New Startup Gives Football Fans and Charities Something to Cheer About In Covid-19 Times

Spot the Ball has been a UK favorite for generations thanks to the UK's obsession with football, skill games and a cheeky little flutter. 

COVID-19 has decimated the funding of many UK football club foundations and other charities who depend on match day raffles, events and street collections.

Enter Skillballer.

The UK startup has launched a unique, online Spot the Ball game where players compete to win the guaranteed jackpot or a share of the weekly prize pool from 50 percent of ticket sales. Uniquely, all Skillballer players must nominate a charity beneficiary upon signup. 

Registered charity beneficiaries enjoy between 30 and 40 percent of their supporters’ £9 a month subscription, depending on the number of players supporting the beneficiary.

It's turning out to be a winning model.

After only three weeks, Skillballer has collected donations for almost half the UK Premier League football club foundations and is about to open their fundraising platform to the broader charity sector, golf clubs and amateur sports clubs.

Originally built for football club foundations, the reception from the wider charity sector has been strong, according to Skillballer execs, with multiple well-known charities poised to raise much-needed funds.

"We are delighted to partner with Skillballer. It's a new twist on a much-loved game, which will help us raise funds to protect the planet's rainforests and fight climate change" said Chris Redston, Executive Director of Rainforest Trust UK. 

Charities can get started on Skillballer in minutes.

All players referred by the charity are locked to the charity for as long as the player nominates them as the beneficiary of their play, which is estimated by Skillballer executives to be, on average, 390 weeks, using typical charity lotteries as a guide. This generates long-term, recurring income for the charity.

The charity supporters, meanwhile, play for a chance at the weekly cash prizes by pitting their wits against the three ex-pro footballers who serve as the ball location judges and to support their chosen charity.

League tables help fans see how they stack up against each other to add another element of competition, as well as enabling extra prizes to be allocated to charity players. For example, football club foundations can give a signed match day jersey to their supporter closest to the ball on Skillballer.

According to Dr David Savory, co-founder of Skillballer. “The charitable foundations of Manchester United and Liverpool F.C. are the best supported charities so far but as more people join, that could change from week to week.”

All UK football clubs, more than 12,000 UK charities and 7,000 amateur sports clubs, including all UK golf clubs, are currently in the Skillballer database. 

New beneficiaries are added quickly after a compliance check with the Charity Commission and HMRC.

For more go to skillballer.com or their Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Charities can apply to raise funds here.

Players can join to play this week’s game here.

To support Rainforest Trust UK on Skillballer, click here.