Football fans worldwide will be given the opportunity to help make player transfers happen, thanks to a new sports fan funding platform, BuyMyPlayer.com, launched in Dubai.  

 

The official inauguration of the site was held at the Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa, Dubai last week. The BuyMyPlayer team also revealed ex Real Madrid defender, Michel Salgado, as the first official brand ambassador for the platform. 

 

Currently BMP caters to football (soccer) only, with plans to include additional sports such as basketball, rugby and American football in the near future, said the top officials at the launch. 

 

The website went live after a six month intensive pilot phase dedicated to market research and collating transfer insights from an extensive database of registered football fans globally. 

 

The BuyMyPlayer team ensured launch of the platform around the beginning of the summer transfer window to help football fans, clubs and players around the world actively partake in bettering their teams for the coming football season. 

 

Faisal Belhoul, the chairman, ofBuyMyPlayer, said, "This is the first time that a fan funding initiative allows football fans to show their support in making their clubs more successful in a way which also compliments their clubs. A lot of clubs fall short of making the necessary transfers due to lack of adequate funding; BuyMyPlayer is a channel these clubs can easily utilize."

 

"Our platform also supports football agents alike, by helping them make the right transfer decision to fulfill their player’s professional aspirations. Fundamentally, the offering is all-inclusive to the whole football industry. We are honored to have Michel Salgado, a legendary name in football, partner with us from the very beginning of this project – it is reassuring to know that players themselves believe in our vision," he added.

 

BMP registered fans interested to pledge for a desired player to join their favorite club are given three options: to pre-pledge for their player, live pledge or be involved in both. While pre-pledging allows fans to initiate transfer ideas of a player to a team they support, live-pledging involves an actual financial contribution for the player’s potential transfer. 

 

"I am very proud to be part of this revolutionary platform from the start. This is the first time football fans are truly involved in the transfer process for players to the clubs they have been loyal to since they were kids," said Michel Salgado during his announcement speech at the conference.

 

"Also, this platform has no boundaries. It is for all football enthusiasts around the world, not only the ones that visit the stadiums. I am looking forward to being part of this growing team – I believe this is the future of football,” he stated.

 

Live pledges are only posted on the site once BuyMyPlayer reaches an agreement with a club on the additional amount needed to effect a certain transfer. Once sufficient contributions have been collected, the BuyMyPlayer team will contribute to effecting the transfer with the club and the player involved.

 

Khalfan Belhoul, the CEO of BuyMyPlayer, said:"We truly believe the motivation of sports enthusiasts, and especially football fans, to pledge is sustainable and we hope to reinforce their passion with one or more live transfers this summer. We’ve worked very hard to make sure football fans have something substantial to look forward to and get involved in, for this season and all the transfer windows to come."

 

"Personally, if someone else developed this platform, I would be the first to pledge. We know there are masses out there that would do the same– this was also verified from all the feedback we gathered from our database during the pilot phase," stated Belhoul.

 

"Financial contributions made by pledgers to live transfers are made through Paypal. Should the transfer not happen, a full refund to all those who have pledged is guaranteed," he added.-TradeArabia News Service