Portsmouth becomes first football club to complete successful crowdfunding project

Portsmouth FC has become the first football club to successfully complete a crowdfunding project, having raised a target of £250,000 (US$417,000, €311,000).

The club teamed up with specialist football fan-funding platform Tifosy, ito raise money to create new youth team facilities.

The proposed features would sit alongside the club’s new first-team training facility close to the Portsmouth Roko health club and enable the club’s youth team players to train in the vicinity of starting regulars.

The club was able to reach the target with hours to spare and therefore exceeded the figure they had originally attempted to raise.

Fans and investors willing to donate were offered a variety of entry points, ranging from a £5 (US$8, €6) donation to a £5,000 (US$8,300, €6,200) investment, which would see the donator be given a place in the 2014/15 season squad for a league game.

Crowdfunding projects have grown in prominence in recent times, with businesses across the leisure sector seeking to harness the benefits of investment from supporters and fans of propositions and creative ideas.

For example, in the health sector, fitness startup 1Rebel was able to raise more than £1m (US$1.6m, €1.2m) of investor capital for its fledgling business in under two weeks.

Elsewhere, the William Heath Robinson Trust turned to crowdfunding website Kickstarter, to raise money to open a museum commemorating the artist, illustrator and humourist.