Dubai-based tech start-up Constellation Sports is seeking to raise $4m of Series A investment for its sports app ‘10’, as interest soars from fans worldwide.

From the time of going live on the Apple and Android Stores five weeks ago, ‘10’ has seen over 3,000 active users worldwide with a total of 5,000 hours being spent on the app and over 108,000 messages sent by users so far. ‘10’ is an app which allows sports fans to receive personalized updates, but more importantly, enables them to quickly react to those updates and chat about them with friends.

Founder of ‘10’ and entrepreneur Andy Meikle said: “Clearly 10’s existing investors feel confident in the direction of the business having committed over $2m since the inception of 10. Whilst there is interest coming in from San Francisco, New York and London, as ‘10’ is headquartered in Dubai we're seeing a great response from investors based in the UAE on the balance of the round, and aim to close funding from a UAE based partner.”

‘10’ is the new era of sports applications as it combines live updates with a social network function, allowing fans to not only receive their sports results in real-time, but react with immediacy. Although many sports apps allow users to stay updated with news and scores, they lack a fun or social element. Alternatively, there are many social apps that lack relevant sports content and data to drive the conversation. ‘10’ offers something unique as fans can express their emotion using the tools available and share that with friends in private chats – all within seconds of something happening.

Shehab Gargash, chairman of Daman Investments said: "The emergence of value in users engaging in online communities is both rapid and significant. Considering the number of people around the world who passionately follow sports every week, there is an opportunity to drive major value if you can create a platform which builds sports fan communities.

“10 is targeting the shift in online fan engagement and sports content consumption to capitalise on a global opportunity at just the right time, and we believe Andy and the team have the necessary experience and passion to successfully execute the plan.”

The app is free to download and therefore works on an added-value model to generate revenue. Shunning advertisements such as banner ads or pop ups, ‘10’ looks to offer more expressive tools (advanced stickers, for example) for fans to purchase, which complement the users experience.

Additionally, it will work with brands to sponsor those tools around big teams, matches or leagues, as well as to provide highly engaging content directed to target audiences based on users’ sports preferences.

Finally, in the long term ‘10’ will one day be a broadcast platform for people to watch professional sports on-demand to keep-up with the changing landscape of fan engagement and sports consumption.

Meikle said: “Over the next five years we will see a major shift in sports broadcasting, sports consumption and fan engagement, particularly as social media disrupts the traditional sport broadcasting model. I believe ‘10’ will be one of the world’s leading platforms for fans to access sport on-demand.”

“We have a lot of exciting developments to come over the next year, particularly in time for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Off the back of a successful summer we will look to expand aggressively internationally. I grew my previous app, Sportlobster, by forming partnerships with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Premier League football clubs and the NFL, so we’ll also look to leverage our relationships in the world of sport to scale our audience when we believe the time is right,” concluded Meikle.

Locally, users can look forward to keeping up-to-date with major sporting events hosted in the region such as the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships or the 2017 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, for example. - TradeArabia News Service