{{Short description|British sports website business}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox website | name = Pitchero | logo = frameless | logo_alt = Pitchero logo | url = [http://www.pitchero.com Pitchero.com] | commercial = Yes | registration = Required for club/league websites | language = English | founded = 2007 | owner = Pitch Hero Ltd | founder = {{ubt|Mark Fletcher, CEO|Jon Milsom, CTO}} | launch_date = 2008 | current_status = Online }}
'''Pitchero''' (Pitch Hero Ltd) is a sports website company based in Leeds, United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Pitchero |url=https://join.pitchero.com/about |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=Pitchero}}</ref> Founded in 2007,<ref name=":1" /> it provides a website building and hosting service for semi-professional and amateur sports teams and sports leagues in football, rugby union, rugby league, field hockey, ice hockey, cricket, and netball.
Pitchero charges a monthly subscription fee to sports clubs.<ref name=":0" /> Grassroots sports clubs use Pitchero to create team websites, where they can manage membership and payments; post information on fixtures, results, league table rankings, and player stats; and recruit new players, parents, and coaches.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Eccleshare |first=Charlie |date=8 December 2016 |title=How video-sharing technology is bringing much-needed modernisation to grassroots sport |work=Telegraph.co.uk |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2016/12/08/video-sharing-technology-bringing-much-needed-modernisation/ |access-date=2023-03-28}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=O'Hear |first=Steve |date=23 January 2017 |title=Pitchero, a platform for amateur and grassroots sports, scores £3.1M Series A |work=TechCrunch |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/23/pitchero/?guccounter=1 |access-date=2023-03-17}}</ref> They also use Pitchero as a communication tool to facilitate internal team discussions and team selection; upload photos and videos to share with their supporters; and share match previews and directions with opposing teams.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 December 2012 |title=How Old Cents are spreading their message through web |page=38 |work=The Gloucestershire Echo |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1239760237 |access-date=2023-03-18 |id={{ProQuest|1239760237}} }}</ref>
== History == Pitchero was founded in 2007 by CEO Mark Fletcher and CTO Jon Milsom during their final year at university.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Tyler |first=Richard |date=11 May 2008 |title=Sports website entrepreneurs aim to find next Beckham |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/2789779/Sports-website-entrepreneurs-aim-to-find-the-next-David-Beckham.html |access-date=2023-03-28}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=25 October 2018 |title=Sports tech firm Pitchero in Leeds purchases rival Teamer |work=Yorkshire Evening Post |location=Leeds |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2125564701 |access-date=2023-03-17 |id={{ProQuest|2125564701}} }}</ref> Fletcher received a degree in economics and politics from Loughborough University.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Lizzie |date=19 June 2008 |title=Graduates on the ball with sport website |work=The Yorkshire Post |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/335463526 |access-date=2023-03-18 |id={{ProQuest|335463526}} }}</ref>
The pair launched their first trial version of Pitchero in February 2008.<ref name=":3" /> Based in Leeds, their angel investors were Andrew Hobson and Andrew McCarthy.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":6" /> In the summer of 2008, the company laid off its only employee and cut back on expenses due to the 2008 financial crisis.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Tyler |first=Richard |date=8 November 2009 |title=Bright ideas – Sports community entrepreneurs convert their chance |page=8 |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/yourbusiness/brightideas/6522721/Sports-community-entrepreneurs-convert-their-chance.html |access-date=2023-03-28}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Tyler |first=Richard |date=26 June 2011 |title=It can be OK to ignore the rules: THINK TANK Two graduates have guided start-ups to success against the odds |page=8 |work=The Sunday Telegraph |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/873642646 |access-date=2023-03-18 |id={{ProQuest|873642646}} }}</ref>
By 2009, Pitchero was receiving nearly 20 percent of all rugby-related Internet traffic in the UK, according to Hitwise.<ref name=":4" /> In 2011, ''The Sunday Telegraph'' reported that 12,000 clubs were using Pitchero, including a core of 4,000 teams that were using the site daily.<ref name=":5" />
Pitchero made a free mobile app available in 2013.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 June 2013 |title=Sporting heroes! |page=6 |work=Huddersfield Daily Examiner |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1368527411 |access-date=2023-03-18 |id={{ProQuest|1368527411}} }}</ref> In 2016, the company introduced the Pitchero Play app for sports teams to record, upload and share videos of their matches in real time on their websites and across their social media channels.<ref name=":0" />
In 2017, Pitchero secured £3.1 million in funding from a group of investors led by ICM, a global fund manager.<ref name=":1" /> As of 2017, the company reported that it had 70,000 teams in the Pitchero network, and claimed to have over 1 million active users.<ref name=":1" />
In 2018, Pitchero acquired Teamer, a rival in the sports tech business which had a mobile app for team management, and had previously acquired Club Website.<ref name=":2" /> When the acquisition was announced, Pitchero had 24 employees, while Teamer had 22 employees in the UK, seven in India, and one in Australia.<ref name=":2" />
== Reviews == In a review of Pitchero Play in 2016, football journalist Charlie Eccleshare wrote that the ability to watch and share match videos "provides a tiny insight into the buzz professionals must get when watching themselves, because for a fleeting moment it makes you feel like a celebrity and at the centre of the football universe."<ref name=":0" /> Among possible uses for the video app, Eccleshare listed the ability to share video clips of a goal or skill; keeping fans engaged when they aren't able to attend games; recruiting new players and increasing grassroots participation; and appealing referee decisions.<ref name=":0" /> While noting that the video content had increased traffic to club websites, he suggested that some clubs might not be willing to pay the additional fee to use Pitchero Play.<ref name=":0" />
== Notable people == Olympic gold medalist Kate Richardson-Walsh, OBE, former captain of the Team GB and England women's hockey teams, is an Athlete Ambassador for Pitchero.<ref name=":7">{{cite web |title=Introducing our Pitchero Athlete Ambassador Kate Richardson-Walsh |url=http://join.pitchero.com/introducing-our-pitchero-athlete-ambassador-kate-richardson-walsh |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=Pitchero |publisher=}}</ref> Richardson used Pitchero at Reading Hockey Club.<ref name=":7" />
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://www.pitchero.com Pitchero official website] * [https://vimeo.com/user8633807 Pitchero videos on Vimeo]
Category:Online companies of the United Kingdom Category:Internet properties established in 2008 Category:Companies based in Wakefield