London SportsTech firm signs Graeme Le Saux after raising £1m to boost national expansion

MyLocalPitch, the online sports booking platform, has signed former Chelsea player Graeme Le Saux as a non-executive director.

This signing follows on from the business’ private fundraising, which has seen MyLocalPitch become the first London-based SportsTech business to raise more than £1m.

Launched in 2014 by London entrepreneurs Jamie Foale and Sandford Loudon, MyLocalPitch was born out of the team’s continued frustration as they struggled to book pitches for their 11-a-side football matches.

MyLocalPitch now offers a platform where sports fans are given access to over 4000 facilities, enabling them to find a pitch, court or venue near them and book and pay for it online.

In April 2017, the duo also launched the MyLocalPitch app and has expanded its network beyond London to include both Manchester and Dublin.

Jamie Foale, founder of MyLocalPitch, commented: “MyLocalPitch’s customer proposition is simple. We enable sports fans to get out and play their game, giving them easy and affordable access to courts and pitches through hassle-free technology.

“Across the country there are countless sports facilities that are under-utilised or marketed. You might be committed to an expensive Gym membership which you rarely use, but a fantastic sports asset could be sitting on your doorstep and available at a fraction of the cost.

“We are on a sporting mission to utilise technology to change that. From school courts, to park playing fields, MyLocalPitch enables its customers to find and book a site, giving them access to over 17 great sports.”

MyLocalPitch plans to use the private fundraising of £1m to continue the national expansion of its platform to include further towns and cities across the UK and Ireland.

The business is also continuing to develop several partnerships with UK sports bodies and local councils to promote sport in the community and in December the London FA welcomed MyLocalPitch as its official Bookings Partner, enabling London’s FA members to search and book football facilities through the Group’s website platform and app.

Middlesex FA also signed up to become its official Booking Partner to increase and sustain grassroots football participation figures in the area. Waltham Forest council have since followed suit for the borough’s grass football, rugby and cricket pitches.

Jamie Foale added: “Graeme is a passionate supporter of all forms of grassroots sports and his addition to the board is a major asset to the business.

“Armed with the proceeds from our successful fundraising, 2018 promises to be an extremely exciting year for MyLocalPitch as we build on the fantastic progress the team has made”.