Covid-19 and the multiple lockdowns have hit sports hard, including mega events like Olympics and IPL. The arena has clearly shifted from vast outdoor stadiums to the safety of the frequently sanitized palms of players. Even as sports lovers wait for real games to start, virtual games are seeing their best moments.
The number of gamers has gone up and enthusiasts are spending more time on virtual gaming every day. India’s first football dedicated fantasy gaming app Twelfth Man, the flagship product of NxGn Sports Interactive launched in April 2020. It has successfully grown into a strong community of 500,000 users.
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However, what happens when life returns to normal? Will the craze for fantasy gaming end?
The Tech Panda asked Kush Desai, the Founder of NxGn Sports Interactive, and he says fantasy gaming is here to stay.
Kush Desai with Sunil Chchetri
Craze for fantasy sport will never die. I don’t see that going down because I think sports is something that connects everyone
“Craze for fantasy sport will never die. I don’t see that going down because I think sports is something that connects everyone,” he says.
The fantasy sport industry in India is growing. Based on the report by Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) and KPMG, currently, there are more than 90 million fantasy gamers in India, a number that is expected to rise to around 100 million by the end of 2020. The Indian fantasy market is also projected to surpass US$5 billion in the next two years.
A survey by the Indian Gaming League states that online gaming will remain a trend in a post-pandemic shift, while many are willing to stay put for the next few months until conditions improve. 75.05% of the people have shown a strong sentiment to continue playing online games even post Covid-19.
An avid sportsperson and fan, Desai says it’s been tough.
“Sports in general has definitely taken a hit globally. Matches are happening without the fans watching. It’s a weird experience, watching these matches without fans cheering. It’s a period of adjustment, I think for everyone right now,” he says.
India’s First
Twelfth Man is a fantasy football app, as of now, the only one in India. It provides a variety of contest types, namely, DFS, League, Live/Offline Trivia, Head-to-Head DFS and H2H League. It also offers monetary and non-monetary rewards to the players. Twelfth Man, the fantasy football app is also supported by The Twelfth Man Show on YouTube and Spotify.
The idea was to not just be an app. Since football has been growing a lot for the past five-seven years, we also want to build a community around the fan culture in India
“The idea was to not just be an app. Since football has been growing a lot for the past five-seven years, we also want to build a community around the fan culture in India,” says Desai.
In football, twelfth man refers to the fans.
“I’m a huge fan of football, but more than that, this app has been created by the fans, for the fans, to bring the fans closer to the sport,” he says.
Twelfth Man Origin
Desai, who finished his undergrad from Boston University is an avid football player himself and knew that a 9-5 job won’t satisfy his creativity.
“I was looking for jobs, but I wasn’t really looking forward to doing a regular job. After university, one thing I knew for sure was that I wanted my career to revolve around football,” says the 23-year-old CEO.
I’m a huge fan of football, but more than that, this app has been created by the fans, for the fans, to bring the fans closer to the sport
Though cricket is the most popular game in India, football has been growing. Desai says, akin to cricket, football too needs a lot more attention given to it, which was one of the reasons he chose football and not cricket.
“If I wanted to do anything, it had to be around football,” he says.
He reveals that he has also been an avid fantasy gaming user since 10th grade.
“I got this idea that since no one has made a platform that focuses solely on football, why not move back to India and then make a platform that’s dedicated to football,” he says.
Riding the Fantasy Gaming Wave
Riding the fantasy gaming wave in India, currently, the app follows the freemium model and gives the users an option to play for free as well. In a short span of time, the app has gained more than 10,000 followers on Instagram, about 73,000 page likes on Facebook, about 150,000 subscribers on YouTube, and about 5,000 followers on Twitter. Close to 500,000 installs, the app is averaging about 100,000 monthly.
“We’ve got a really good response, which I’m happy about. The premier league restarted, so the new season, I think is getting better,” says Desai.
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The startup roped in Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri as its brand ambassador a few months ago, a dream come true for Desai and a big win for the app.
“It’s been a dream working with him. He’s one of the nicest guys ever,” he gushes.
The long-term plan of Twelfth Man is to become the go-to football app and one of the biggest football communities in India with special focus on supporting the growth of fan culture in India, creating a positive impact on Indian football.
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