1FF founders Rohit Bhargava and Pete Davis with footballers Ondrej Sykora (left) and Jamil Skaik (right)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe wanted to ensure we create a home for people that may never have connected with sport before,\u201d Bhargava said. \u201cYou never hear of an athlete who\u2019s into cosplay or LARPing in the park on a weekend or playing Magic the Gathering, but why shouldn\u2019t they?\u201d<\/p>\n

1FF spoke with panels in each of their geographies in order to create characters that appealed to them, with background stories that include similar interests and experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have players who have grown up very comfortably but also players who were refugees, players who are gay, players who are diabetic, anaphylactic or have been diagnosed with autism. For us, it\u2019s about showing young people that this is for them, that they can feel safe and never ashamed of who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

The geographies of the 12 founding member teams were picked to give 1FF a good representation around the world. Its players represent 88 countries, which means that even though 1FF doesn\u2019t have a team in huge footballing countries like Mexico, Germany, Spain, Italy, Egypt, Turkey, South Korea and China yet, it does have hero players that people can follow and use as their stepping stone into 1FF.<\/p>\n

Major League Soccer (MLS) is a big business, with Davis and Bhargava pointing to stats like Angel City valuation at $100 million despite launching only three years ago (they share some investors with 1FF), and the top 10 esports companies worth an average of $353 million, up 46% compared to December 2020.<\/p>\n

Despite the rise of esports, Davis and Bhargava expect that their main competition will be stadium football. But 1FF\u2019s goal is to reach fans in places like the U.S., Nigeria, India or Indonesia, who might never be able to go to a Premier League game. \u201cOur job is to build something that resonates with them better than the Premier League, MLS, La Liga or the Bundesliga can,\u201d Bhargava said. \u201cThis means clubs that exist for greater reasons than just to win matches, and players who look like them or have the same experiences and interests as them. We know that we an do special things with our players because they\u2019re wholly owned by us, so we can give fans a level of control of their heres that has never been possible before.<\/p>\n

In terms of monetization, 1FF will make money like other sporting teams, through kit sales, commercial partnerships and pitch side advertising. Some players have their own social media accounts, and brands, which 1FF will announce soon, have already signed sponsorship deals with players and teams. Some monetization channels specific to a virtual sports platform include player cards (with 10,000 available for each player) and Club Credits to give fans deeper experiences with their favorite players and clubs.<\/p>\n

Season 1 of One Future Football starts on June 16, but before then, there will be pre-season games like matchups between Naija United (Nigeria\u2019s team) vs Manhattan Football Club (US), Inter Nusantra (Indonesia) vs Paris St-Dennis (France) and Club De Sportivo Palermo (Argentina) vs Tokyo Youth Club (Japan).<\/p>\n

In a statement about the funding, Blackbird partner and co-founder Niki Scevak said, \u201cAt the core of each sports fan is the desire to be an owner, to influence the decisions each club makes and to endlessly debate the merits of each small decision. Technology offers a unique opportunity to enable this at scale, and 1FF is the digital version of fantasy sports with an incredibly creative twist. As serial founders and lifelong sports fans themselves, Pete and Rohit are uniquely placed to build a modern media company like 1FF, and we\u2019re proud to back them from the very beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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