Harry Hugo, the chairman of newly promoted non league club Farnham Town, reveals how they made £100,000 in 7 days.
A brilliant insightful Twitter thread emerged days after Farnham winning the Southern League – Premier South playoffs, securing promotion to the 6th tier.
2,200 fans were in attendance to. watch them win 5-1 against Gloucester City. Prior to that, 1,715 fans watched them beat Berkhamsted 2-1 in the playoff semi final.
WE MADE £100k IN 7 DAYS 💰
Non league play offs are chaos 😂
Emotionally, operationally, commercially.
Thought I’d share some behind the scenes on how we approached ours at @FarnhamTownFC off the pitch because I think clubs massively underestimate the opportunity these games… pic.twitter.com/MGXoDKGKaK
— Harry Hugo (@HarryHugoGoat) May 7, 2026
Anyway… thought some people might find this interesting.
Would love to see more clubs sharing the operational/commercial side of non league because there’s loads we can all learn from each other 🤝
Happy to do more of these threads if people enjoy ✅ pic.twitter.com/MHPdXahiMp
— Harry Hugo (@HarryHugoGoat) May 7, 2026
@HarryHugoGoat has now taken to social media, tweeting the following:
WE MADE £100k IN 7 DAYS 💰
Non league play offs are chaos 😂
Emotionally, operationally, commercially.
Thought I’d share some behind the scenes on how we approached ours at @FarnhamTownFC off the pitch because I think clubs massively underestimate the opportunity these games create 🧵
We had two home play off games:
🏟️ Semi Final vs Berkhamsted (Wednesday night)
🏟️ Final vs Gloucester City (Bank Holiday Monday)
The obvious focus is always the football…
But for us, these are effectively major event days.
You have to think differently.
The biggest shift in mindset:
❌ “How do we cope with demand?” ✅ “How do we maximise the occasion?”
Those are two VERY different things.
Play offs bring:
• casual fans
• old fans
• sponsors
• families
• neutrals
• people who haven’t been in years
You have a chance to create believers.
The final did:
💰 £57,769.75 total revenue
Breakdown:
🎟️ £26,630 tickets
🍺🌭 £31,139 on the day spend
Revenue per head: ➡️ £26.26
That’s a 94% increase on our normal 3pm Saturday average.
The semi final did:
💰 £39,276 revenue
With: 🎟️ £21,250 tickets 🍺🌭 £18,026 on the day spend
Revenue per head: ➡️ £21.82
Which was nearly 70% above our normal evening kick off average.
The important thing:
People spend MORE when the game feels like an EVENT.
One thing we’ve learned in non league:
Queues kill revenue 🧍♂️🧍♂️🧍♂️🧍♂️🧍♂️
People think more people automatically = more money.
Not true.
If people are queueing for 25 minutes:
• they buy less rounds
• they skip food
• they leave early
• they get frustrated
Operational speed matters massively.
So before the games we focused heavily on:
✅ extra staff
✅ more bar stock
✅ extra keg capacity
✅ reusable cups ready
✅ better queue flow
✅ simplifying menus
✅ more payment terminals
✅ designated serving roles
A lot of clubs under-resource the biggest game of the season.
The bar numbers were insane 😂
PLAY OFF FINAL:
🍺 2,850 pints
🍻 750 bottled beers/ciders
Total alcohol units sold: ➡️ 3,600
71% of ALL matchday revenue came through the bar.
That’s the business model in non league football in one sentence.
One thing we noticed:
There was a huge shift from beer to spirits after 5pm 👀
We sold: 🥃 175 shots/spirit drinks
Including:
• Rum mixers
• Vodka mixers
• Gin & tonics
• Jagerbombs
• Tequila Rose 😂
Once the day becomes social rather than purely football… spending behaviour changes.
That, or our players got excited. I wonder which one…
The hourly sales patterns are fascinating.
Final: 🕛 12-1: £1,025 🕐 1-2: £5,343 🕑 2-3: £9,249 🕒 3-4: £6,341
The lesson?
Most clubs massively underestimate PRE match trading.
People arrive earlier for bigger occasions.
If your ground has atmosphere, they stay longer too.
Your questions. Answered. 🗣️@HarryHugoGoat‘s 25/26 review coming out later today. 📹
– What promotion MEANS 🆙
– What’s next for the Stadium? 🏟️
– Women’s Team direction ♀️
– NLS expectations ⚽️
– and a lot more ➕ pic.twitter.com/xoouujW3os— Farnham Town FC (@FarnhamTownFC) May 7, 2026
Food wise:
🌭 163 jumbo hot dogs 🍔 121 burgers 🍟 422 portions of chips
The funniest thing in football:
Chips are basically financial infrastructure 😂
Seriously though, simple menus win on busy days.
Speed > complexity.
Merchandise also spikes massively during emotional moments.
We sold:
👕 27 replica shirts
🧢 32 hats
🛍️ 81 total merchandise items
Success creates identity.
People want to feel part of something.
That’s why branding and storytelling matter so much at this level now.
And that’s with a hugely depleted stock – more stock coming soon with our new club shop and Adidas deal.
Another thing people don’t see:
These games absolutely hammer volunteers and staff physically.
You’re effectively running:
• security
• hospitality
• live events
• catering
• alcohol service
• logistics
• media production
• crowd management
…while emotionally watching the biggest game of the season 😭
I think non league clubs sometimes undersell themselves.
These aren’t just football matches anymore.
The best-run clubs are becoming:
📺 media brands
🍺 event businesses
🏘️ community hubs
🤝 networking spaces
Football is the heartbeat.
But the ecosystem around it is where clubs can really grow.
The biggest takeaway from the play offs for me:
People are desperate for REAL experiences.
Affordable. Local. Emotional. Communal.
That’s why non league has such a huge opportunity over the next 10 years if clubs modernise properly.
Anyway… thought some people might find this interesting.
Would love to see more clubs sharing the operational/commercial side of non league because there’s loads we can all learn from each other 🤝
Happy to do more of these threads if people enjoy ✅
We’ve done it again 📹 pic.twitter.com/wQNNTR9xCS
— Farnham Town FC (@FarnhamTownFC) May 4, 2026
Photo for the haters x pic.twitter.com/KxIdBehtQy
— Harry Hugo (@HarryHugoGoat) May 4, 2026
Here’s how fans reacted after the chairman of the newly promoted non league club reveals how they made £100,000 in 7 days…
@JGGoalkeeping87: 100k in 7 days Say what you like about Farnham but they’ve got proper business people running them which means they can maximise what they do. Deserved success 👏👏
@_ChrisPrior: This is an incredible insight into non-league matchdays, events and a club that continues to go from strength to strength
@footyfan0504: Love the transparency with these threads. Great work Harry don’t worry about the haters. All success has been deserved and earnt
@SalisburyFC: Such an interesting read, credit to @HarryHugoGoat & @FarnhamTownFC. This is the structure non-league club’s need to follow, it needs this modernisation.
@GMixture: Very interesting thread here. Similarities to the mindset of the new @OfficialClarets ownership under @SJGore. Huge strides being made off-field to maximise revenue to prepare us for the next level, and to enhance the match-going experience for fans.
@thechels1: Thanks for posting which I found very interesting. Hopefully my team @OfficialShots can get some ideas and improve the match day experience. Best of luck in the NLS next season.
@big_alaw: A great read.. Nice and easy for us non “business people” to understand.. Fair play to you and the club.. I remember officiating there when it was just a man and his dog watching.. Take a bow.
@SloughTownST: Excellent overview, something many say they do matchday but often fall short. It is well known that player costs at your club helped to achieve league success so big games and large attendances help pay back the investment. Some do this but fail. You made more by finishing 2nd
@BewlayChris: Great insight & congrats on your success. A lot of the buzz around FTFC is the continued success on the pitch. How do you adapt once you eventually find a level and have a lower win %. Football will always be a zero sum game