Why Might a Fareham Business Sponsor a (or get their own) Local Team?

The next best thing to a business having its own footy team is to sponsor one or to sponsor a league.  Okay, sponsorship at local club level might not give you the return you’d get if you were sponsoring Arsenal or someone – this is not news. 

But in this age of corporate responsibility and given the level of transparency your customers and suppliers are looking for, philanthropy and supporting good, community causes isn’t just about getting a financial return on your investment.

Take Sydenhams, for example.  They have been sponsoring the Wessex League since 2003 and that’s a lot of mileage not only in terms of renaming the league “The Sydenhams’ Football League” as part of the terms of their contract - but also with regards to what they have given back to the community.   

Our very own Fareham Town club plays in the Wessex League premiership and although none of their sponsors are based in Fareham, they are mostly still local (Portsmouth, Havant etc.) – here are some club facts:

Fareham Town FC

Nickname:  Creeksiders

Chariman: Nick Ralls

Manager:  Matt Parr

Home ground:  Cams Alders

Season Ticket Cost:  £95 for an adult £40 for a child

League:  The Sydenhams Football League Premier Division (Wessex)

League Sponsor:   Sydenhams Timber and Building Supplies

Club Sponsors:  Langstone Engineering

The Ralls Group

Fostering Solutions

Bayliss Ware

Eurotech Fire Solutions

Kits 2000

P and P Campers

Then there’s Estate Agents Dibben and Dibben who sponsor Crofton school’s year 9 kit and get to have their name running about on 11 sweaty 14 year olds a few times a week.  It might sound trivial but it’s important to remember that all those kids’ parents are core potential customers of the Fareham-based company and that without Dibben and Dibben the school could not afford to invest the money they have in the team – for which everyone is grateful.

But, if you are a business that is thinking about starting up a team – where do you start?  Well if you play 5 or 6-a-side, Fareham’s Soccer City is a great place to start.  Here you’ll find everything you need from a state of the art pitch surface that’s so great to play on even the likes of Chelsea, Fulham and Sunderland have trained there!  And, if you happen to be a parent and can’t get a sitter for the match – conjoined to Soccer City is Fun City, a great and safe soft play area for the kids… and you can see them from the pitch too so you’re always reassured.  Fun City closes at 6pm though, so not an option for evening matches sadly.  Soccer City offer several choices from a kick about to coaching to full on tournaments in seven different leagues, it’s no wonder it’s the busiest pitch in Hampshire!

Fareham Leisure Centre also has a hard-floored 5-a-side court you can hire and it’s a lot more accessible than Soccer City if you don’t drive.  It’s on Park Lane, just off the town centre.

Another local leisure centre can be found in Whiteley in the Meadowside Centre with the choice of either two full size, outdoor football pitches or an indoor 5-a-side facility.

For kits you have several choices such as JJB or JD Sports in the town centre - or there are several sports shops offering good discounts in Whiteley’s shopping village.

But let me tell you about an unsung hero I discovered a short while ago – Fareham’s Klubkits.  This place offers great discounts on footy kits and can handle all your needs.  Yep, it’s a little out of the way but if you’re buying in bulk it’s a brilliant place to start and can save you a fortune!

And lastly but by no means least, that all important trophy or medal that you can show off to your mates.  Katastrophies might not be entirely appropriately named for a shop selling things you give to winners, but it is quite a cool pun ;)  They’ve been in Fareham as long as I can remember and for seriously reasonable prices will set you up a bespoke trophy and engrave it if you want them to.

But – just for fun, check out this site:  Historical Kits:)

I had great fun checking my fave team’s old kit – have a look!