It's a rare sport that counts its fans in billions. It's an even rarer sport that counts as fans everyone from Prince William to Will Ferrell, Pope Francis to Russell Brand, Sheikh Mansour to Shakira.
Above and beyond the celebrity fans, soccer is the people's game because there is no sport in the world with as large and active a following. Perhaps this is because all you need is a ball and your feet. Perhaps it's because there are almost unlimited ways to play – everything from futsal, to freestyle, to five-a-side. One certain thing is that, no matter what kind of football you play, if you love the beautiful game, you're no passive consumer of the sport. You're someone who reads, learns, shops, plays, shares and connects with others who do the same. You're someone who doesn't just watch on weekends. You're someone who lives the sport.
What I love about The18 is our ability to serve these fans, to be their first stop and part of their daily habit. We started with the premise that there's a deeper and more holistic experience to offer soccer fans. And, every day, we look for new ways to deliver against this idea from a product, content and brand experience standpoint.
