"In our years of trying to make this sustainable, we've also found that brands have been hesitant to work with an unofficial game, giving us even less options. We've been lucky that there have been so many kind and generous fans who have offered to donate to us to help in the running of the game."
"Goncalves said the team had hoped to emulate Fantasy Premier League (FPL), a fan-founded game before the Premier League worked with them on growing it to what it is today. As the number of users grew, Aerial got more expensive to run and the team realised it needed to sustain itself financially."
Aerial Fantasy, an unofficial fantasy football league for the Women's Super League, will cease operations after the 2025-26 season. The game grew from 158 players in its first year to over 30,000 users by last summer following England's Lionesses' 2022 Euros victory. Co-founders Dani Goncalves and Jimmy created the platform to fill a gap in women's fantasy football gaming. Despite attempts to become an official game and secure funding through brand partnerships, both efforts failed. Rising operational costs and reluctance from brands to work with unofficial games made financial sustainability impossible. The founders hoped to replicate Fantasy Premier League's trajectory from fan-created game to official partnership.
Read at www.bbc.com
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