Mark Molloy, who once shared digs with John Terry and played alongside Darren Fletcher, takes his thriving business down the franchising route.
A former Scotland youth international has entered the world of franchising, just four years after setting up his football business in North Lanarkshire. As a teenager, Mark Molloy represented Scotland at under-15 and under-16 levels, and then spent three years with Glasgow giants Celtic.
But injury ended his chances of playing football at the highest level, despite courting the attention of Chelsea. Molloy eventually gave up his dream of playing football for a living during his early twenties and, after becoming a PE teacher in Scotland, decided to set up Soccer Stars Academy (SSA) in 2017.
From its base in Airdrie, SSA is a booming football academy for children aged between 18 months and nine years. It’s now been launched as a franchise, and Mark is looking for business partners across the UK. The academy is a joint-enterprise with his wife Siobhan, and was established after discovering there was a void in the market for football classes for youngsters.
And it all came about because they were looking for somewhere to take their own son, three-year-old Louie. Thus, Mark and Siobhan decided to create their own soccer school for kids that not only teaches children simple footballing techniques, but is also aimed at developing confidence and social skills. Nowadays, their SSA in Airdrie operates 28 weekly classes, coaching more than 500 kids.
Let’s hope Mark enjoys better luck as a franchisor, than he did as a budding young footballer. In November 1999, when representing Scotland’s U-15s in the Victory Shield at Peterborough’s London Road Stadium, Mark collided with the England goalkeeper and suffered a badly broken leg.
He’d completely shattered his right thigh bone (femur) – in football most injuries affect the lower parts of the leg – and he was unable to walk for a year. After recovering, he spent three years at Celtic, but never played for the first team, and ended up in Scotland’s lower leagues representing Albion Rovers and East Stirling.
In that ill-fated match at Peterborough, one of his teammates was Darren Fletcher who later enjoyed Premier League success with Manchester United. He also spent a short time in London, sharing digs with former Chelsea and England skipper John Terry.
Nowadays it’s all about business, and 37-year-old former midfielder Mark said: “Since the launch of Soccer Stars Academy, we have been blown away with its success. High quality and fun football coaching for kids is in such high demand.
“Lockdown has increased this demand as parents look to get their children out of the house and involved in healthy, active and challenging activities. I have played football with various Scottish and English Premier League clubs including Celtic, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City and Everton. I have also represented Scotland at various youth group levels.
“After being forced to retire early, I trained as a PE teacher and worked in secondary schools for over 10 years. So the experience and qualifications I have gained in football, along with my teaching background, has enabled me to create the perfect environment for children. We not only teach football skills, but also boost their confidence, social and cognitive skills.”
A Soccer Stars Academy franchise costs £12,000. SSA has agreements in place with several major banks to fund up to 70% of the start-up fee, plus working capital. This is subject to the bank’s terms and conditions. A franchisee will get an exclusive and professionally mapped territory, as well as in-depth training and ongoing business support.
Mark explains: “We decided to franchise the business as this was the only way we could keep up with the overwhelming demand. A Soccer Stars Academy franchise is an affordable and profitable business that is proven to work. By following our carefully laid out business plan, a franchisee could realistically have their business up and running within two months.
“On a personal level, a new business partner will enjoy a fantastic work/life balance. It will provide a great service to the local community and you don’t need to be a football coach to invest. We currently employ a number of coaches in our academy in Lanarkshire.
“Our financial projections estimate that in ‘year one’, you can earn £45,000. This is based on having three venues, each having four classes running on a Saturday morning, with a class capacity of 75%. We believe these targets are conservative and very achievable for franchisees. Our ‘year two’ projection would be to double these earnings.”
