FourFourTwo.com’s US locale went live last week and the site kicked off its coverage with a preview for the new Major League Soccer season which starts on March 6th.
Major League Soccer will also be a new addition to FourFourTwo’s Stats Zone app for its 2016 season which is free for Android and iOS users. Stats Zone is integrated into the website, bringing a new level of MLS data into the hands of stat-hungry US soccer fans, says Haymarket.
The USA launch is the latest landmark moment in the global growth of FourFourTwo, with local sites now live in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and UK already driving millions of users per month.
According to Haymarket, in 2015, FourFourTwo enjoyed a phenomenal 157% growth in its worldwide digital audience fueled by its expansion in Southeast Asia which grew by over 500%. This led to Thailand and Indonesia overtaking the UK as the brand’s biggest markets in terms of monthly users.
Backed by significant investment from Haymarket Media Group, the brand is putting staff on the ground covering soccer from both the East and West coasts of the US.
Leading the charge is US Editor, Jeff Kassouf, who joined from NBC where he was a key player in the broadcaster’s digital soccer coverage. Jeff is now hiring the rest of his team as the site ramps up to a big year for American soccer with some of the world’s biggest stars converging on the country for this summer’s Copa America Centenario.
“I couldn’t be more excited about FourFourTwo going live in the US,” said FourFourTwo’s Global Editor-in-Chief, David Hall. “Soccer in the US is stood at a tipping point about to take the leap. We’re here to do everything we can to make the game we love as big as possible in America.”
Global Brand Director, Andy Jackson said: “This is the next major step for the brand in its global expansion plan after the great success the team enjoyed last year in Southeast Asia. Our growth has been built on our intelligent, informed and quality coverage of the local game in each market we enter and this is a formula we are looking to replicate in the US with our launch timed to coincide with the start of the 2016 MLS season.”
