A sports club’s partners’ club, often referred to as a business club, is a network of companies that fund the club in exchange for benefits: visibility, tickets, hospitality and, above all, access to other partners. When well-structured, it combines tiered membership fees, regular business meetings and a clear tax framework that bridges the gap between sponsorship and patronage.
What is a partners’ club, and why set one up?
A sports club often has sponsors before it has a partners’ club. The difference lies in the relationship: a sponsor buys visibility, whilst a partner joins a network. And what a business expects from a network is customers.
This is the most underestimated lever. A logo on a hoarding is comparable to a newspaper advert, and is renegotiated every season. A partner who has signed a contract with another partner has a concrete reason to stay. The question to ask, therefore, is not ‘what are we selling to companies?’, but ‘what business opportunities can they secure through us?’.
Here’s an example. A partner – a logistics company – is looking for a carrier for a new route. They post their requirement on the club’s page: the request is first sent to the relevant partners, subject to an exclusivity period set by each club, and then, if there is no response, to other companies on the platform. The carrier that responds is itself a partner of another club. The two companies meet at the next networking event. On that day, the membership fee takes on a new meaning: it no longer simply buys a sign; it opens up a network of contacts.
What business models are suitable for a partners’ club?
Most clubs combine several sources of income:
The annual membership fee
A fixed amount per season grants access to the network: events, the partner directory and a few tickets. This is the entry point for micro-businesses, craftspeople and the self-employed.
Partner packages
The package combines several benefits into a single offer, sold by tier: visibility, tickets, access to hospitality areas, invitations. It simplifies negotiations.
Hospitality and boxes
Seasonal boxes, hospitality seating for specific events, and packages for a particular event: hospitality is often the most highly valued benefit, as it is used to host clients. Sold online, with payment by card or bank transfer for larger sums and tickets scanned on entry, it no longer involves chasing up payments or dealing with purchase orders.
Unsold tickets in works council batches
Seats remaining a few days before a match are not lost: grouped into batches, they are sold to works councils within the network’s companies. If the club opens the batch to non-members, other companies linked to their account can also purchase it. We explain the process in detail in our guide to setting up a works council ticket scheme for a sports club.
Tailored visibility
Advertising spaces, sponsorship deals, and the naming rights to a stand: sold separately via the club’s online shop, they complement the ticket packages.
Corporate sponsorship
Reserved for eligible organisations (see below), this most often funds training or amateur sport, without any significant return.
Would you like to see how these revenue streams are organised for your club? Book an appointment with the team, or find out more about our approach for sports clubs first.
How do you structure your membership fee scale by tier?
There is no standard public reference scale: each club sets its own prices based on its division, catchment area and capacity. Before setting your prices, check the rates published by three to five clubs in the same division and region. Here is a four-tier structure, which you can adapt:
| Level | For whom | Typical benefits | How to set the price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Very small businesses, tradespeople, self-employed individuals | Network: directory, published requirements, meetings between partners, a few places | Actual cost of places and receptions, plus entertainment |
| Partner | Local SMEs | Member level + digital visibility, places at each event | Cost of in-kind contributions + value of visibility |
| Premium | Businesses that host clients | Host venues, signage, pre-arranged meetings with other partners | Price per reception space, discounted for a full-season commitment |
| Major | Key accounts, long-standing partners | Box seats, naming rights, team kits, multi-year contracts | Negotiated on a case-by-case basis, based on a valued inventory |
Three rules to avoid common mistakes:
- Assess the value of each benefit before setting a price: a hospitality area incurs costs (catering, staff), whilst a billboard reaches an audience.
- Include the network at every level: this is the benefit that costs the club the least and which the partner can best measure.
- Limit the number of spots per tier: exclusivity (for example, a single partner per sector at the Senior level) is part of the value.
What benefits should you offer partners?
Classify them into four categories:
- Visibility: hoardings, screens, website, social media, kit.
- Access: tickets, hospitality areas, boxes, invitations for staff or clients.
- Business: a directory searchable by expertise, partner needs shared with partners, meetings arranged prior to receptions and round-table discussions during events, access to partners from other clubs.
- Image: involvement in the club’s local initiatives.
The ‘business’ category is only worthwhile if it is properly supported. A PDF directory that nobody opens achieves nothing. A space in the club’s colours, where each partner has a profile describing their expertise and can search for ‘accountant’ or ‘transport provider’, generates contacts throughout the season, not just on reception evenings.
Philanthropy or sponsorship: what tax rules do you need to know?
These are two distinct schemes, which cannot be combined for a single payment (source: Admical, ‘Sponsorship or patronage’ factsheet, July 2026).
| Criterion | Patronage | Sponsorship |
|---|---|---|
| Intent | Support for an activity in the public interest | Expenditure in the direct interest of the company |
| Consideration | No significant consideration | Advertising benefits commensurate with the amount |
| Benefit to the company | Tax relief of 60 per cent (40 per cent on amounts exceeding €2 million), subject to a limit of €20,000 or 5‰ of turnover excluding VAT (Article 238 bis of the General Tax Code) | Expense deductible from profit (Article 39-1(7) of the CGI) |
| Beneficiary | Organisation serving the public interest: amateur sport only | Any organisation, including a sports club |
| VAT | No VAT on a donation without consideration | Service subject to VAT; invoice excluding VAT |
- Professional sport is excluded from sponsorship: the public interest excludes ‘the practice or development of professional sport’ (ministerial response, National Assembly, 13th legislature); only amateur sport is eligible (source: Admical, ‘sports sponsorship’ factsheet).
- The benefits received in return for sponsorship remain minimal: the tax authorities require that the payment be significantly disproportionate to the benefits received, without setting a specific threshold for businesses (source: BOFiP, BOI-BIC-RICI-20-30-10-20, accessed 23 October 2026). A guideline of 25 per cent of the donation is cited in professional guides, though this is not a binding rule: have your benefits validated by your chartered accountant.
- VAT depends on what is being sold: 5.5 per cent on admission fees for sporting events since 2015, a rate still in force (Article 278-0 bis of the CGI, BOFiP, BOI-TVA-LIQ-30-20-40, accessed 23 October 2026). In a hospitality package, on-site catering is subject to the 10 per cent rate and alcoholic drinks to the standard rate of 20 per cent (Articles 278 and 279 m of the CGI, BOFiP, BOI-TVA-LIQ-30-20-10-20, accessed on 23 October 2026). The breakdown of a package’s price should be confirmed with your accountant.
- An association has a limited exemption: its incidental commercial revenue is exempt from commercial tax below a threshold of €81,051 for financial years ending on or after 31 December 2025, provided that its non-profit-making activities remain predominant (Article 206, 1 bis of the General Tax Code (CGI), BOFiP, BOI-IS-CHAMP-10-50-20-20, accessed 23 October 2026).
- The Évin Act prohibits tobacco advertising and regulates advertising for alcoholic beverages (source: Admical, 2026): this should be checked before signing a contract with a brewer.
How can you run the supporters’ club over the course of a season?
A partners’ club thrives on its calendar of events:
- Before the season: launch event, introduction of new partners.
- Before each reception: each registered partner checks who will be attending and arranges meetings with those whose areas of expertise interest them. On the day, the box becomes a business meeting place.
- Every quarter: a round-table discussion amongst partners, on a specific theme or by sector.
- At the end of the season: a closing event, a review with each partner, and the start of renewals.
Typical scenario: a communications agency director registers for Saturday’s event. On Thursday, he sees that a partner from the manufacturing sector, who is looking to revamp their website, will be attending; he suggests a meeting, specifying a time and venue. By Saturday, the meeting is already arranged. Without this preparation, they would have shared a buffet without speaking to one another.
How can you measure the return on investment for partners?
A partner renews their membership when they can justify the expenditure. Provide them with a verifiable summary of the season:
- events attended and tickets used;
- meetings organised with other partners;
- requests submitted and responses received;
- business deals reported between partners (ask for them – they won’t be reported automatically);
- reach of promotional materials.
From the club’s perspective, track renewal rates by tier and the proportion of active partners. These figures are easy to analyse when meetings, requests and registrations are managed through a single platform; they are a laborious task to compile manually – and rarely done at all – when they are scattered across spreadsheets, emails and a ticketing system.
Would you like to know what this analysis would look like for your partners? Book a meeting with the team, or find out how we support sports clubs.
What tools should you use to manage your members’ club?
- Spreadsheets and email: sufficient for a few dozen partners, but the partners cannot see each other’s details.
- Separate CRM and ticketing systems: robust for sales tracking, but with no network for partners.
- Hospitality agency: useful for selling boxes, but not for fostering the network.
- Dedicated platform: MisterBridge, for example, brings together a partner area in the club’s colours, a directory organised by skills, published requirements, meetings and round-table discussions, online sales of boxes and packages, and the shop (works council prize draws, advertising, sponsorship offers). Depending on the configuration chosen by the club, its partners either interact exclusively amongst themselves or have access to other connected clubs. Annual membership fees, however, are collected outside the platform.
Whichever tool you choose, retain ownership of your data and the ability to export it.
Are you setting up or relaunching your club’s partners’ club? The best approach is to start with your current partners and your current season: book an appointment with the team, and we’ll show you how it works for your club. To find out more first, visit the MisterBridge page for sports clubs.
