ShareMatch, the pioneer behind the world's first Agentic AI platform for Shariah-compliant sports investing, today announced a landmark strategic media and customer acquisition partnership with global football media and culture company, Footballco.
The collaboration comes as ShareMatch prepares for its official market launch later this year, utilising Footballco’s network dominance, which includes an audience of 179 million Arabic-speaking fans across the MENA region, to drive high intent user acquisition across key growth territories, led by Saudi Arabia and the broader MENA region.
Reaching more than 800 million fans monthly, Footballco offers unmatched market penetration, digital scale and regional audience affinity across football properties including GOAL, Kooora, Yalla Goal, and Yalla Fans. While ShareMatch is built as a multi-sport investing architecture, football represents its single largest market opportunity. The partnership gives football enthusiasts an ethical, AI-driven gateway to sports investment, embedded directly within the world's most trusted football content environments.
Unlocking exclusive Agentic AI & historic football intelligence
Central to the partnership is a technical synthesis bringing together Footballco’s proprietary Goal-e AI infrastructure with ShareMatch’s HAL AI agentic engine. This collaboration delivers an exclusive, elevated fan experience by granting users agentic access to global football content and data from GOAL and Kooora. By leveraging HAL AI and Goal-e across this rich dataset, ShareMatch offers fans unprecedented analytical insights, turning passive content consumption into informed, Shariah-compliant, investment decisions.
The alliance establishes a seamless bridge between next-generation sports fintech and digital media distribution. Embedded within Footballco’s digital footprint, the rollout directly supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals for sports sector expansion and financial innovation, presenting fans with an ethical, AI-driven platform ahead of its official debut later this year.
Long-term vision: 2030 Morocco to 2034 Saudi Arabia
Beyond immediate launch objectives, the strategic roadmap looks toward a historic decade for sports in the Islamic world. With the 2030 FIFA World Cup featuring host matches in Morocco, marking another monumental World Cup staged in a Muslim-majority nation, ShareMatch and
Footballco intend to extend and scale their partnership through to the landmark 2034 FIFA World Cup in Saudi Arabia, building a continuous engagement pipeline for global sports fans over the next decade.
"We are setting a new standard at the intersection of artificial intelligence, ethical finance and sports," said Rakan Alsulaimani, Managing Director of ShareMatch Saudi Arabia. "In preparation for our commercial launch this year, partnering with Footballco brands, including Kooora and GOAL, was the clear strategic choice. Working closely with Andy Jackson and the
Footballco Middle East team provides ShareMatch with the ultimate media engine to drive rapid user acquisition and build long-term brand equity. Crucially, this collaboration allows us to bring on-chain, in many cases for the very first time, the global population of 1.5 billion digital Muslims. As Saudi Arabia accelerates its Vision 2030 transformation and prepares to host global flagship tournaments like the AFC Asian Cup 2027 and FIFA World Cup 2034, this partnership ensures we deliver an innovative, Shariah-compliant financial platform built for modern sports fans across the Kingdom and the wider region."
"Footballco is constantly looking for innovative digital experiences that add genuine value to our global audience of more than 800 million fans," said Andy Jackson, VP Middle East at Footballco. "ShareMatch is opening up an entirely new financial category with its Agentic AI sports investing platform. We are creating an exclusive, interactive experience that goes far beyond passive media consumption.
We are excited to serve as ShareMatch's core launch partner, delivering this world-first, Shariah-compliant offering directly to our 179 million Arabic-speaking fans across the MENA region. This strategic collaboration ensures our fans receive cutting-edge, culturally aligned technology tailored for the future of sports engagement."
The user acquisition campaign will roll out across Footballco properties in Saudi Arabia and the GCC in the coming months, preceding ShareMatch’s full global platform launch later this year.
