JAFA – an acronym for Just A Fan’s Analysis – is a digital platform for football supporters that allows them to read personalised news and engage with fellow fans. The business has been crowdfunding for investment, but the window to invest shuts on Saturday 18^th January.

The crowdfund through Seedrs has attracted over 180 investors, including Aston Villa and England star Mings.

“Fans are passionate, and fan engagement is changing,” said the Three Lions star. “People want to be in control and seek a personalised experience. That’s what JAFA brings. As an investor it’s been great to watch the business go from strength to strength last year and now is the perfect time to bring the fans on our journey.”

JAFA reached their funding goal in just 48 hours, but released more equity so football fans and supporters of the business can still invest and own a slice of the company, as well as invest alongside a Premier League footballer. You can invest from as little as £11.28 and if eligible receive EIS tax benefits.

Since its inception in mid-2017, JAFA has been named as one of the UK’s top 100 start-ups, and hit some key milestones; with over 20,000 downloads and users on average spending over 7 minutes per day on the app.

“Being a fan-first business, we want that to be reflected in our shareholder base” said CEO & Co-Founder Dan Bedi. “We believe this is a fantastic time to join our exciting journey as we seek to fundamentally change the way football fans engage.”

Fans have had a far greater voice in the world of football since new technologies were introduced to the world. Social media is the prime platform for people from all walks of life to have their say. Twitter is the main platform for this, but recently we’ve seen a huge growth in fan opinion becoming the go-to for fans around the world. AFTV has thrived off fans giving their weekly opinions on Arsenal Football Club, leading to other fan channels following suit.

We’ve since seen YouTubers and influencers make appearances on Sky Sports News and radio as well, showing that you don’t have to be an ex-player or journalist for your opinion to matter – this is new mainstream media and they’re disrupting the industry, something that some outlets are in fairness trying to embrace.

JAFA looks to follow on this trend and build on it further, by creating a social media platform built specifically for the fans, and now you can have your say and have it heard by an audience who care, on a platform that caters directly for it.