SG billionaire, Ronaldo unveil digital football platform

Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim, who also owns popular football club Valencia CF in Spain, is creating a digital platform to connect football fans and those in the business of the sport.

Photo credit: ZujuGP

ZujuGP will allow football fans to watch live games virtually, buy merchandise, engage with players, and place bets on games. For those in the business of football, the platform will build an ecosystem of services for stakeholders including club owners, agents, and talent scouts to recruit, train, and mentor aspiring players.

Portuguese football professional Cristiano Ronaldo has unveiled the new digital platform through a commercial where he is “transformed” into a Chinese-style warrior wearing different masks. The video has amassed over nine million views since it appeared on Ronaldo’s and ZujuGP’s social media channels last Thursday.

The launch of the digital platform comes at a challenging time for the sport amid a decline in revenues caused by Covid-19.

Photo credit: ZujuGP

“With time and proper nurturing, we are confident that ZujuGP can help grow the football fan base in Asia, and match talents in the east with clubs in the west and vice versa,” said Lim.

Lim, who once made a failed bid to buy English football club Liverpool, was a stockbroker before he cashed out on Wilmar, one of the world’s biggest agricultural businesses, for US$1.5 billion in 2010.

Meanwhile, ZujuGP said it sees Asia as the next frontier for the “world’s most popular sport,” and tech as a disruptor to how football is watched and how players are matched and trained.

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As part of the platform’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, ZujuGP said it will partner with firms in local communities to support young people from vulnerable backgrounds to achieve their sporting goals and education.

The platform will also work with health and wellness companies to offer services to its users with physical, emotional, and mental problems associated with sports and excessive screen time.