s name can be printed on the rugby shirts, on the post padding, in the match programme etc.  To be honest the possibilities are endless and if you have more than one individual willing to offer sponsorship, then you may be in the lucky position of being able to purchase various items upon which to display the sponsor’s logo/message – tackle bags, advertising hoardings along the pitch, rugby balls etc which whilst not essential, are very useful and give the kids a great sense of pride in their club and therefore in themselves.

If your club has a tannoy system, then messages can be read out from the sponsor at half time, before and after the match, any special offers that the sponsor is willing to offer club members can be read out, eg 10% off any purchase at a builders merchant for example.

When a club takes its players on a much deserved tour at the end of the season, usually in May, most clubs try to kit out their teams in special tour tracksuits, rugby shirts, shorts etc and this is an ideal time to seek out sponsorship.  It gives the sponsor a wider audience; the kids always remember these tours very fondly and will keep the kit bearing the sponsor’s name long after it ceases to fit them and the parents of the players will love the sponsor forever for stopping them from having to fork out yet more hard earned dosh – frankly a win, win!!