Contxto – It has not been a good few months for team activities. This is a massive shame, especially for those craving to go back to watching and/or practicing sports like football (also known as “soccer” by some, but we won’t judge them for that).
Pitz.App is therefore the sort of startup that should have got a real kick in the shins by the Covid-19 quarantine, but think again.
This Mexican football app, founded by Fernando Mendivil y Rafa Sánchez Varela, has recently announced that it will be raising capital to boost its tech.
Why? Well, in order to allow you to film your signature plays on the field, send them, and get back videos narrated by football commentators.
If you’re not from Latin America you may not be realizing how glorious this actually is (no Spanish needed):
Covid shifting football’s goalposts
It is slowly dawning on people that there is no hard border between “lockdown” and “end of lockdown”. Therefore, folks are keenly looking at the phases they will be put through until we’ve gone back to normal.
Luckily, as things would have it, it would seem that outdoor activities will be back on before closed-door gatherings, so this is a great memento to dust off those cleats—and Pitz knows it.
This is especially true if you consider that, even if you thought the economy stopping was a big deal, you haven’t seen Pitz.App’s figures showing the screeching halt of amateur football. According to the startup, the beautiful game used to be played by at least 200 million people across Latin America, including 40 million players in Mexico.
This is why the startup has gone from a company that helped connect the different players of the amateur football world—sponsors, parents, coaches, and the chaps down on the field—, to bet hard on diversification with “La Repe”.
Kickstarter kick-off
“La Repe” is the name they’ve given to this remote video commentary function, and to get the money to run it, the app has mustered all its star power to back it up.
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Miguel Layún, professional footballer and Pitz.App investor, was rolled out to promote the funding drive for the only Mexican startup to rank amongst the sportstech companies accelerated at Adida’s leAD Sports initiative.
“I am proud of Fer and Rafa, because they’ve shown how Mexican entrepreneurs are not diminished by adverse circumstances like the one we’re living through now, but rather, they have gone on to innovate.”
The idea is for interested and loyal users to pre-buy the service on Kickstarter. By paying from MX$199 (under US$9) per team, players will get exclusive prior access to the La Repe as of July.
Hopefully, this will be right on time for footballers to allow Pitz.App to (in its co-Founder’s words):
Make your return to the pitches a spectacular one.
Fernando Mendevil, co-Founder of Pitz.App
Related articles: Tech and startups from Mexico!
-AG
