"Fanatic Sports’ success in procuring rights multiple times from major rights holders plays a big role in customer acquisition”: Raghav Gupta, Fanatic Sports founder and MD
Few sports fans would pass up a chance to visit and experience their favorite sports venue or tournament, whether that be the FIFA World Cup, Wimbledon, Formula 1, etc.
While there will likely always be those who plan and make such tours individually or in their own groups, at the same time, there has been an increasing amount of demand and awareness around premium experiences centered around popular sporting events crafted specifically for customers by sports tourism operators.
With 2022 being the year of travel and multiple large-scale popular sporting events, Sportskeeda caught up with Raghav Gupta, Founder and Managing Director of Fanatic Sports to understand the driving forces behind the rise of the sports tourism sector.
Speaking on the eve of Fanatic Sports being announced as the joint exclusive agent of Match Hospitality in India for the sale of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Official Hospitality Programme and the launch of the Qatar 2022 official hospitality programme in India, Raghav Gupra described the process of partnering with a major international sporting event for such partnerships, saying:
"All large rights holders such as UEFA, ICC, FIFA, etc. mostly have a standard request for proposal (RFP) process, which is essentially like a tender where you have to bid for the rights. While the scale is smaller for RFPs such as ours, it is similar to the RFP process seen in broadcasting, where the broadcaster has to go through a similar process to acquire media rights for particular sports events.”
While Covid-19 certainly hampered the growth of this sector with sports events being canceled or postponed, the sports tourism space has nevertheless been growing over the years. This might naturally make one curious about the overall scope of growth, how large a sector it can be, and what the total addressable market for an operator like Fanatic Sports might be.
Commenting on the same, Raghav said:
“We have just scratched the surface of the Indian sports travel market. We were fortunate in that Fanatic entered the business early and at the right time after seeing an opportunity with the changing demographics and attitudes in India. There is a huge transition in progress, in that India has the largest youth population in the world, a section which is also highly aspirational and knowledgeable. Secondly, the Indian diaspora is gradually shifting from a saving economy to one that is open to spending for experiences.”
Noting how Fanatic Sports was able to see this sweet spot, Raghav went on to talk specifically about Fanatic Sports’ growth rate in the exponentially growing market, mentioning:
“While Covid-19 and the last 18-20 months definitely affected us, we were growing at 25-30% a year. Presently, we are growing at 20-25% and plan to grow at 30% a year going forward.”
Fanatic Sports’ offering for Indian football fans for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as joint exclusive agent of the event’s Official Hospitality Programme
While the pandemic has been many things for many people, for most people across demographics, it made them realize the value of experiences and experiencing the present to the fullest, a sentiment echoed by the Fanatic Sports founder.
Combined with the revenge travel movement, this has meant an exponential demand for Fanatic Sports’ 2022 FIFA World Cup offerings from individuals as well as corporates, according to Raghav Gupta. Reflecting specifically on the largest tournament in football globally taking place later this year, Raghav said:
“This World Cup is a very unique one, in that for the first time, all the eight stadiums or venues are going to be in a single city. Secondly, Qatar being just three hours away from India by flight, it is essentially like a domestic flight for Indian travellers. Unless a World Cup takes place in India, which I do not see happening for at least the next twelve years, this edition presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Indian fans to experience an event such as the FIFA World Cup live.”
Official Hospitality Programme.
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Also speaking about how fans would be able to maximize their viewing experience at the upcoming World Cup, he added:
“At this World Cup, fans can even catch four matches a day, as during the group stage, the second match starts ninety minutes after the first match. We were very apprehensive about the pandemic, but thankfully, the world is moving on very quickly. What is also boosting our confidence is that even certain conservative corporates and multinational brands that are usually very careful about potentially exposing their employees to international travel have shown great interest and excitement for the upcoming World Cup.”
Staying on the subject of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, touching upon what fans can expect from Fanatic Sports’ packages for the event, the founder said:
“I would take the liberty in saying that Fanatic has taken the meaning of the word ‘exclusive’ to the next level. We don't just give fans just a ticket and a hotel voucher. What we provide is a 360 degree experience which starts from the time you book the ticket. In Doha, we will have a meet and greet service at the airport once customers land, and will ensure that customers get the best selection of hotels available with FIFA. We also do a lot of events before the big games, where we have a lot of celebrities travelling with us during the World Cup, and we try and do a meet and greet or a celebrity dinner before every big game.”
Diving deeper into the experience fans can expect, he went on to add:
“It is also about ensuring logistics such as stadium transfers. Customers do not want to stand in a queue waiting for a bus. Such add-ons, along with the wide variety of curated fan experiences and boutique travel solutions provide additional value to customers.”
The potential for the growth of sports tourism and the presence of Indian fans at the footballing event was echoed at a recent event by John Parker, Director at MATCH Hospitality AG, appointed as the worldwide Exclusive Rights Holder of the Official Hospitality Programme for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, where he said:
"Sports experiential market in India has huge potential. Despite pandemic impacting travel, we have seen a steady rise in Indian sports fans wanting to travel for such experiential travels. In 2018, the hospitality sports revenue business had generated close to INR 80 crore but this time we are expecting India to be among the highest revenue generators for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022."
Stills from last evening's Sales launch of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Official Hospitality Programme.
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Responding to what made Fanatic Sports stand out for FIFA to be awarded the status of being the joint exclusive agent of Match Hospitality in India for the sale of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Official Hospitality Programme, Raghav mentioned:
“Our success in the delivery of past projects played a big part. We have been India’s only ever authorised ticket reseller for the Summer Olympics which we delivered for Rio 2016. We are also among the leading agents of the ICC’s Travel and Tours Programme, and have also been a successful FIFA agent in the past, where we were an exclusive agent of Match Hospitality in Singapore for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Further, our integrity and commitment to the project was also important, something that any rights holder like FIFA looks at closely. Finally, being a reputed brand in the sports hospitality and sport travel vertical and FIFA’s belief in our ability to deliver on our committed numbers also goes a long way in the faith shown by FIFA.”
Technology is an enabler rather than a disruptor for Fanatic Sports
With tech having seeped into and revolutionized most sectors over the years, one might wonder if the much touted Metaverse and Web 3.0 might end up doing the same. Reflecting on whether technology can disrupt or would complement the sports tourism sector, Raghav was not perturbed, saying:
“Technology is an enabler (for sports tourism and Fanatic Sports). The whole world might be talking about the metaverse, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), but a physical experience is something that cannot be mitigated or substituted. The physical human experience will only be enhanced and will have its own space (alongside future technological developments) going forward.”
Commenting further on how Fanatic Sports uses technology in its business, he added:
“Technology enhances the user experience, which is why integrating it into your business, whether it is in the booking process, having your entire itinerary and e-ticket on your phone, allows taking the experience to the next level. We are also launching an app which allows users to see match schedules, choose their restaurant bookings during their stay anywhere in the world.”
Customer acquisition and retention for Fanatic Sports
For any growing business, especially a consumer-facing one, an important metric that can make or break the business is its customer cost of acquisition.
Pointing to the fact that Fanatic Sports entered the sector at the right time, which has helped the business in this regard, Raghav stressed how Fanatic went about creating its brand and differentiating itself by being a dedicated sports travel experiential company rather than just a travel company that sells sports experiences. Adding how this has helped shape their brand image and ultimately helped in customer acquisition, Raghav said:
“When you think of sports travel, you think of Fanatic Sports. We do not do non-sports activities, in spite of often having a very excited group of large corporates, HNIs, etc. experience a cricket World Cup, Wimbledon, or a football match and then wanting us to do other travel experiences for them. This focus has helped us create a strong foothold in and penetrate the market, as has the kind of rights that we have such as being the exclusive agent of the Olympics and authorised ticket reseller, a prominent agent of the ICC Travel and Tours Programme, exclusive agent of the UEFA Euro 2020, etc.”
While some sports fans might want to attend only events related to certain sports, a large number of fans are often interested in multiple sports and events, as admitted by the Fanatic Sports founder, which allows the firm to provide fans with other experiences in future, while Raghav also admitted that having a successful track record of delivering what they promise makes it easier in retaining customers.
Having the rights to a certain property for an extended amount of time also helps Fanatic in getting repeat customers, with Raghav Gupta adding:
"We have been an agent of the ICC Travel and Tours Programme since 2014, and delivered seven ICC tournaments since then. Once you have already done the event, the same cricket customer is quite often buying every two years. Our success in being appointed multiple times by ICC and other rights holders also plays a big part in customer acquisition.”
With the rising interest in sports tourism as a whole, there has also been a rise in other dedicated providers, notably DreamSetGo, which is a part of Dream Sports, India’s leading sports technology company. The Fanatic Sports founder welcomed the competition however, saying:
“There are certainly other companies entering the space, and I think there is space for everyone. There can never be one company in any market. In any business around the world, you will have competition, and competition is healthy.”
Fan experiences beyond the FIFA World Cup in 2022 by Fanatic Sports
While any year that has the FIFA World Cup ensures that it is the highlight event of the year, there are several other major events and competitions happening around the globe this year as well.
Signing off by giving a teaser of some of the other events that fans can experience with Fanatic Sports in 2022 beyond the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Raghav said:
“The World Cup in Qatar is obviously the biggest event of the year. At the same time, there are several other great events, namely the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia where India is playing Pakistan at the MCG, Wimbledon which is a great annual event and one that Indians love experiencing, Formula 1 which is really taking off and seeing a resurgence, and where we are proud to say we are now an authorised agent and reseller of F1 Experiences, as well as golf which is coming back to St Andrews for the British Open in July.”
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With so much sport taking place in 2022 after a break brought on by Covid-19, regular international flights resuming at full capacity this week onwards after a gap of two years, and people itching to travel again, sports fans will certainly be spoilt for choice and might just revive the sports travel market after the pandemic.