Egyptian fantasy soccer platform Eskab announced last Monday the successful completion of a US$3 million funding round. Led by 4DX Ventures, the funding round saw the participation of several financial institutions and angel investors. Thanks to the funds secured, Eskab wants to make soccer more exciting and interactive for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) fans by developing new products. In that regard, it intends to recruit engineering talents and product teams as well as partner with soccer clubs. 

Fantasy soccer is a simulation game where users predict the outcome of soccer matches between virtual teams they create using virtual representations of real-life players.  With their virtual teams, users can take part in free or premium competitions and win prizes. 

“During my time [in Canada], I got exposed to the rise of DraftKings and FanDuel. My friends were playing these two games and while I didn’t know much about Canadian sports, specifically hockey, I found that playing these games was the easiest way for me to kind of get to know the sports and kind of develop that sense of camaraderie with my friends. (...)I enjoyed the games and realized, ‘Why is no one doing this for the hundreds of millions of football fans in the Middle East and Africa?’ So we did some research and realized there was a massive market gap for this kind of game [fantasy football] in the Middle East and Africa, ” explains  Aly Mahmoud, Eskab founder.

Launched in 2018, the platform claims more than 700,000 users in Egypt. Its userbase has been growing steadily since the launch of premium contests in 2021.  The platform plans to enter other sports but, with the coming soccer World Cup, Eskab to first explore the soccer world before venturing into other virtual sports. 

Adoni Conrad Quenum