Barcelona, Spain – May 15, 2013: FC Barcelona player Gerard Pique and Edgar Torronteras during X Games Barcelona 2013
(Allen Kee / ESPN Images)
Dugout, a digital platform supported by some of the biggest football clubs and players, launched on Wednesday the company’s first mobile app that will give football fans behind-the-scenes access and exclusive content.
The release of the app follows the launch of Dugout.com in November, with the platform already attracting eight million users to join and 13 million page views. The company found that 85 percent of its audience accessed the platform on mobile, making the app a natural progression.
“Dugout was built for football fans across the world — delivering the ultimate place to explore and access the biggest clubs and players on the planet,” Dugout president Elliot Richardson said in a statement. “The app launch is a huge moment for us because we now know most of our users are accessing the platform using their mobile, meaning that we can now give them a bigger, better and more personalised experience — with unparalleled amounts of exclusive and original content, produced by the world’s biggest clubs and players working with Dugout and seen nowhere else, totally free.”
The app includes the ability for fans to create their own personalized experience by choosing clubs and players to follow. Features include video shot by players on their own phones.
Since the launch of Dugout, 37 clubs including A.C. Milan, Arsenal F.C., Chelsea F.C., FC Barcelona, FC Bayern Munich, Juventus, Liverpool FC, Manchester City FC, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid CF have created their own pages on the website, as well as more than 100 top players.
Each club and player has a Dugout profile to upload content and interact with fans on. The content includes videos from clubs that will be shared on Dugout before they are released anywhere else, lifestyle and personal updates from players and original video series featuring ball skills and tricks from players.
Dugout is also partnering with leading football influencers and legends to create their own profile pages and produce content for users.
The Dugout app is available via Google Play and the App Store and is available in eight languages including English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese and Bahasa, with more to come in upcoming months. For iOS devices, users can download an iMessage Stickers pack as well.
