Cricketers Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes among sports stars backing new £40m business fund
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Posted: Tue 22nd Aug 2023
A new £40m venture capital fund, supported by several prominent sportspeople, has been launched.
The Players Fund brings together existing athlete-led investment groups to provide early-stage funding for digital, technology and e-commerce start-ups.
Key figures involved in the initiative are England cricketers Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad, footballers Serge Gnabry, Hector Bellerin and Chris Smalling, and Indian cricket player KL Rahul.
Funding initiatives that The Players Fund merges include 4CAST started by Stokes, Broad and fellow cricketer Jofra Archer; planet friendly investor ForGood set up by Chris Smalling; B-Engaged, which has England's Women's World Cup star Ella Toone among its athletes, and a US-based group headed by former Wimbledon footballer Robbie Earle featuring NBA stars.
Ben Stokes said:
"Since starting 4CAST we have seen huge benefits of athletes and public figures coming together in business and we strongly believe athletes investing together cannot be underestimated.
"By combining our resources, networks and experience, we can achieve so much more collectively than as individuals.
"The Players Fund provides a structured way for athletes to confidently step into early stage investing and to do so alongside teammates and fellow athletes."
Fergus and Ruari Bell, managing partners at The Players Fund, added:
"We're entering a new phase of athlete involvement in enterprise. As athletes seek to better leverage the power of their profile and go beyond endorsement into ownership, the athlete community has been crying out for a trusted destination to invest together into best-in-class start-ups.
"By uniting leading athlete investors and athlete collectives from the UK, EU and India under one roof, we now have that outlet in The Players Fund."
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