The round was led by US entrepreneurs David and Frank McCourt, alongside a number of other strategic smaller-scale investors.
The company intends to use the funds to expand existing operations, as well as its partnership plans to enhance its technology offering and support growth in the MENA region.
Launched in late 2016 by Elliot Richardson, Chairman, Dugout represents a common efforts among the world’s biggest clubs to create a business – with founding partners including AC Milan, Arsenal FC, Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona, FC Bayern Munich, Juventus, Liverpool FC, Manchester City FC, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid CF, Inter Milan, Roma, Napoli, Tottenham Hotspur, Atletico Madrid, etc.
77 clubs (and a growing number of players) have a dedicated Dugout profile to upload content and interact with fans, meaning that users get a totally personalized experience based on the clubs and players they follow.
The business has already gathered over 67 million unique users and 912 million video views to date.
The company has recently announced a number of other strategic partnerships designed to support the business’ objective of expanding its global presence, including the launch of a partnership with Major League Soccer (MLS) and signed deals with tech companies like VEWD, SPOTX Rakuten/Viber and Amazon to reach more users and provide brands advertising on the platform with better engagement, user consumer targeting and detailed analytics.
Dugout was initially available in eight languages: English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese and Bahasa (Indonesian), with Arabic to be added in the coming months.
FinSMEs
27/04/2018