This morning I was surprised to read about Futsal. Even being a soccer fan, I rarely hear news about Futsal other than a major event such as the World Cup and the Euro tournament. However, during my commute, I was pleased to read about Mark Cuban’s excitement for joining Donnie Nelson and Brian Dick as a principal league owner of the recently created Professional Futsal League (PFL).
In an interview Cuban mentioned that there are over 30 million people connected to the sport and that it is one of the fastest growing in the world. “I couldn’t be more excited about partnering with and investing in the PFL,” said Cuban.
This statement is key because it validates the fact that there is real opportunity in this industry for brands and investors who want to connect to the growing soccer community in the United States.
Although Mark Cuban brings media attention to the PFL, he is just the tip of the iceberg. Besides the league’s co-owners Donnie Nelson (Dallas Mavericks, President of Basketball Operations) and Brian Dick (Sports Entrepreneur), there are many other world known organizations jumping on board with this project. New York, for example, will be split into two teams; one of them owned by FC Barcelona and the other one by Mikhail Prokhorov from the Brooklyn Nets. The list gets even bigger with the likes of the Buss Family (L.A. Lakers), Atlético Madrid (Spain), Sport Club Corinthians Paulista (Brazil) and Club Atlético Boca Juniors (Argentina) to name a few.
Besides New York, the initial markets on the list are: Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Seattle/Vancouver, Boston and Miami.
In my opinion this is going to give structure to the already existing community of soccer fans who look into Futsal as a way to lead active and healthy lifestyles. I feel this market is untapped and I don’t understand why, as it represents an opportunity to reach consumers face to face and to connect with all those soccer fans who you know are going to be watching soccer on the weekend or when a major tournament is on.
The reality of all of this news is that Mark Cuban just turned PFL into a Shark Tank and now is the time to get in the game and plan for the first season next year.