Business Model for Venezuelan Football Teams: A Phenomenological Approach

Abstract

This article aims at proposing a business model for national, civil organizations (soccer teams) that promote sports in Venezuela. In view of Venezuela’s problematic economic situation, and the lack of interest in soccer by its population, it has been considered pertinent to evaluate the financing alternatives that are commonly used by soccer teams and other sports disciplines teams from abroad. In order to achieve this, Caracas Fútbol Club was taken as a reference due to its local trajectory and participation in other international competitions. A feasible project-type research was conducted (UPEL, 2016) and its design corresponds to the documentary and field type (Arias, 2012). As per the data collection methods, first, a documentary review was completed to identify the primary sources of income and financing strategies applied by foreign soccer teams; and later, a semi-structured interview was executed for the purpose of understanding and contextualizing, using a phenomenological approach, the financial situation and financing strategies currently employed by some Venezuelan soccer teams. The results show that the primary sources of financing for foreign teams are the earnings from television rights, ticket sales from matches, and the management of the commercial area; when compared to this, Venezuelan teams do not receive significant income towards their total revenue from any of the aforementioned sources and, thus, depend merely on the performance of the team.