Bantr App Unites Soccer Fans at Home and at the Match

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Quick Pitch: A social network for soccer fans around the world that lets them pose questions and vote on coaching decisions, referees' calls and player performance.

Genius Idea: Real time polling and a focus on just one sport — which happens to be the world's most popular.

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Liverpool fan Peter McCormack endured Roy Hodgson's brief but underwhelming stint as manager of the famed British soccer club. As he lamented the team's poor performance, McCormack often found himself in debates with friends in England about Hodgson's tactics and which players "were fit to wear the shirt," as he puts it.

But McCormack and his friends also wondered — what did other fans think? How could they see reliable information on how a large sampling of Liverpool fans feel? The newly released iPhone app Bantr was born out of that question.

Bantr lets users meet other soccer fans, check into matches and — most interestingly — pose questions and participate in polls on game action and team strategy. Launched as a website about a year ago, Bantr hit the iTunes App Store earlier this month. McCormack, a web developer for 15 years and lifelong soccer fan, says the transition was fueled by user feedback.

"Everyone was really supportive, but they all said, 'I don't always have my laptop open, but I have a phone whether I'm at a stadium or at the pub," he told Mashable in an interview.

Bantr currently supports Spain's La Liga, Italy's Serie A, Champions League, Europa League and all of England's divisions including the Premier League. Major League Soccer is on the way soon, and the European championships and World Cup will be supported as well. McCormack says the Bantr team is currently focused on just soccer, with its globally regulated rules and statistics for a reason — they can add a new league in a day and a new language in a week.

The company secured nearly $400,000 in seed funding and is in the process of raising a Series A round. McCormack says the solid investment numbers are significant because they mean Bantr can focus on its user experience and quality without having to muddy the game with advertisements for quick revenue. Bantr's web app has about 11,000 users, McCormack says, and the iPhone version reached 1,000 downloads in its first day with no advertising beyond Facebook and Twitter blasts.

Focusing on just one sport to start — the company would like to expand somewhere down the line — is a wise move. It allows Bantr's developers to concentrate on making the soccer experience as excellent as possible, and there are no shortage of soccer fans around the world. (McCormack says nearly 20% of Bantr users are from the United States, and a significant portion comes from India and Asia as well.)

Real time voting for fans is another cool feature that could help Bantr stand out from a crowding field of social sports apps. Time will tell, however, if those advantages are enough to make Bantr a long term success.

Have you tried Bantr? What did you think? Let us know in the comments.

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Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark

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The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

Image courtesy toksuede, Flickr.