Sport is full of emotion, on and off the field. Supporters identify themselves with their beloved clubs and make sure to display it to others. Just like any other sport, football clubs face a constant challenge to keep their fan base engaged within and outside of the stadium, especially when facing a winless streak.

An average fan dedicates a considerable amount of time and savings throughout the season to support their favourite club: travelling, tickets, merchandise, food and beverage, etc.

But let’s leave sports for a quick moment and let’s look at the financial service industry. Does anybody love their bank? Does anybody really show off which bank they use to their friends or family? Obviously not. The only pleasure comes when somebody remembers the actual memory behind a transaction, but not the transaction itself.

How can a sports club leverage fan love to reduce costs whilst rewarding them?

Bring into the picture Andaria – What if we told you that you can combine the two worlds of sports and finance? Thanks to an Embedded Finance offering, a sports club can:

• Acquire unprecedented access to supporter spend data (in & outside of the stadium)
• Introduce new revenue streams
• Reduce operational costs
• Reward loyal supporters.

Through simple API integration with an existing ecosystem, the Andaria solution compliments your offering by introducing a suite of finance products.

Each fan will benefit from a branded debit card, linked to a payment account with a vIBAN, which can be used anywhere. No need of for complex technology projects or a licenses, Andaria takes care of all tech and regulatory requirements, whereas the sports club focuses on the promotion of the services and integrates it in the customer journey of their fans. And this brings us to the point why sport clubs are better positioned to offer financial services than most banks.

• Let’s start with Insights – Whenever using the club’s branded debit card for purchases within or outside of the club’s ecosystem, this is not simply a powerful statement in itself, but also a means for the club to learn valuable information about their fanbase purchasing patterns. This data can lead to new partnerships and sponsorships, whilst custom tailoring offerings. All cards can be physical or virtual (Apple Pay /Google Pay).
• The integration allows the sports club to provide various rewards to their own fans, such as discounts or signed merchandise when paying with the club branded powered card. What if every customer that has used their own sports club card for a purchase at the stadium is automatically in the raffle for a game worn jersey? There are many easy ways sports clubs can encourage their fans to use their very own financial product.
• Best for last – cost reduction. Embedded finance integrates the payment facilities inside and outside of the club, as well as other partners into a so-called closed loop system, allowing to avoid external payment fees whenever the fan chooses the Andaria powered account for payment. This also applies with transfer of funds to and from the club with other stakeholders.

We believe that brands have an opportunity to capitalise on their loyal customer base and provide financial services. And what brands have stronger emotional connections than sports clubs?

If you’re interested to learn more about this solution, click here to get in touch with our team.

Andaria will be exhibiting this September in Seville, at the World Football Summit 2024.