A platform sold virtual shares in the big football stars – and promised juicy dividends. Then the courses crashed.
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His course has collapsed: soccer superstar Lionel Messi.
Photo: Keystone
Football Index’s promise sounds tempting: “Turn your football knowledge into money,” says the British betting exchange website, “buy and sell shares in football players.” However, these are only virtual shares that can only be traded on this one platform.
It is one of many attempts to make the billion-dollar business of football fans accessible. Others, like mutual funds that wanted to share in the transfer proceeds from footballers, usually failed at an early stage. Sport has turned out to be an overly closed market, to which investors from outside the industry have difficulty gaining access.
