German media and technology company Axel Springer is expanding its digital sports portfolio with a majority stake in Brazilian football app Futez and an investment in Israeli sports technology company Marquee.
The moves will strengthen the international digital sports offering of the company’s BILD Group, which includes brands such as SPORT BILD, Transfermarkt and TorAlarm.
Launched in 2025 by Brazilian entrepreneurs João Tomazetti Scholz and Giuliano Reginatto, Futez allows football fans to rate matches, review performances, vote for the best players and assess elements such as stadium atmosphere and refereeing.
More than 100,000 users have already generated over 900,000 match ratings and 4.5 million player ratings on the platform.
Scholz said the partnership with Axel Springer would allow Futez to expand beyond Brazil and create a digital space where supporters can preserve and share their personal experiences from football matches.
Axel Springer backs AI-powered football analytics
In addition to acquiring a majority stake in Futez, Axel Springer has invested in Marquee, an Israeli artificial intelligence platform focused on football data and decision-making.
Marquee combines information from multiple sources, including player-tracking data, video footage and scouting reports, to help clubs and federations make faster and more informed decisions.
More than 20 professional clubs and federations are already using the platform, including organisations from the Premier League, Serie A and MLS.
Marquee is also expanding beyond football, with the company already working with teams from the NBA and EuroLeague.
Selina Wahl, General Manager SPORT and Portfolio at BILD, said the investments reflect the two major dimensions of digital sports: fan engagement and data-driven decision-making.
“With Futez and Marquee, we are investing in exactly these two dimensions: the passion of fans and the tools that enable clubs to make better decisions,” Wahl said.
The two investments underline Axel Springer’s strategy of expanding BILD’s digital sports portfolio internationally, combining fan-focused platforms with artificial intelligence and sports analytics technologies.