Israeli fintech startup Football Fans Marketplace (FBFM) is introducing crowdfunding to the $9.3 billion industry surrounding the sport that Americans call “soccer.”
The online marketplace will allow fans worldwide to invest in their favorite players and clubs. The platform, footballcrowdfans.com, is now open for early registration of fans and European clubs that meet FIFA and UEFA conditions and are expected to yield high returns for investors.
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Users can build dream football teams, track the teams’ progress and support players and clubs by offering them low-interest long-term loans managed through the platform.
“Contemporary football is a ‘closed club’ into which only the richest clubs can enter, ” according to a statement from the company’s management team of Israeli fintech entrepreneurs. “The rich clubs of Europe’s football superpowers buy the best players and win the championships and the cup matches. The ‘semi-finals club’ is also a ‘closed club’ in which only clubs with very large budgets can participate.
“Conversely, most of the world’s football clubs face funding and budget limitations that prevent them from hiring the players who can take them to the top. As a result, European football clubs need to obtain high-interest loans, which are based on bonds issued by US financial institutions. FBFM’s low-interest long-term loans have been created to provide an attractive alternative to current funding models, an alternative which is also more natural for both clubs and fans.”
The Tel Aviv-based company says the loans “will be meticulously supervised and inspected by FBFM professionals and specialized escrow, legal, and accounting experts.”
FBFM will charge commission if and when a transaction is made. If a player presented on the arena is transferred to another club, the fans who invested in him will receive a portion of the proceeds.
