At Little Kickers, the mission is simple: to provide children (18 months to eight years old) with a positive introduction to soccer in a friendly, non-competitive environment.
While other franchises in the industry are focused solely on soccer, Little Kickers packages the world’s favorite game into weekly classes that enable boys and girls to learn the fundamental skills appropriate to key stages of learning and development. Valuable concepts such as sharing, teamwork and listening to instructions are emphasized by fun, enthusiastic coaching each week.
LK coaches are not hired based on their soccer experience, but rather on their passion for working with children within the Little Kickers age range.
Growth goals
Little Kickers is the largest provider of pre-school soccer classes in the world with 330 territory units operating in 25 countries – growth that CEO Justin Bredeman says has only been possible due to the care those within the business have for the brand and the children that participate in lessons.
“Ultimately, families enrol their children into Little Kickers because the coaches are caring, they’re well trained to teach basic football skills, and the kids have a blast,” he emphasized.
While Little Kickers has been successfully franchising in the U.K. for 20+ years, an exciting new chapter began when the brand was acquired by Stronger Youth Brands (SYB), an international youth sports and enrichment platform. As an integral part of SYB, Little Kickers has gained access to significant capital, resources, and industry knowledge that has expedited its growth and development within the U.K. and around the globe.
Currently, Little Kickers HQ directly manages franchisees in 18 countries, while master franchisees oversee the remaining seven countries. Since Little Kickers’ acquisition by SYB, relationships with master franchisees have strengthened, with increased communication, transparency and support creating an environment of greater trust and collaboration. Master franchisees in Australia and Brazil represent much of the revenue and units under master control, with communication and collaboration being particularly strong between HQ and these two master franchisees, setting a glowing example for others to follow.
Little Kickers is different from other franchise brands because of its ability to grow and evolve, whilst remaining true to its core mission statement,” qualified Dan Kelland, Master Franchisee in Australia. “I don’t believe Little Kickers would be in so many diverse markets, with so many amazing people driving it on the ground, if it didn’t have a strong and passionate foundation from which to build upon. We understand that we will keep moving forward with integrity and hard work so that those who are a part of the Little Kickers community – parents, kids, franchisees, coaches and our support teams – feel valued and see the benefit of that work.”
There remains a tremendous opportunity for Little Kickers to continue expanding globally. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, and parents continue to show a willingness to invest in their children’s development.
With a strategic plan in place to launch Little Kickers in Germany in 2024, and further plans to expand the brand in Spain, Netherlands, and Switzerland in the near term, the future looks bright, and Justin has no plans to slow this growth down.
“We’re extremely bullish on the future of Little Kickers,” he told Global Franchise.
(For a complete list of available territories by country, click here.)
Top league investment
The brand recognises that scaling further won’t be possible without investment, and it has pinpointed the Franchise Support Team, efficient operational technology, training programmes, and recruitment in new territories as key areas of focus.
Over the past 18 months, Little Kickers has made significant investments to strengthen the infrastructure and support of franchisees, including its bespoke core system which allows franchisees to set up their classes, venues, prices, timetables etc. Once operational, the business system is task driven, allowing the franchisee to seamlessly manage key aspects of their day-to-day business, such as enrolments, re-enrolments, transferring children, wait listing, debtor management, management reporting etc.
All franchisee’s classes are listed real-time on country-specific customer websites, from which customers can get useful information about the company, as well as checking availability and enrolling or re-enrolling in classes and paying online.
Ongoing training is key. In addition to in-person training and hands-on support via dedicated Franchise Business Support members, Little Kickers franchisees have access to online training seminars, in-person coaching classes, and bi-weekly emails highlighting best practices within the community.
Advanced marketing support
A tripling in the number of staff at head office means franchisees receive extensive support from subject matter experts. For example, the marketing team equips franchisees with all the tools, knowledge and content that they need to succeed locally, including use of SoCi, a social media management company, and an increase in quality and quantity of content available. All this has been achieved while decreasing the franchisee Marketing Levy by a third – a saving passed directly to franchisee partners.
Additionally, the team has established a Marketing Advisory Council consisting of 10 franchisee representatives. The MAC meets monthly with Meg Bruton, VP of Marketing, to provide feedback on upcoming initiatives and to share local perspectives. The best initiatives often come from within the community, and there’s a high value in having a monthly touchpoint with franchisees that are passionate about the Little Kickers brand and knowledgeable about their local markets.
With more than 20 years of franchising experience, Little Kickers has established a strong global brand that parents trust. The brand appeals to a variety of audiences, including parents/carers who pay monthly for sessions, and private nursery schools who offer sessions as an extra-curricular activity class. While other franchises in the sector are limited to operating in bricks-and-mortar locations, customers of Little Kickers can enjoy classes in commercial venues, public parks, nurseries and other suitable locations within their communities.
I believe our success is due to several factors,” concluded Justin. “First, we have some of the best franchise owners – people who care deeply about impacting children positively through football. Second, we’re a franchise community that learns from one another, supports each other, and shares best practices. Third, we have a strong Franchise Support Team that is dedicated, full-time, to equipping franchise partners in areas like marketing, technology, and operations.”
To enquire about Little Kickers franchise opportunities, click here.
