AccessFan
Kick-off: the AccessFan story
AccessFan (for Clubs) is a platform that connects sport clubs with members and fans. From managing subscriptions, entering club facilities with you own personal QR code, booking a soccer or tennis court, buying your favorite team's merchandising or even getting tickets for your team's next match.
As lead product designer, I led the UX research and strategy, collaborating with a UI-focused designer to craft a platform now adopted by over 70 of Argentina’s leading football clubs, with expansion underway into Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil.
The constant struggle
Sports clubs in Argentina often faced a recurring problem. Staff spent most of their time on tedious and repetitive manual tasks, like processing memberships or handling different types of payments and invoicing.
And the reason behind this was that clubs were using different systems for different tasks — or sometimes not even a system — making it hard to maintain accurate records or offering new services efficiently.
On the other hand, for members simple actions like entering the club facilities or even booking a court were frustratingly difficult and time consuming.
The goal was then clear: design and develop a platform that addressed both the operational needs of clubs and the self-service expectations of members — in one unified, user-friendly system — without anydirect competitors offering a similar combination of features.
Solution
Our process was firmly rooted in user-centered design. I began by conducting in-depth interviews with investors, club managers, and members to align the platform vision with real-world needs.
Once pain points were mapped, we prioritized core functionalities for an MVP. Research revealed that each club had a unique brand and identity, prompting the creation of a white-label system — allowing clubs to customize logos, colors, and branding while benefiting from AccessFan’s full capabilities. This flexibility became a critical factor in adoption, from small neighborhood associations to large professional organizations.
The design process moved through iterative cycles:
Early sketches and wireframes to define user flows and information architecture.
Detailed flows for the most-requested features:
QR code access for secure, fast entry
Court reservations with real-time availability for soccer, padel, and tennis
Event ticketing with easy post-purchase access
Interactive prototypes tested with club staff and members to identify and resolve friction points. For example, early tests showed users couldn’t easily find purchased tickets — we redesigned the display for better visibility immediately after purchase.
Implementation
We worked closely with developers throughout the build, ensuring design intent translated into functional, performant features.
Design Handoff: Delivered annotated high-fidelity designs and specifications for all core flows.
White-Label Architecture: Collaborated on a modular design system that allowed rapid customization for each club without starting from scratch.
Quality Assurance: Participated in staged releases, validating that UI elements, branding, and interactions matched specifications.
Progressive Rollout: Began with a small group of clubs for real-world testing before expanding to larger organizations.
Results
Adoption: Over 70 of Argentina’s leading football clubs onboarded within the first phase — excluding smaller clubs.
Scalability: Platform now positioned for expansion to Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil.
Operational Efficiency: Clubs reported reduced admin workload and faster onboarding of new members.
User Satisfaction: Members gained the ability to self-manage their experience, from booking courts to purchasing tickets, with a significantly reduced time-to-completion for common tasks.
70+
Leading football clubs in Argentina onboarded
3
New markets targeted: Chile, Uruguay, Brazil
35%
Reduction in manual work for staff
Conclusion
AccessFan for Clubs demonstrates how a well-researched, user-centered approach can solve problems for two very different user groups — club administrators and members — within a single, cohesive platform. By combining operational efficiency, brand flexibility, and intuitive design, we created a solution that not only addressed immediate pain points but also scaled to meet future growth. The project’s success underscores the value of deep stakeholder collaboration, iterative testing, and a strong balance between business needs and user experience.
