Mason Mount and Diogo Jota back APEX’s Baller League investment

credit: ph.FAB/Shutterstock
credit: ph.FAB/Shutterstock

Sports investment company APEX has been backed by fresh capital from Premier League footballers Mason Mount and Diogo Jota for a new strategic investment in Baller League

The 6-a-side football competition has already benefited from the backing of other sporting athletes and internet personalities, such as KSI and iShowSpeed. Baller League merges these internet influencers with the culture of street football to engage younger audiences. 

APEX’s €23m Series A funding is backed by Mount and Jota, alongside other footballers Diogo Dalot, André Silva, José Fonte and Max Wöber, to name a few. The funding round was led by EQT Ventures.

Mount commented: “Baller League brings football together with social media influencers who have huge followings. It’s a great way to make the game more accessible and reach even more fans. I’m excited to see Baller League come to the UK and can’t wait to watch the first game.” 

Jota added: “Baller League has a lot of crossover with the world of Esports and streaming, concepts I understand well. The twitch numbers achieved in Germany in their first season are a strong indicator of the success Baller can have in the UK and US markets.”

After a successful first season in Germany, averaging over 3 million spectators per-matchday on streaming platform Twitch, Baller League announced its expansion with the launch of two new leagues in the UK and US set to start in 2025. 

The UK league is expected to launch at the end of the quarter, aiming to bring  an “innovative approach to entertain digital fans”. 

António Caçorino, CEO of APEX, said: “This marks another significant step for APEX, proving that we can access the best investment opportunities in the industry of sports. 

“We attended a couple of live Baller League games in Germany last year. We are confident it will be an international success, and excited to join the project at such an early stage.”

APEX has a track record of investing in emerging sporting markets and competitions. One of its most recent investments was bringing onboard global music artist Drake to buy a stake in Italian football club Venezia

The company has made investments into the Alpine F1 Team and the Bay Golf Club, one of the six teams competing in the inaugural TGL golf league created by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy

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