How to find a sponsor for an amateur football team

If you've set out to find a sponsor for your amateur football team, the good news is there are more opportunities near you than you think: neighborhood businesses, local trade associations, and even companies run by the club's own parents or members. The key is knowing where to look and what to offer in return.

Where to look for a sponsor for a football team

Before reaching out to big brands, look at what's closest to you. It's usually the ground with the best odds of success because a connection already exists.

Neighborhood businesses

Bars, gyms, sports shops, driving schools or hair salons near the pitch are natural candidates. Many of their customers overlap with the team's families, so sponsorship gives them direct visibility with their audience.

Local trade associations

Retailer associations, local chambers of commerce or professional bodies sometimes set aside funds to support sports projects in the municipality. It's worth asking directly whether there's any collaboration scheme.

Businesses run by parents and members

Don't underestimate the club's own network. Many parents or members run their own businesses or work at companies that might be interested in sponsoring. An internal request, framed well, usually gets a good reception.

Which kit zones to sell and their relative value

Not all jersey zones are worth the same. Visibility varies by location, and that should be reflected in the price you ask. As a rough reference, you can take the chest as 100% of value and calculate the rest proportionally:

• Chest: 100% of value, the most visible zone in photos, broadcasts and social media.
• Back: around 65%, very visible during the match to the crowd in the stands.
• Sleeve: around 45%, good visibility in celebrations and close-ups.
• Shorts: around 25%, an entry-level option for companies with a tighter budget.

This scale lets you offer several options at once, adapting the price to each budget instead of proposing a single fixed package.

Realistic figures per season

Amounts vary a lot depending on category, city and the club's visibility, but as a general guide for amateur teams it's common to see ranges between €100 and €1,500 per sponsor and zone in local categories, sometimes exceeding €3,000 for clubs with a larger following or several categories within the same club. These are estimates, not guaranteed figures: every negotiation is different.

Combining several small sponsors across different kit zones is usually more realistic than looking for a single company to cover the team's entire budget.

How to organize the search for a sponsor for your amateur football club

Searching for a sponsor for an amateur football team without at least some structure usually ends up in scattered messages and replies nobody follows up on. It's best treated as a small project with defined steps.

1. 1Make a list of businesses and contacts close to the club, prioritizing those already connected to players or families.
2. 2Define which kit zones you'll offer and at what indicative price each.
3. 3Prepare a short, personalized message for each contact, avoiding a generic copy-paste.
4. 4Follow up a few days later if there's no response, without being pushy.
5. 5Formalize the agreement in writing as soon as there's interest, to avoid misunderstandings.

If you want to save yourself much of this manual work, at get a sponsor you can register your team and let interested companies come to you, along with templates and tools to manage the whole process.

Patrosport's role in funding your team

Patrosport connects amateur teams with companies that want to sponsor a specific kit zone: chest, back, sleeve or shorts. Registering as a team is free, and you only pay a management fee if you actually secure the sponsorship.

That fee is tiered according to the amount raised: 14% between €100 and €500, 12% between €500 and €1,500, 10% between €1,500 and €3,000, 8% between €3,000 and €6,000, and 6% above €6,000. Your team's patch manufacturing is included in that fee, while the sponsoring company covers the manufacturing and shipping of its own patches once the deal is closed.

Once there's a match between team and company, a sponsorship contract is signed electronically, and the team commits to posting on Instagram tagging the sponsor. It's a simple commitment that gives the company confidence and real visibility in exchange for its financial support.

With a well-organized search, a clear zone-based offer, and a platform that simplifies the paperwork, funding your amateur football team's season is a much more achievable goal than it seems at first.