Jogabo – Bringing Soccer Online

Soccer-aholics, take note. Jogabo is the web-app for you. The online community for soccer obsessed kids, teens, and adults lets people promote their games, find extra players, learn about local clubs and organizations, and find upcoming matches in their hometowns.

When you create an account with Jogabo, you can build a profile, make local friends, and organize games in your very own community. Click on “Discover Games to Play” to see what soccer-related events are coming up in your town, and filter those events by date or time. When you see a pickup game that looks like it’d be fun – taking into account the skill level, rules, and specific location – click “Join” and you’ll be added to the list of participants. You can invite friends who you’ve connected with through the Jogabo site to play, as well. If none of the games listed on the site fits what you’re looking for, then you can start your own game. Enter a title, description, date, and game details, and then invite the people you want to participate. The games you organize on Jogabo can be private, which means only your friends can join, or public.

Each game organized with Jogabo gets its own separate game page, where you can find detailed information like maps, location times, and player rosters. You can also use these game pages to leave comments and communicate with online friends about who’s bringing the equipment, who’s bringing the snacks, and who’s planning on winning the match.

Practical Uses:

• Organize a soccer game at a nearby park
• Find a pickup soccer game to play in next weekend
• Set up an after-work soccer match with your colleagues
• Make new friends who are just as obsessed with sports as you are

Insider Tips:

• Organizers can limit the number of players who can participate in a game
• Users can import their contacts from Facebook, Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail
• The local digest informs users of new players, venues, and games each week
• All the features on Jogabo can be accessed from mobile devices

What we liked:

• People can see who else is playing before signing up to participate in a game
• Players can interact by leaving comments on a game wall
• Jogabo sends people automatic notifications so they don’t forget upcoming events
• Game organizers get notified when players RSVP to their events

What we didn’t like:

• Parents might not want their teens meeting strangers for soccer games organized through the app

Alternatives:

• Bantr – http://bantr.tv

Company Info:

• Launched: 2011
• Privately Held
• Headquarters: Santiago, Chile
• Founded by: Jeremy Melul, Jeremy Melul, Mehdi Djabri, Jeremy Melul, and Youssef Chaker
• Web site: http://jogabo.com

Costs:

• Free