FOOTBALL clubs including Berwick Rangers and Annan Athletic are using an app developed by two Scottish brothers to help get fans back to their grounds.
Brothers Alasdair and Michael Crawley launch their Fanbase app this Friday, enabling sports clubs to sell digital tickets, manage contactless stadia and share content through their own branded mobile app.
More than 30 clubs have already signed up to the app, including Elgin City, Linlithgow Rose, Brora Rangers and Carnoustie Panmure.
“The mission at Fanbase is to help clubs of every size thrive in the digital era, enabling them to connect directly with fans to sell mobile tickets and improve fan experiences,” said Alasdair Crawley, who is the Fanbase chief executive.
Mr Crawley said he and his brother had worked in sports clubs and had experienced first-hand the difficulties of growing a club and engaging fans.
“We spoke to other clubs around the country and quickly moved from junior football to premiership level,” Mr Crawley said.
“We realised the challenges they were facing were common for clubs at all levels: fans weren’t feeling recognised and clubs were leaving revenue on the table. So we founded Fanbase in late 2019 and this is what we’ve focused on and invested in.”
The brothers say Fanbase is an affordable way for sports clubs to launch their own ticketing and fan engagement app and grow digital revenue streams, without the costs and complexities of building an app or integrated ticketing system from scratch.
Keiran Carty, company secretary of Elgin City FC, said: “We got to know the Crawley brothers in early 2020 just before the pandemic hit.
“Since then, we have started moving over to digital platforms that make everything accessible for supporters at the click of a button.”
Fanbase says a share of profits will go to national grassroots sports funds.
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