Meet Flair Football: Youth Sports Social App Launching GoFundMe Campaign To Survive Coronavirus

Many businesses are currently struggling with the coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, given the nature of startups, these tail risk events tend to impact them more profoundly as they may not qualify for the government measures put in place which focus on profitable, sustainable businesses rather than those with significant growth potential. Flair Football, a mobile app for young football players that allows them to track their past performances and prepare for upcoming matches, is one startup that has been heavily impacted by the social distancing rules. The app, which utilises technology to get more kids playing sport outside, is turning to its community for help via GoFundMe.

Flair Football was founded by cousins Nii Cleland and Darrell Coker, who grew up with playing football as a huge part of their lives. It helped them appreciate the value of being part of a team, and provided a great opportunity to meet other children and exercise. Noticing that their youth football careers had no digital record, Cleland and Coker decided to launch the Flair Football app, which gives young boys and girls a way to track their performances, prepare for upcoming matches and celebrate the efforts of their teammates and friends, week by week, season by season. Adding this gamification element to football matches and social connection is helping to get tens of thousands of boys and girls out and doing exercise.

Unfortunately Cleland and Coker were in the middle of their latest fundraise as the coronavirus pandemic struck, and because they are a pre revenue startup they do not qualify for several of the government measures put in place to help UK businesses. However, the pair have been creative, launching a GoFundMe campaign reaching out to their 75,000 strong community. The approach has been successful and since launching on Friday they have managed to raise £16,000 of their £50,000 target. “During a time when isolation threatens to have a negative impact on the social wellbeing of young people, we are focused on ensuring that Flair helps our community stay connected to their teammates and the sport they love” Cleland says. They will be using the funding to create interactive games and football challenges to keep children engaged and active whilst at home, as well as educational quizzes so they don’t miss out on learning while schools are closed.

This is an approach many businesses may start to take if government funding falls short, as some of the services which are deemed unsustainable are very valued and important to the daily lives of many people. You can find Flair Football’s GoFundMe campaign here.

This article is part of a series featuring diverse people making a difference. You can find more articles (click here) and if you have a story to tell or want to be updated as soon as new features are released message/follow me on Twitter @TommyASC91