Benfica: one story from a members' controlled club
Mon Jan 11, 2010 12:09 am
I have just had dinner in Lisbon with a good friend who is a Benfica member - the Club is CONTROLLED by its members and is PROFITABLE. If only we could emulate the system they have.
The business that is the playing club is a company which is c.65% owned by the members and the remaining shares are held by private investors who treat the acquisition of a shareholding as a matter of prestige (i.e. an honour). With the majority shareholding, the members have effective control and call the shots. The President (tr. Chairman) of the members' club is most usually also CEO (tr. Chairman) of the company that controls the playing club.
In May 2004, Benfica's membership was c.95,000 and the club had dwindling attendances. At that time, an aggressive marketing campaign was launched to raise it to 200,000. On 30 September 2009, Benfica announced that it had reached the 200,000 mark for paid-up members. Membership is €12.00 per month (€144 per annum) and is treated as something of some importance. It is commonplace for parents to subscribe for their children (boys and girls) when they are born. After 25 years membership, the member receives a silver eagle (the eagle being the club symbol) and significantly enhanced voting rights over other members. After 50 years, the member receives a gold eagle and even greater voting rights (c.10 votes versus 1 vote for an ordinary member). A decent season ticket is priced at c.€300 per season and is additional to the membership subscription.
The members elect their President from within the membership every 3 years and the current incumbent has been in this position for c.9 years. My friend says that the tendency is to elect successful individuals as President, the members' thinking being that a track record of success in another walk of life should be a prerequisite for candidacy. The members have chapters all over Portugal and elsewhere, and a candidate for the presidency will have to travel extensively and meet with members over a long period if he/she is to be taken seriously as a candidate. As my friend says, it is one country's few real democracies.
The membership increase was achieved through a powerful marketing campaign where the key has been the ready availability of membership. Membership packs can be purchased at countless retail points all over the country including newsagents, petrol stations and supermarkets. A CD-like pack contains a card that can be taken to a cashpoint to activate membership. The ready availability and ease of use has also made the membership pack a popular gift.
The dramatic increase in membership has been mirrored by a significant rise in match attendance. Prior to the membership drive, home attendances could be as low as 20,000-25,000. Now home matches are never less than 40,000 to 45,000 - the stadium having a capacity of just over 65,000.
The Club has now set targets to increase membership to levels of 250,000 and 300,000 over time - this in a country of only 10.7m people and with major rival clubs such as Oporto, Sporting Lisbon and Braga. The City of Lisbon's population is 481,000.
I think that our biggest problem is that we want everything tomorrow. I would rather see us build proper foundations from the fan up over the longer term.
Am I allowed to dream?
The business that is the playing club is a company which is c.65% owned by the members and the remaining shares are held by private investors who treat the acquisition of a shareholding as a matter of prestige (i.e. an honour). With the majority shareholding, the members have effective control and call the shots. The President (tr. Chairman) of the members' club is most usually also CEO (tr. Chairman) of the company that controls the playing club.
In May 2004, Benfica's membership was c.95,000 and the club had dwindling attendances. At that time, an aggressive marketing campaign was launched to raise it to 200,000. On 30 September 2009, Benfica announced that it had reached the 200,000 mark for paid-up members. Membership is €12.00 per month (€144 per annum) and is treated as something of some importance. It is commonplace for parents to subscribe for their children (boys and girls) when they are born. After 25 years membership, the member receives a silver eagle (the eagle being the club symbol) and significantly enhanced voting rights over other members. After 50 years, the member receives a gold eagle and even greater voting rights (c.10 votes versus 1 vote for an ordinary member). A decent season ticket is priced at c.€300 per season and is additional to the membership subscription.
The members elect their President from within the membership every 3 years and the current incumbent has been in this position for c.9 years. My friend says that the tendency is to elect successful individuals as President, the members' thinking being that a track record of success in another walk of life should be a prerequisite for candidacy. The members have chapters all over Portugal and elsewhere, and a candidate for the presidency will have to travel extensively and meet with members over a long period if he/she is to be taken seriously as a candidate. As my friend says, it is one country's few real democracies.
The membership increase was achieved through a powerful marketing campaign where the key has been the ready availability of membership. Membership packs can be purchased at countless retail points all over the country including newsagents, petrol stations and supermarkets. A CD-like pack contains a card that can be taken to a cashpoint to activate membership. The ready availability and ease of use has also made the membership pack a popular gift.
The dramatic increase in membership has been mirrored by a significant rise in match attendance. Prior to the membership drive, home attendances could be as low as 20,000-25,000. Now home matches are never less than 40,000 to 45,000 - the stadium having a capacity of just over 65,000.
The Club has now set targets to increase membership to levels of 250,000 and 300,000 over time - this in a country of only 10.7m people and with major rival clubs such as Oporto, Sporting Lisbon and Braga. The City of Lisbon's population is 481,000.
I think that our biggest problem is that we want everything tomorrow. I would rather see us build proper foundations from the fan up over the longer term.
Am I allowed to dream?