A Liverpool entrepreneur who has designed the "ultimate app for football fans" says it is on course to hit its 1m user target - after sealing various exciting partnerships and agreements with a host of top clubs.
Dijon Moore's app FANoty, launched during the pandemic, is going from strength to strength - and he is in talks with a list of Premier League and Championship outfits over lucrative agreements - and becoming a front and back-of-shirt sponsor for a top club.
His Liverpool-based firm, set to recruit this year, has also seen Barcelona-based agency Sportive Ways come on board as equity partners, and Andrew Wainstein - who created Fantasy Football League in 1991 - join the project.
That's as well as a "huge name" in the footballing industry also set to join the firm - with news to be revealed in the coming weeks.
Mr Moore told BusinessLive: "I always knew from moment I had the idea there was a space in the market for this.
"All my market research told me fans would love the idea. But getting into a crowded market place and forging a new one is never easy, so I didn’t plan to take over the world in one season.
"I have the ambitious target of 1m fans being on the app by the end of next season and am proud to say these projections are still on target."
Speaking about the potential talks over shirt sponsorship deals with a "top English club", Mr Moore said: "That would be amazing for the brand and help to launch this season in a way I couldn’t have dreamed of this time last year."
BusinessLive reported last year that Mr Moore had created FANoty alongside city app design firm Apposing - and that it had already proved a hit with fans, and was embraced by clubs including Sheffield United and Norwich City.
The app, which was inspired by the "football banter" Dijon heard during the time he spent working as a Liverpool barman, combines a fantasy football element as well as news updates, quizzes and other interactive activity.
Unlike other fantasy football apps, users of FANoty adopt their own teams and can compete against fans from other clubs.
Mr Moore said Mr Wainstein, who was "instrumental" in bringing fantasy football to the UK 30 years ago, can see the app being "huge and wants to be involved".
Speaking about launching a business in the midst of a pandemic, he added: "This was never the plan, and when football stopped it was a huge shock.
"However as FANoty was designed to close that gap between fans and clubs, this time when football came back but without fans we could see the need for this engagement.
"FANoty is perfectly positioned to reward these fans and be part of this conversation.
"One huge benefit of the pandemic was being able to get meetings with people over Zoom, who I hadn’t previously been able to get a foot in the door.
"So in the last six months, things have really started to snowball. I’ve learnt that technology really can reach far and wide and help open doors that conventional methods can not. And in regards to myself, I have learnt that having huge dreams helps to push me further than I thought."
