Executive Summary:
Our business plan is to open up and maintain an academy in the sports industry, under the name Touchline Football Academy or TFA, specialized in coaching and training members in the sport of soccer. Our activities will be based in a sports facility in the heart of Montreal at the Soccerplexe whereby the collaboration agreement with that facility dictates the permission of our use of their soccer fields in return to a variable fee; which is a predetermined percentage of our total revenues. The academy will also hold an office located on First avenue in Lachine, which will be the headquarter of our operations as to management and conferencing, as well as a liaison with parent and business acquaintances that needs addressing in a professional fashion.
Our academy will reap its revenues mainly from memberships sold to members on a monthly basis. Other revenues coming in are from sponsorships, as well as the sales of kits and equipment. Our targeted customers are males, residing in Montreal, and in the ages between 5 to 22+ years old. A mass marketing campaign will be conducted as a dedicated effort during the initiation of the business, in an attempt to acquire the maximum exposure and market outreach possible. This marketing strategy will be costly and require a significant budget; however, it will give us access to the wide potential market in this industry, as shown by the demographics research (elaborated in detail within this booklet).

General Project Description: “Touchline Football Academy” is a youth football academy that offers coaching and training services in the soccer. TFA operations will be located in the heart of Lachine, Montreal at Soccerplexe training facilities.
We plan to build TFA as a fast developing and most specialized football institute for youth development in Canada. Our reputation will be based on our professionalism as an organization. We would maintain that our players would be catered for the highest possible standards. Undergoing training which uses state of the art FIFA approved facilities.
All of our coaching staff would be affiliated into international coaching associations and will be continually exposed to professional development with our intentions to continue using the latest methods in coaching and fitness training.
The mission of TFA is to provide the best possible youth soccer education program, with the overall objective being geared towards developing and nurturing able, motivated, and talented, future players.
Our goals:
1- To provide a creative challenging and professional environment in which young players can develop.
2- Use pride and tested coaching techniques as well as the latest training methods.
3- Develop skilled, confident and creative players.
4- Teach good sportsmanship and make the game fun.
5- Value winning but not more than performance and character.
The Squads: we will have an intricate set up of players of varying ability levels, and we will have teams that are specifically tailored to accommodate footballers from the beginner level up to the advanced.
The tier system we have placed also allows for players to steadily progress up through the ranks as their abilities improve, thus providing the athletes with a consistent motivation tool for learning and improving.
Our Ideal:
“From Player to professional”
At TFA, we treat and train the child as a whole. This allows us to develop players with not only the tactical and technical ability, but also with a strong psychological background that grooms the overall character of a well-rounded athlete.
Products and Services:
Our business is a football academy that provides a service in coaching and training in the sport of soccer. Our academy will be responsible to provide the facility (location/place) of training, coaches, and equipment that are all needed to conduct the designated sport.
The location of training will be in the heart of Lachine, Montreal at the sports facilities of Soccerplexe. Soccerplexe is a huge facility composed of a number of fields designated for different sports. We have reached an agreement of collaboration with Soccerplexe – which will be discussed in detail later on-for the use of their many fields. The agreement allows us the use of this specific field according to our convenience, which would be discussed and agreed upon with the management of Soccerplexe. The following schedule is set to accommodate for the projected number of 140 participants, divided into 6 different age groups and distributed on a timely basis.
Operations:
The below schedule explains the division of participants according to their age into separate groups. Refer to table 1.
The below schedule shows the operation hours of the training sessions, according to the different age groups. Refer to table 2
As the schedule conveys, every age group will be attending the academy for three sessions per week, with each session being an hour and a half long. The younger age groups A and B’s sessions were assigned at 3:30 pm, right after their school time, and it is over at 5:00, which gives them convenient time to get back home to study, rest, and sleep.
Age group C’s session was assigned from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. This group holds similar considerations- as that of the first two groups- to give them the time to study and rest. This age group will not face any challenge managing their time as assigned.
The last age group D was also assigned at 5:30 to 7:00 pm, taking into account that individuals in this age group may be university students or even already working. The assigned time would be convenient for this age group according to these considerations.
Competitive Advantage and Competence:
TFA is a business project that is featured by a number of competency points that renders the business competent and advantageous compared to others. First of all, our academy operates in Soccerplexe, a sport facility in the heart of Montreal surrounded by a worthy number of schools and institutions, which also happens to be in an area where the population is dense. All of this means that our academy is easily accessible and near to everyone around, which makes it a more attractive choice to a larger population when it comes to choosing an academy in this industry.
The office would be important in the sense that it allows a meeting place for our staff and coaches to discuss the operation strategy and put in a plan and distribute tasks amongst us. Parents may as well come in to learn about our programs and activities at our academy, where information may be given and worries discussed. Our academy will provide its members with all the equipment and kits needed at a low cost, saving them the trouble and the higher expense of having to hunt for their own equipment elsewhere. It is also worthy to mention that our academy is insured by Sports & Fitness Insurance Canada for any physical bodily injury or emergency whatsoever that may occur at any time during the activity of our academy. This should put our members’ minds at ease, as well as those of their parents’, as safety and security are top priorities at TFA.
Another core competency that we possess as a soccer academy is that we offer an opportunity for one lucky team selected from amongst our members to travel abroad once a year to a chosen country that relates to soccer, such as Italy, Finland, England, Spain, France or Germany. The team consists of 12 members and 2 coaches as chaperons, all of who will be treated to 6 nights at a hotel at the country of choice. Our competitors present this opportunity as a paid option to their members, which is costly and expensive, which decreases the likelihood of members to actually take on such a trip. Our academy budgets $12,000 a year to accommodate 14 individuals a year to such a treat, which would rationally rank up our academy among those of the few competitors in terms of favor.
As to our pricing strategy we will be offering a monthly registration for our members, renewable and payable on the first day of each month, with a fee of 75$. This fee includes three sessions per week of coaching services and access to the sports facilities at designated times, insurance, equipment and kits at a low cost, and finally and most importantly: an opportunity to be selected to travel abroad on the expense of the academy. Our price of membership is an average price compared to that of our competitor’s, where some charges more while others charge a bit less. (The membership prices at competitors’ academies are usually $60{lowest} and $165{highest}).
Office:
The office serves as a meeting location for all TFA staff members and business acquaintances. It is also a place where parents can walk in for the different purposes for dealing with TFA management, such as complaints, suggestion, payment for registration, general inquiries and so on.
Location:
Presented below is a map snapshot of Montreal, the Soccerplexe Catalogna being pinpointed by a red circle. Refer to map 1 in the appendix. The magnitude of the location of our Academy is of significant importance, as it is near and accessible by all the targeted potential members. It is at a very close distance to schools and institutions, and it also happens to be in a well densely populated area. The location is very convenient, as it is within Montreal; Soccerplexe is an advanced facility with all the modifications and tools (equipment, ventilation, restrooms, bleachers and benches for rest, gym, and restaurant/bar, parking space…) that insures the best convenience of the members and their soccer moms.