A sports club CSE offer is a ticket scheme at a negotiated rate that a club sells to companies’ social and economic committees. The CSE purchases a block of tickets, often subject to a minimum order, and then redistributes them at a reduced price to its employees as part of its social and cultural activities. For the club, this represents a bulk, advance sale.
Why it is in a sports club’s interest to sell to CSEs
There are three reasons, which go hand in hand.
- Filling seats. Tickets remaining just a few days before a match are difficult to sell to the general public. A CSE block is sold earlier, in a single transaction, and you can direct it towards matches or stands that are least likely to be filled.
- New audiences. Employees who come through their works council are, for the most part, not your season-ticket holders. They often come with their families or colleagues. This is a group to whom you can subsequently offer a season ticket or tickets for another match.
- Cash flow. A works council that places an order at the start of the season, or well in advance of a match, pays before match day. For a club whose revenue is concentrated on match days, this time lag makes a difference.
The works council offer is also directly linked to your partners’ club: the companies that support you often have a works council, and this is the first group to target. We go into more detail on this point in the article ‘Setting up a partners’ club for your sports club’.
How does a CSE purchase tickets?
Who makes the purchase, and with what budget?
A Social and Economic Committee (CSE) is established in companies with at least 11 employees (source: Digital Labour Code, accessed in 2026). In companies with at least 50 employees, the CSE manages social and cultural activities (ASC), and ticket purchases fall under this budget (Article L2312-78 of the Labour Code, accessed on 23 October 2026). The employer’s contribution is set by a company-level agreement; failing that, it may not be less, as a proportion of the total wage bill, than that of the previous year (Article L2312-81 of the Labour Code, accessed on 23 October 2026). In companies with between 11 and 49 employees, these articles do not apply: the CSE does not have legal personality and the Code does not allocate an ASC budget to it (source: Ministry of Labour, accessed 23 October 2026). Places are often purchased by the employer, or in accordance with the provisions of the collective agreement. Some collective agreements set a minimum budget.
In practice, the decision is taken by the elected representatives, often by a dedicated committee, and timing is key: many CSEs draw up their programme of activities on a calendar-year or quarterly basis. It is better to submit your proposal at the time this programme is being decided upon than to follow up the day before a meeting.
What Urssaf says
Benefits provided by the CSE that fall within the scope of social and cultural activities are exempt from contributions, subject to certain conditions: they must relate to these activities, be allocated without discrimination and must not replace any element of salary. Urssaf also requires that any seniority-based criteria be removed from the allocation process, with the deadline for compliance extended to 31 December 2026 (source: Urssaf, 2026). In the event of an exemption being applied incorrectly, the employer is liable for the adjustment (source: Urssaf).
One point deserves your attention, as elected representatives will ask you about it. The list of entertainment venues cited by Urssaf includes the theatre, concerts, the circus, the cinema and museums; for sport, it refers to discounts for taking part in sporting activities. Tickets to attend a sporting event are not specifically mentioned (source: Urssaf’s CSE Guide, accessed on 23 October 2026). With regard to culture vouchers alone, a circular from Urssaf excluded sporting events (circular no. 2006-124, accessed on 23 October 2026). Therefore, do not assume that the exemption applies: refer the CSE to its chartered accountant.
A similar mechanism exists: vouchers and gift certificates, which are exempt up to a limit of €200 per employee per calendar year in 2026, i.e. 5 per cent of the monthly social security ceiling (source: Urssaf, 2026). This threshold does not automatically apply to a ticketing scheme: this is a different category of benefit.
How should the pricing structure be drawn up?
A CSE pricing structure fits on a single page. It answers five questions: what price, from how many seats, for which matches, in which stands, and until what date.
- The reduced rate. Start with the standard public price for each category. The CSE discount must remain lower than the benefit your season-ticket holders receive; otherwise, your season-ticket holders will go through their CSE.
- Minimum order. This justifies the discount and limits the administrative workload per order. An additional tier (more seats, bigger discount) encourages larger CSEs to order more.
- The quota per match. Set a cap on the number of CSE seats for matches that sell out on their own, and remove the cap for the others. Set a date for the remaining seats to go on general sale.
- Categories. Do not offer every section. Two or three categories are sufficient, chosen from those that are least likely to be filled.
The table below illustrates this method. The figures are fictitious: replace them with your own prices.
| Category (example) | Public price (example) | CSE price (example) | Minimum order | CSE quota per match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Side stand | €20 | €15 | 10 seats | 200 seats, 50 on full-house posters |
| Central stand | €30 | €24 | 10 seats | 100 seats, none available on full-house posters |
| Family pack (2 adults, 2 children) | €60 | €45 | 5 packs | 50 packs |
| Volume tier (all categories) | — | additional discount | 50 places | subject to quotas |
Please specify on the grid whether prices are exclusive of VAT or inclusive of VAT: a Works Council (CSE) bases its budget on prices inclusive of VAT. If your club is liable for VAT, the admission fee for a sporting event is subject to the 5.5 per cent rate (Article 278-0 bis of the General Tax Code, BOFiP, BOI-TVA-LIQ-30-20-40, accessed on 23 October 2026). Depending on its circumstances, an association may be exempt from VAT or fall under the VAT threshold: the rate to be displayed should be confirmed with your accountant.
Would you like to see this pricing structure integrated into your own ticketing system, featuring your matches and stands? Book an appointment with the team, or find out more about the offering for sports clubs first.
Through which channels should the offer be sold?
Direct marketing
Start with the organisations you know: partners, suppliers, and companies associated with your members. The right person to contact is the secretary or treasurer of the Works Council (CSE), or the elected representative responsible for activities. Send a simple price list, an order link and a deadline: a Works Council that has to write to you to place an order is less likely to do so.
Your partners as advocates
A partner who presents your offer to their own Works Council, or to those of their clients, is worth more than ten cold emails. Give them a link ready to share.
Platforms and business networks
Some platforms resell tickets to works councils. They bring in an audience, but take a commission and retain the relationship with the buyer. The other option is to sell via your own platform, which is open to a wider network of businesses than just your partners.
In practical terms, here’s how it works. The club creates a ticket package in its online shop: the event, the number of seats, the minimum order, the price excluding VAT, and the start and end dates of the sale. It chooses who can buy it: just its members, or also companies on the platform located near the event, or even across the whole of France. The club sends the link to the lot; the business purchases it online, logged into its business account (a works council member therefore places an order via their company’s account), then assigns each seat to a specific person. Tickets are scanned on entry. The club retains control over the price and what is put up for sale; it no longer has to chase up orders by email.
The framework agreement
For a works council that returns every season, a framework agreement avoids the need to renegotiate with every order. It sets out the pricing structure, quotas, and deadlines for ordering, payment and cancellation. One clause is essential: authorisation for the works council to allocate the tickets to its beneficiaries. The usual resale of tickets without the organiser’s consent is punishable by a fine of €15,000 (Article 313-6-2 of the Criminal Code). If your event is subsidised by a local authority or the State, resale is only permitted at a price that does not exceed the price displayed at the time of the initial sale (source: DGCCRF). You should therefore also specify the maximum resale price.
Would you like to know what proportion of your unsold tickets could be allocated as CSE batches to companies on the platform? Book an appointment with the team: we’ll review your events and forums with you.
What logistics should you plan for?
- Named tickets. A named ticket requires you to collect the beneficiaries’ names, but it provides you with a point of contact, limits resale and can be verified by scanning on entry. Set a deadline for entering names and provide a way to amend a name.
- Payment. The simplest option is online payment at the time of booking, before tickets are issued: no need for reminders, and no tickets are issued without payment. If you invoice on a due date basis, bear in mind that between businesses, the agreed payment term may not exceed 60 days from the date the invoice is issued, or 45 days from the end of the month if this is stipulated in the contract (Article L441-10 of the Commercial Code, accessed on 23 October 2026). For a works council acting as the purchaser, the application of this provision should be confirmed with your adviser: the safest approach is to specify the payment term in the framework contract.
- Invoicing. One invoice per order, made out to the purchaser (the Works Council in a company with at least 50 employees, or the employer in smaller companies), detailing each match and category, showing amounts excluding VAT and including VAT.
- Cancellation and postponement. Set out what happens if a match is postponed or played behind closed doors: credit note, refund or rescheduling of tickets.
How can you track the programme from one season to the next?
Four indicators are sufficient:
- The take-up rate of the Works Council quota per match: this indicates where the quota is too generous or too tight.
- The attendance rate for CSE tickets, recorded at the entrance scan: a CSE whose employees do not attend will not renew.
- The CSE renewal rate from one season to the next.
- The proportion of new spectators, which can only be measured using named tickets.
These figures are easy to analyse when ordering, payment and access control are all handled via the same system; with a spreadsheet and bank transfers, they have to be compiled manually. Also, review the situation with each CSE at the end of the season: which matches did the employees enjoy? This forms the basis for the following grid.
Where to start?
Choose three events where attendance is low, two ticket categories, a minimum booking requirement and a quota. Write the grid on a single page, add the ticket transfer authorisation clause, then present it first to your partners’ Works Councils. A modest, measured first season is better than a comprehensive catalogue that nobody reads.
If you want to sell your works council event packages online, branded in your own colours, with named tickets scanned on entry and packages open, if you wish, to companies on the platform, let’s discuss it: Book an appointment with the team. You can also visit the MisterBridge page for sports clubs.
