Footium, a London based studio reimagining football management for the multiplayer age, has raised six hundred thousand dollars in a strategic angel round that includes former Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur striker Dimitar Berbatov.
The investment aligns with the game’s hard launch, following four years of development, community testing and competitive seasons involving more than three thousand clubs.
A new challenger for a genre in transition
With traditional management titles facing community frustration and declining momentum, Footium is positioning itself differently. The platform is built around real competition, daily live matches, promotion and relegation, dynamic transfer markets and a social ecosystem where fans create content, trade players and build club identities.
Over four hundred clubs already operate their own public profiles, and teams can earn cash rewards tied to seasonal performance funded by in game activity.
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Berbatov steps in as an investor and early league competitor
Footium’s strategic round includes the Bulgarian striker, who met the team in London and expressed enthusiasm for a platform built around competition between real players.
Berbatov said he sees Footium as the closest experience to managing a club without taking a professional role. Players can join his Friends League this season for a chance to win a signed Manchester United kit.
He joins a group of gaming, sports and tech operators who participated in the round earlier this year.
Early support from leading game industry veterans
Footium has also appointed Andy Watson, CEO of Hutch Games and creator of titles such as F1 Clash and Top Drives, as an advisor. Watson notes that the team is young, focused and delivering a new kind of experience that resonates with modern audiences.
From early traction to full scale launch
The journey began in 2021 with a sell out release of three thousand clubs, followed by a seed round in 2022 led by BACKED VC. Over the past three years, the team has run more than a dozen community playtests and introduced monthly seasons with continuous improvements.
BACKED VC co founder Alex Brunicki said the team stood out early as founders willing to rethink the genre from first principles, adding that Footium’s model enables players to shape markets and ecosystems themselves.
A growing base of competitive players and creators
Tens of thousands of competitive matches have already been played across divisions. Supporters range from major creators to professional athletes, including World Cup winning cricketer Carlos Brathwaite and Football Manager creator TomFM.
Brathwaite, a Division One competitor, said Footium has become a daily part of his routine, noting its unique blend of strategy, rivalry and long term club building.
A modern vision for football fans everywhere
Footium aims to become the global destination for fans seeking a social, competitive and community driven approach to football management. With Berbatov joining as a strategic backer and the full launch now underway, the team believes the timing for genre evolution has never been stronger.
CEO and co founder George Benton said the vision has always been to build the digital world of football where fans can participate as club owners and managers rather than passive spectators.
About Footium
Footium is a London based game studio creating the next generation of multiplayer football management. Players own and run their clubs, compete in daily matches, progress through tiered leagues, trade players and build lasting legacies. The game is now available for free at Footium.club.
