The App Bringing Grassroots Footballers Together Across the UK

In 2013, Konstantinos Gkortsilas founded Footy Addicts. The app aims to unite people looking for a kick about through their unique digital platform. Finding a game can be difficult, especially when navigating a new city.

This makes Footy Addicts such an attractive notion. It provides flexible dates and times that give the user multiple match options to cater towards busy schedules. It is also possible to play as often as you wish, sustaining those of us with a football addiction.

The Footy Addicts app runs smoothly because of three simple components. Firstly the software, the digital community that is Footy Addicts displays all match information and acts as the community hub for your casual footballing experience. Secondly, the game organisers. The game organisers essentially bring all the equipment, schedule the matches and make sure the football runs smoothly for all involved. They work hand in hand with Footy Addicts and are essential for helping the app grow. Finally, the user. The more people who get involved, the more enjoyable the matches will be. This is why the platform is encouraging more and more people to sign up.

Back in 2010, Footy Addicts had its first unofficial match. Since then, the community has grown quite dramatically. They are now active in 140 locations and have 339,000 users. Footy Addicts also work with the London FA, trying to expand the football scene in the capital city.

Konstantinos acts as the Managing Director with Danny Taeidy as Head of Growth and Jonathan Suarez as Head of Operations. Find David Chimbaza’s full conversation with Konstantinos Gkortilas on, The Business of Football Podcast.

Konstantinos Gkortsilas’s Journey

Footy addicts was created from Konstantinos’s own experiences trying to find a group of people to play casual football. ‘Born from a need of myself and other people who want to play social football games, in an area where I didn’t know enough people’. Competitive matches are great, but aren’t always convenient because they may require commitment, more match fitness and multiple recurring expenses. This is why Konstantinos believed it was so important to make casual football accessible. Before Footy Addicts Konstantinos recalled, ‘missing out of

playing football because only options I had at the event was playing affiliated games, eleven aside football games, or playing on a small sided pitch, which was quite a big financial commitment, when people might not be in a position to cover this’.

Originally working with EuroStar, Konstantinos made the transition into the football space because of his participation in the sport, but because he also saw a gap in the market. Through his own struggles trying to find football matches that catered to him, he found the solution by starting Footy Addicts. ‘I like to find solutions and problems . If I see something that doesn’t sit right with me, and I believe it can be done a different way, I’m going to try find a way to do it’.

Konstantinos has got people using the app all across the UK. Manchester, London, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Brighton, Nottingham and he doesn’t want to just stop there! ‘Our aim is to be in each corner, to be in a distance in the radius of 20 kilometres from where you are’. Although the plan isn’t to go global yet, Konstantinos is really driven in making social football accessible all over the UK.

Socialising Through Football

It is important to those involved with the company that Footy Addicts aims to be inclusive, and a great way to meet like minded people who share a passion for playing football. ‘The majority of the people coming and playing through Footy Addicts have a really positive vibe, in general, the community and the society, they are quite keen to get out there and socialise’. It can make all the difference being able to play football in a comfortable space. Getting out in the fresh air can have a really positive impact on your physical health as we all know. However, Konstantinos believes what Footy Addicts is doing maybe more importantly is, ’supporting the mental health, going outside, doing an outdoors activity, meeting new people’.

When creating the platform, encouraging community spirit was something Konstantinos always worked towards. Socialising in the community can bring a sense of unity to an area or group, enhance the user experience, and work towards better mental health. ‘When we are approaching the games as a social aspect, we want to encourage everyone to get involved, it creates these core values of the community’. Everyone socialises in different ways, and alternate settings provide new experiences. ‘I always felt that through sports, I can connect better with people. Other people, they find it easier to do it through a pub, through a social event,. But me, when I’m playing with somebody, I

can understand better the other person, the personality and the characteristics they have’.

The Future for Footy Addicts

Footy Addicts is actively trying to expand their operation in the Uk. The larger the community grows however, the more game organisers are needed to keep up with the demand. ‘We want to open up the community on a wider level. So this is one challenge that we have to go through in order to start onboarding people who organise their own games on different platforms’. The more organisers they can get onboard with the company, the further Footy Addicts can spread. There is a large demand for casual football everywhere, not just in the city but in rural towns too.

Konstantinos also wants to enhance the user experience by providing more information and also player feedback on the different sessions. This will allow the individual to choose a specific match, with a greater understanding of what they are going to experience before they’ve even kicked a ball. Konstantinos explains how he wants to make sure, ‘the player has all the information required in order to join a game, plus the tools when the game is done to provide the feedback that’s necessary in order for the rest of the community to know that it is good or not’.

Navigating the App

Navigating the app is really simple and you can have a football match lined up in no time. The first thing it will ask you to do is set up an account via your email. Once you have an account, search for football pitches in your local area. There are plenty of options. Once you’ve found the pitch you wish to play at, there will be a number of different match options. This does vary between different locations but if you keep looking, you’ll find the game for you. Coed, mens, women’s, whatever your preference is, organisers provide many different match experiences. Once you’ve selected when and where you want to play, you’ll have to pay for your individual match. The games predominantly range between five and ten pounds depending on the organisers price. If you are lucky, you can pick up a game for free, but you may have to do a bit more scrolling. After all that, make sure you arrive on time, don’t forget your boots, and enjoy the game.