Fan Club Membership is one of Kenya football’s lowest hanging fruits and critical club structures that we have sadly, been unable to pick and build. Very few clubs have a membership system of any sort. The closest metrics I’ve seen used to refer to any form of fan membership is social media followers, who, even in their tens or hundreds of thousands are usually not actionable. By actionable, I mean “being able to be activated to a cause or mission for the club”. If social media followers were true club members, every Kenyan club would be rich.
The other metric usually used is match attendance. This is way better than social media followers because these are people who have taken an action on the club. The strength of match attendance is undermined by poor ticketing systems that don’t capture the attendance in full, with secrecy around numbers and money collected also a big letdown. Many matches are also free with no attempt at recording numbers.
Membership on the other hand means something more substantial than following on social media or random or regular attendance at a home match. Membership is a commitment between a club and fan where the fan has recorded his details in a register with an amount they have paid for this membership. The club on the other hand offers certain privileges to the member like voting rights and/or special benefits during the season.
AFC Leopards has the most robust membership system in Kenyan football at the moment. To be a club member, one has to be a Branch member at first of which there are now 81 registered and active branches. This membership has a fee with the benefits being among others; voting rights and a discount on club jerseys. It’s based on a manual register and any proof of membership has to be checked by presenting yourself to an office where the register resides.
Gor Mahia had an active and robust branch-based membership system which has faded in recent times.
This last Sunday, Nairobi City Stars had a soft and successful launch of Kenya’s first digital football club membership system. Simba Card, a club customized smart card was on sale at the City Stars vs Murang’a Seals match. The Card works on a digital platform that identifies a fan once they tap their card on a Point-of-Sale device thereby giving them privileged access to the club’s services.
Registering the card involved paying a Kshs 200/- card fee via Mpesa that links the member and the card in the system. For registration, members got a free VIP ticket worth Kshs 500/- being the first privilege and benefit they got as a member.
Members are now in a digital register with a card that identifies them and acts as a key to unlock their membership privileges that include discounts and loyalty rewards in ticketing, merchandise and with vendors in and out of the stadium. The card is linked to Mpesa as the payment system while being operable at other clubs that are on the same platform. All these happens on the club’s website and other club channels. Members also have their own membership accounts on the club website that gives them a history on club interactions and the member offers available.
The Simba Card is built on the DimbaPlus Platform, a club membership system by Ticket Pro Capital Ltd. It’s a system on which different clubs can build their membership with an online management system that has membership, ticketing, merchandise and loyalty program modules with each member getting a special customized club membership smart card. Clubs get to manage all these functions for themselves through their websites while DimbaPlus continues to provide maintenance, support, integrations with partners and vendors and new functions.
Digital smart card-based membership systems have immense benefits. A club can communicate directly with its members on club activities, ticketing information and other offers. It can demonstrate to would be sponsors and partners the size and robustness of its members and use this information to negotiate deals for itself and its members. The card is versatile and can be used outside the club where members can get special privileges and discounts among many other benefits.
Kenyan clubs need to get serious on fan membership systems. Technology and Digitalization are critical tools for building systems around clubs. It is an important part of the “Structures” we keep talking about in Kenyan football. Membership is a key structure that is in the hands of every club. It’s about time.
