Axel Springer invests in football fan platform Futez and AI analytics company Marquee
August 6, 2026 11.48 Europe/London By Jörn Krieger

Axel Springer has expanded its digital sports activities through investments in Brazilian fan engagement platform Futez and Israeli sports analytics company Marquee, strengthening its portfolio beyond traditional sports publishing.

The German media group has acquired a majority stake in Futez, one of Brazil’s fastest-growing football apps, adding it to BILD Group’s digital sports portfolio alongside brands including SPORT BILD, Transfermarkt and TorAlarm. The platform’s founders, João Tomazetti Scholz and Giuliano Reginatto, will continue to manage the business.

Available on iOS, Android and the web since 2025, Futez enables football supporters to rate matches, review player performances and score elements such as stadium atmosphere and refereeing decisions. The platform says it has attracted more than 100,000 users, who have submitted over 900,000 match ratings and 4.5 million player ratings.

“Football is one of the few things people still experience together, but there was never a place to keep a record of it,” said João Tomazetti Scholz, founder of Futez. “Futez turns what a fan feels during a match into something they can revisit and share. With Axel Springer we can build that for supporters far beyond Brazil.”

In a separate transaction, Axel Springer has invested in Marquee, an Israeli artificial intelligence platform that helps professional sports organisations analyse performance and make recruitment decisions.

Marquee combines tracking data, video footage and scouting reports into a single platform and is already used by more than 20 professional football clubs and federations, including organisations from the English Premier League, Serie A and Major League Soccer. The company is also expanding into other sports, working with teams in the NBA and EuroLeague basketball.

Selina Wahl, General Manager Sport and Portfolio at BILD, said: “Digital platforms are transforming sports both on and off the field. With Futez and Marquee, we are investing in exactly these two dimensions: the passion of fans and the tools that enable clubs to make better decisions. Through both investments, we are further expanding BILD’s digital sports portfolio internationally.”