Robert Friedman didn’t sink much into football.com—a 1994 bargain at $70.
That doesn’t mean he’s discounting the domain name’s potential now, though.
“It’s a pretty valuable piece of Internet real estate,” said Friedman, founder of Three Point Productions LLC in Irvine, the business entity behind the website. “My small goal is to help America win the World Cup, my large goal is to become a hub of (the) football universe for the planet.”
Friedman knows something about the value of the right domain name at the right time. He paid $1.7 million to secure Auction.com at the depth of the recent recession in 2009. It became the name of the online real estate auction company he co-owns in Irvine and that’s handled the sales of $26 billion worth of property.
Football.com, which Friedman is pursuing solo, shares office space with Auction.com, but that’s about it.
“We want to be the hub for the football world that would include news, career management, and [enable] you to buy absolutely anything you want regarding your sporting life,” he said. “We want to manage your whole sporting life, literally from the first time you start kicking the ball all the way to the point where you’re the guy who scored (a) goal in the World Cup. … It’s (a) very big technological play, and it’s a hobby—and, hopefully, it will make me some money.”
Friedman said he is investing “millions” in the development of the site and, hobby or not, has given himself a firm goal to meet.
“We’ve been at it a year, and if I’m not where I want to be in three years, I’ll be disappointed,” he said.
Divided
The website’s focus is currently divided between American football and soccer—or international football, as it is called in the rest of the world.
“The truth of the matter is—shhhh—I like international football better than American football,” Friedman said.
The website offers in-depth game updates, stats on teams and players, and features a commerce section for sports merchandise, such as team jerseys, footwear or accessories.
Friedman’s team has several full-time website editors who work out of the Irvine office, along with some 200 contributors—sports aficionados and bloggers scattered around the world who generate the content pro bono.
Friedman is keeping an eye on his long-term goal, even though the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil is just around the corner, and with it, a plethora of soccer fever—Football.com was never meant to be just a broadcast hub.
“Right now we don’t feel that we can compete with the Yahoos of the world—we don’t have the manpower,” Friedman said. “We are a pretty good informational site, but our goal at this point is not to be a news site as much as it is to put systems in place for people to manage their sporting career and make sure we as a country are promoting the right kids and the right processes to get the best players in the world. I consider this a soft launch, because it’s only about 25% developed of where I want it to be.”
Friedman said he wants to make sure talent is spotted early on.
“Most of the sites start from the pros down,” he said. “The goal for us is to turn that pyramid upside down and work from the kids down to the pros. It’s just bigger. Frankly, there are millions upon millions of kids who love the game.”
The venture offers potential revenue opportunities for Friedman—advertising, talent search fees, merchandise sales commissions.
It is also a venue for kids to pursue dreams that otherwise may be impossible to achieve.
Young players from around the world will be able to upload their video clips showcasing their skills on the field. The website will also feature a searchable database, making it easy for teams and coaches to find the players, according to Friedman, who was reluctant to divulge more information since his team is keeping the website development process “very stealth.”
“Brilliant Technologists”
He has hired about a dozen “brilliant technologists,” some based in Israel and Ukraine, who are turning his ideas into reality.
“We are about a year away from being where I want to be technologically,” Friedman said. “Building great technology does not happen overnight.”
Promotion will be in full force once all of the website’s features are up and running.
Friedman plans to bring on “high-power sport celebrities,” as there are “a lot of people out there that believe in what we do and want to be involved,” he said.
He’s also looking for a frontman to run the football.com team— a “world-class guy who can straddle the line between the capital markets and sporting industry” that will “take the vision and run with it.”
The vision for the business model has “matured” through the startup phase, according to Friedman.
“We had to figure out how we’ll differentiate ourselves from all the others,” he said. “I don’t think that there has been anyone out there that has been [wanting] to spend the money that it takes to really organize the sport to get to that level. And we made a financial commitment to do that.”
