Playtech founder Teddy Sagi backs soccer ecom site Fanz.com
While the drama surrounding the takeover of his former centerpiece company Playtech is unfolding, Teddy Sagi is moving in new directions.
Mr. Sagi, the founder and former controlling shareholder in Playtech, is partnering with UK/Chinese ecommerce company OOOOO Entertainment Commerce Limited (CVE:OOOO) on a new website called Fanz.com.
Fanz.com will target the global soccer community, offering live video commerce, NFTs, and mobile gaming. It is estimated that there are 3.5 billion soccer fans, making it the most popular sport in the world. Fanz.com will officially launch in March 2022.
The parties said that Fanz.com will offer teams and athletes an interactive video commerce solution, to provide intimate experiences that connect to fans through shoppable videos. OOOOO is already a leader in mobile, video commerce and serves leading retailers including QVC and JD Sports. The same technology will be used for Fanz.com, to enable sport teams and athletes to connect to Fanz.com to sell memorabilia and merchandise.
Interactive video commerce continues to explode as a mega-trend in China, estimated to reach $420 billion this year according to McKinsey.
Fanz.com will also offer a service for athletes and teams to create and launch non-fungible tokens and smart contracts that can be sold on the Fanz.com platform. It will whitelist fans for the primary issuance of NFTs to help ensure only legitimate sport fans can participate.
There will also be games launched on the platform. It is expecting to launch the first game in the first half of the year.
OOOOO said it has partnered with Teddy Sagi, a technology and real estate billionaire and owner of LabTech – a property holding and management company which among other assets owns the vast majority of London’s iconic Camden Market. OOOOO is the majority holder of the new venture that will launch Fanz.
OOOOO and Fanz Founder Sam Jones said:
“We believe that the combination of video commerce, gaming and NFTs are a powerful combination for a football fan. Fanz.com will allow direct access to your favourite team or athlete, whether that is a live video shopping experience where you can watch someone signing jerseys and interact with them, or acquiring a digital asset for your favourite team or athlete. Gaming provides a great way to interact with friends and compete for prizes. We have chosen to build this through the browser rather than an app, to reach the true global audience of football.”
OOOOO operates a technology platform that enables retailers, brands and entrepreneurs to share product-based opinions directly to consumers through live, interactive, shoppable videos. The platform also offers gamification and social features which reward the community for helping to grow the user base, reducing the need for traditional ad networks. The company was founded in 2020 by Sam Jones and Eric Zhang and has offices in Manchester and Shanghai.