Covering your entire body in paint, yelling like a maniac, and drinking excessive mounts of beer are perfectly acceptable modes of behavior, if you are a football fan.
The Football App (for soccer, not American football), a mobile news and social network for football fans, has closed $7 million in funding.
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Over ten million people have downloaded The Football App and it has 4.5 million monthly active users, according to the company.
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The app is available in seven languages and is the number 1 sports app in more than a dozen countries, including Germany, Brazil, and China.
Soccer is considered the world’s most popular sport, with a fan base of 3.5 billion people. While its following in the U.S. is dwarfed by American football, baseball, and basketball, the rest of the world is obsessed with playing and watching the sport.
Some people love soccer so much, they punch police horses.
Alas the fanaticism surrounding the sport has caused thousands of people to get injured and extensive property damage. The Football App aims to provide a more constructive (less violent) way for football fans to indulge their passion.
They can follow their favored leagues, teams, and competitions with push notifications, and receive minute-by-minute commentary. The Football App also has a library of handpicked football videos with highlights and footage on specific players.
The app also includes a new feature called Fan Zone, which incorporates users profiles, Twitter integration, and live commentary from football journalists blogger, and experts. Users can contribute their own comments and connect with other fans.
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Its large and dedicated fan base creates desirable opportunities for brands, content providers, and gaming, ticketing, betting, and merchandising partners to advertise.
CEO Lucas von Cranach said in a statement that the company’s goal is to double its user base after the 2014 World Cup, which is fueling the football fire. Union Square Ventures led this round to help achieve that goal.
The Football app closed $13 million in funding just six months ago, led by Earlybird Ventures.
It is based in Berlin.
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