Onefootball raises $300 million

Onefootball wants to venture into Web3 to offer digital content using blockchain technology. First, however, the company cracks the billion-dollar valuation mark.

The soccer media platform Onefootball has completed a Series D financing round worth 300 million US dollars. Liberty City Ventures led the round, with Animoca Brands, Dapper Labs, DAH Beteiligungs GmbH, Quiet Capital, RIT Capital Partners, Senator Investment Group, and Alsara Investment Group also participating.

Onefootball intends to use the funds from the financing round to accelerate the growth of its platform, invest in product development and expand its OTT streaming portfolio. The media platform also wants to venture into Web3 via a joint venture with Animoca Brands and Liberty City: "Onefootball Labs" is intended to enable clubs, leagues and players to publish fan content and experiences based on blockchain technology. Fans can then buy these in an online store. "Onefootball will take millions of soccer fans from Web2 to Web3 while maintaining what our platform was built on - fan engagement in the real world," says Onefootball founder and CEO Lucas von Cranach.

Onefootball benefits from the blockchain and NFT expertise of Animoca Brands. Its co-founder and Chairman Yat Siu is now joining the Board of Onefootball and Onefootball Labs. The investor Dapper Labs will also become a strategic partner of Onefootball Labs and provide its blockchain infrastructure.

Onefootball has been in existence since 2008 and operates an online media platform for soccer fans. The company publishes soccer news, statistics, live tickers and highlight videos in twelve languages. Soccer matches are also streamed live on the portal. According to the company, around 100 million soccer fans visit the Onefootball website every month.