Eleven Sports announces acquisition of MyCujoo ahead of streaming platform launch

UK-based media group Eleven Sports has bought streaming firm MyCujoo, with Eleven promising the launch of a service dedicated to grassroots football.

MyCujoo launched in 2015, and works with amateur clubs to generate revenue via the sale of content to sponsors and advertisers. Its investors include Go4it Capital, Sapphire Sport and Carsten Thoma, who will retain an interest in Eleven. Last year, MyCujoo streamed more than 22,000 matches and attracted in excess of 26 million unique users from around the world.

The coverage from MyCujoo’s consumer platform will be folded into Eleven Sports for the launch of a global platform which plans to be fully operational in 2021. The company said that MyCujoo’s tech stack will power the new ELEVEN service. Details of this platform are still few, but Eleven has said that content will be split into three vertices – one for grassroots football around the world, one for women’s football and a third for esports. The service has been touted as a potential competitor to DAZN.

Luis Vicente, Eleven CEO, said: “We’re delighted to welcome MyCujoo into the ELEVEN family. We will be coming together to give federations, teams and players a new and improved home to showcase their talent. We aim to serve dedicated communities of supporters everywhere with a first-class global sports destination and thousands of hours of Live sport.”

“MyCujoo has proved itself to be a leading destination for long-tail content over the past five years. We look forward to building on that incredible legacy and taking the offering to the next level. By bringing our technology, content and expertise together we are committed to building a world leading destination for fans and content creators.”

“This is a milestone moment in the ELEVEN journey. Over the next few months we will become the home for sports democratisation – premium, professional, semi-professional, amateur, long-tail, new-tail, real and virtual. Our platform will provide access for every sport, athlete, player, content creator and fan. More than ever we stand ‘By the Fans. For the Fans’.”

Pedro and João Presa, MyCujoo Co-founders, added: “MyCujoo was founded with a single mission – to provide accessible but powerful technology for football’s non-elite to live stream, showcase and realise the value in their content. That mission has seen millions of fans worldwide engaging with their clubs more closely than ever before.

“In Eleven, we’ve found a partner that not only shares our commitment to celebrating local and grassroots sport, but also accelerating untapped broadcast potential in live video for organisations worldwide.”