Israeli Fintech startup Football Fans Marketplace (FBFM) is opening the world of soccer investment to football fans thanks to crowdfunding practices.
The business model of the initiative is fairly simple: fans get to invest in their favorite players and clubs by providing them with loans. Whereas fans are able to benefit from the success of a club/player they have selected to support, the clubs are able to raise capital, bolster their brand and connect to their supporters.
FBFM’s model has been established to offer an alternative to current funding models. All loans received by clubs from fans will be supervised and carefully inspected by FBFM professionals and a dedicated escrow, law and accounting experts.
The business rationale behind FBFM looks solid. As per the website of the marketplace, Europe boasts over 500 football clubs and more than 15,000 players. FBFM puts the value of the industry at $9.3 billion, and this amount represents the valuations of football players’ acquisitions, of teams amongst the five premier leagues in Europe only.
Another interesting fact is how strongly football influences and engages fans. According to a research that was done by KPMG, the 10 biggest clubs in Europe have more that 436 million friends and followers in social networks.
Talking of the prospects of FBFM, let’s mention that Israeli business news source Globes notes that the Tel Aviv-based venture is led by a group of Israeli fintech entrepreneurs with a track record in the development and global marketing of online platforms for raising capital.
The platform is now open for early registration.
You can find out more about FBFM by visiting its website.