Football is available on every screen, but when it comes to practicing it, proper facilities are not always available, especially in rural areas. Grintafy is aiming to change that – the comprehensive mobile platform aimed at football fans and non-professional football players is encouraging more people to get moving.
And a solution like this is needed at a period when obesity in the Kingdom is at an all-time high. According to the World Health Organization, it is estimated that over 35% of the total population is obese. It is understood that Saudi Arabia is amongst the world’s top 15 least healthy nations.
“Ever since I can remember, my life revolved around football. We played at home, in school, and in the streets. When we weren't playing, we were watching games and [football cartoon] Captain Majed,” says founder and CEO Majdi K. Allulu, 38. “That passion only intensified when I had sons of my own to share it with.”
Young amateur football players in Saudi often practice on the streets and in youth centres, but more recently has there been an increase in the business of privately-operated football fields. Not only do these fields offer a safe and well-maintained alternative for youth, it also provided an incentive for others to leave the comfort of their couch and get practicing a sport they enjoy.
“These facilities were not available in the old days. Almost all turf private fields now are supported with academies that teach the proper way of playing soccer and offer a chance of getting you to play in front of a scout or a [professional] club,” says Nader Alremi who operates a private sports centre, named Shatey, in Jeddah.
Grintafy functions for amateur footballers the same way LinkedIn would for users. The platform allows players to create their ‘football CV’ and build upon it; allowing them to get rated and rate other players after a match; as well as vote for and view man of the match, team of the week and team of the month. Users can also connect with other football players, plus book football fields and arrange or join games in their area. Third-party services, such as a referee or a photographer, can also be booked through the application.
The app wants to eventually connect talented amateurs to scouters for a possible professional career in football.
Says Allulu: “We know there is great undiscovered talent out there. Whether they are kicking a water bottle around or tying up their thobe to play at school, everyone deserves a chance to showcase their talents.
And while the name of the platform might not make any sense on first-read, Allulu, who studied computer engineering at the University of Central Florida, has an explanation that makes it quite relevant.
“[Grinta] is an Italian word that is defined as determination and achieving a goal. With regards to football, it is so much more. Grinta is hating to lose. I want everyone to ‘grintafy’ their game!”
It might be early to conclude the impact Grintafy is having on encouraging fans to play, rather than watch, football, but the progress the platform is making is hard to overlook. Since its launch in the beginning of 2017, it has grown from a single person’s self-funded project into a small company with a team of nine people and three investors, operating a platform of 60,000 registered users from nine different countries. It is headquartered in Jeddah.
Throughout the past two years, more than 1,800 football games have been created, with more than 30,000 players joining games using the platform. The platform currently features 70+ football fields available for booking with more than 4,500 booking transactions completed, valued at SAR 2 million.
Looking ahead, Allulu and his team are currently in active steps to launch in North Africa in Q2 of 2019, as well as in Latin America by Q4 of 2019. So all that remains to be seen… who will become the region’s next Mohamed Salah? And will he be scouted from Grintafy?