The real ROI of corporate sports programs

Wellbeing initiatives get cut first when budgets tighten, mostly because their impact is hard to point to. Sports programs are the exception — the impact is measurable.

Retention

Replacing an employee costs many multiples of their monthly salary in recruitment and lost productivity. Regular social activities that build genuine connection between colleagues are consistently linked to lower voluntary turnover.

Attendance and engagement

A recurring activity people choose to attend is a better engagement signal than a survey score. Weekly participation numbers are a live, honest measure of whether people actually feel connected to their team.

Cost per head

A weekly football slot at €150 (example costs) split across 10-14 players works out to roughly €10-15 per person per week — cheaper than most single-day offsites, and it repeats every week instead of once a year.

Low admin overhead

The main hidden cost of most wellbeing programs is staff time spent running them. A platform that automates booking, player-filling and payment (see see what a dedicated game gets you) removes that cost entirely.

Read the full case for corporate football at FC Urban for companies

FAQ

How do you measure ROI on a wellbeing activity?

Look at ongoing attendance rate, not one-off satisfaction scores — a program people keep choosing to attend is the strongest signal it's working.

What's the typical cost per employee for a weekly sports program?
For company football specifically, roughly €10-15 per person per week when split across a group of 10-14.

Does this replace other wellbeing spend or add to it?
It typically replaces underused one-off spend (single wellness days, unused app subscriptions) with something with a much higher ongoing attendance rate.

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