Footy Labs has closed a €450k pre-seed round, backed by Plug and Play, Orion Ventures and a group of business angels from football and tech. The funding will help us grow the team, expand our network and bring data-led recruitment to more of the game.
Recruitment still runs on phone calls
Every transfer window, the same pattern repeats. Clubs search for players through personal contacts. Agents send profiles that don't match what the club actually needs. Good players, especially those out of contract, slip through the cracks because the right people never knew they were available.
The data exists. The connections exist. What football has been missing is a way to bring them together.
Building the missing layer
Since launching in October 2025, Footy Labs has been building the recruitment intelligence platform that connects clubs, agents and players in one place. Clubs define their squad needs and receive targeted proposals. Agents see where their players fit before they pick up the phone. Players stay visible, whether they're under contract or looking for their next move.
Behind it is AI-powered matching trained on 30,000 transfers across 135 leagues.
Our pre-seed round brings together Plug and Play, Orion Ventures and business angels with deep experience in football and tech. Beyond the capital, they bring the networks and know-how to help us scale.
A word from our CEO
"Football recruitment has always run on who you know. We believe it should run on what you know. In our first year we've seen clubs and agents waste weeks on outreach that was never going to land, and players miss opportunities simply because no one knew they were available. This funding lets us put smarter, data-led recruitment in the hands of far more of the game. We're grateful to Plug and Play, Orion Ventures and our angels for backing that vision."
Danius, CEO, Footy Labs
What the funding means
• A bigger team. We're expanding our team and operations to build faster and support more users.
• A wider network. We're bringing more clubs, agents and players onto Footy Labs, across more markets.
• Smarter recruitment for more of the game. Data-led decisions shouldn't be reserved for the clubs with the biggest budgets.
This is only the beginning
If you're a club, agent or player who wants to make better recruitment decisions, we'd love to talk. Connect with our team or visit footylabs.ai to join the platform.