Former professional footballer Stacy Alogdellis had a lightbulb moment back in 2007.

Watching his six-year-old cousin play Saturday afternoon soccer in a local park, he spotted a bunch of pre-schoolers keen to run onto the field and join in.

“These three to five-year-olds weren’t eligible to play and their parents were having to hold them back. It got me thinking about the potential for a business,” he says.

Stacy had developed a passion for early childhood sports when he returned from playing football overseas and took up coaching soccer for local private schools.

Before long he was brainstorming business names for a pioneering preschool-aged soccer program, the first in Australia.

Soccajoeys founder turns to franchising

Soccajoeys was born, and Stacy piloted a few classes. He slowly started building up a team of coaches strategically developed the business across Sydney.

“I couldn’t keep up with demand, it was really taking off. I wanted to find a way to harness this accelerated growth.”

The Soccajoeys founder was ready to kick some more goals and open up the business to franchisees.

Stacy drew on lifelong friend and fellow entrepreneur, Costa Anastasiadis, the founder of Crust Gourmet Pizza and later Zeus Street Greek, to get insights into franchising before launching the franchise model in 2010.

He drew on strong connections in soccer to secure his first franchisee. Fellow footballer Jose Bello (now Soccajoeys national operations manager) returned from playing in Spain to buy the inaugural franchise, in the Hills District. 

Going interstate

“I found having connections with people and word of mouth proved useful going interstate,” says Stacy.

“I tapped into my network and engaged fellow footballers to start up a new area, implemented strong
marketing campaigns, and the business just snowballed. The business model enables individuals without
football experience to successfully operate a franchise,” he says.

Adding programs

By 2012 it was clear the program needed to develop beyond Stacy’s original plan so Soccajoeys introduced a 6-8 year-old program.

“Some kids would do a mid-week soccer class because we deliver great training, and then play club soccer at the weekend.”

Stacy found more opportunities to expand, responding to demand from daycare centres to run a weekly or twice-weekly class.

“Our soccer class helped them meet the requirements for physical education and added another revenue
stream,” he says.

“Then we had schools ask for incursion programs for years K-6. We run our programs in term time which led to the school holiday program.”

The program expanded as franchisees sought additional revenue opportunities and transitioned the business into a full time career with a variety of new products.

Building more opportunities

Soccajoeys built on programs at each end of the age groups, and now caters for kids aged from two-and-a-half to 11.

“From the original solo product in 2007, we now have 10 products, including birthday parties and after-school programs.”

All of these are run indoors, in school or community halls, or indoor sports facilities.

The franchise territory analysis undertaken on Soccajoeys’ behalf ensures new franchisees can see potential locations and businesses mapped out. It is the franchisee’s choice which programs they offer the local community.

“We offer very competitive rates for a one-hour class, and this is a premium product. Jose and I emphasise to franchisees that we have to deliver excellence at all times, whether that is customer experience to admin to delivering the program.”

Expansion plans

Soccajoeys has now grown to 38 franchisees, and has a national presence (except for Tasmania).

This year Stacy is focused on cementing the brand’s presence in Brisbane and Perth, with limited opportunities available in both cities. 

However, expansion plans extend beyond Australia’s shores. Stacy plans to follow up the successful 2021 launch of a master franchise in Singapore by taking the brand further afield, with the Middle East and New Zealand on the horizon.

“Going into the Middle East is a natural fit for us because there is so much interest in soccer and the early childhood space,” he says.

Soccajoeys founder is kicking goals

“I never pitch us as an academy, that’s not what we do. The soccer ball is the tool we use to achieve the early childhood developmental outcomes. We’ve consistently stayed committed you our origins as a grassroots development program.

“We take pride in aligning our programs with education values, concentrating on critical areas of childhood development, and assisting young children in acquiring vital life skills and values.”

Stacy reports parents praise the program for turning their shy child into a confident youngster in just a few weeks.

“Doing the activities delivers the outcomes parents want.They want an outgoing child who can get into group environments and join friendship groups. That’s the biggest achievement, the childhood development,” he says.

“I get immense satisfaction seeing how the business has grown from one small soccer program in Sydney. Now Soccajoeys delivers programs to 10,000 kids on a weekly basis, at over 300 locations, and through 300 day care centres and 150 schools across Australia.

“Our network retention rate is 80 per cent, and childcare centres rate our programs at 97 per cent for educational value. Referrals contribute to 65 per cent of our marketing efforts.

“These statistics underscore our commitment to uphold the highest standards and deliver exceptional program experiences for our families and clients.

“It is amazing to have such an impact on so many different children.”