Start-ups bring fans closer to sport idols

Chennai: What could be more precious for a boxing fan than boxing legend Muhammad Ali’s gloves? For a die hard Virat Kohli fan, one could get a peek into his wardrobe and mimic his style. From giving fans a chance to grab Schumacher’s Ferrari jacket to helping them connect with fellow sports addicts and giving snippets of interesting facts, startups are catering to the complete fan lifecycle.

Universal Sportsbiz Pvt Ltd (USPL) under the brand Collectabillia offers a platform for fans to buy memorabilia and exclusive fan merchandise of over 120 celebrities including Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and, Lionel Messi.

“For exclusive pieces like Sachin’s bat, we conduct auctions. We also have special edition collectables like MS Dhoni’s T20 final memorabillia which is open to a select set of users,” said Anjana Reddy, Founder, USPL. The company is backed by Accel Partners.

Delhi-based Rooter, engages ardent followers of Indian and international sports by organising live prediction matches, rewarding the top 10.

“I play matches on Rooter regularly before or during the actual game and get rewarded on my PayTM account,” said Nischith Pandya, a banker.

The Boman Irani-backed startup Rooter is looking to partner with brands and categories that target sports fans. “We have close to 20,000 downloads of the app and 40% of them are active users playing prediction games for cricket, football, tennis, NBA etc,” said Piyush Kumar, CEO, Rooter.

Source: Economic Times

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