The French start-up Footbar displays its ambitions. Drawing on its expertise in extracting data relating to the individual performances of football players, the company is raising 3.1 million euros with the aim of consolidating its position as world leader in connected products dedicated to football. Find our interview with Stephane Martin, CEO of Footbar.
Everything you need to know about Footbar
Who are you ?
I graduated from ENSTA Paristech, a DEA from the University of Paris VI and Sciences Po Paris (DESS in Corporate Finance and Capital Markets). In 1995, I joined Indosuez, then the Crédit Agricole group until 2010. I then worked for seven years at the Santander bank in Madrid. In June 2016, I became an administrator of the Girondins de Bordeaux and in March 2017, I succeeded Jean-Louis Triaud as president of the club until the end of 2018. I invested in Footbar in 2019 before becoming the CEO in May 2022. I also have minority investments with a strategic shareholder role in several sports start-ups such as Sportall, Kunto and Kobi.
What does Footbar do?
Footbar offers a solution accessible to all, using artificial intelligence to evaluate the performance of football players, whether they play at professional or amateur level. The sensor, discreetly positioned behind the calf, collects and analyzes data from football players.
Our innovative approach combines this data with video streams, allowing our algorithm to learn football by processing hundreds of matches every week.
Already in partnership with leading players such as Red Star and the Dutch Football Association (KNVB), Footbar is committed to offering a comprehensive and efficient solution for the evaluation of sports performance, thus contributing to the improvement both professionals and amateurs.
Footbar’s fundraising
Why did you raise €3.1 million in funds?
Although Footbar currently occupies the position of world leader in connected products dedicated to football, our ambitions extend to the creation of new offers, the exploration of new markets, and the increase of our production capacity.
At the heart of our sensor model lies innovation, particularly artificial intelligence. This fundraising will help support research and development projects aimed at perfecting our existing product and designing new technologies. At the same time, consolidating the awareness of the Footbar sensor represents a major marketing challenge.
This involves initiatives such as advertising campaigns, sponsorship partnerships, and other promotional activities, aimed at increasing brand visibility. These efforts are also intended to attract new customers, whether clubs, federations, amateur players, while attracting the interest of new investors who will help strengthen our position.
Why did you choose to bring business angels into your capital?
First of all, we chose to bring in business angels with different profiles and experiences, whose values match those of Footbar.
We rely on the expertise of men and women who know the world of football extremely well (Raphaël Varane, Manchester United player and former vice-captain of the French team, Nathalie Boy de La Tour, former president of the League of Professional Football, Cédric Bakambu current Galatasaray player and Congolese international, Olivier Delcourt, President of
Dijon Football Côte-d’Or (DFCO), Sevan Karian lawyer specializing in sports law.
At the same time, we have also integrated figures from the business world, including Nicolas Santi-Weil, Chairman and CEO of AMI Paris, and Matthieu Bouin, Managing Director at Webhelp, but also experienced investors like Stéphane Treppoz or Benoît Verbrugghe.
What will Footbar look like in five years?
Footbar aims to continue its expansion on an international scale, aiming to conquer new markets, establish new partnerships with clubs and federations, while massively expanding its customer base made up of amateur football players. The underlying objective is to democratize access to its sensor, offered at an affordable price of €69, in consideration of its exceptional evaluation capabilities.
Finally, we hope to diversify the offer with the arrival of new products, always with the same ambition: to democratize access to data for football players, regardless of their level, and to become the social network for football players. football keen to discuss their practice.
We are convinced that it is by creating bridges between digital and the field that we will fulfill our mission of encouraging physical activity.
