Image from the City Connect app
Manchester City Football Club has launched the first of many social apps it intends to roll out throughout this year.
The mobile gaming app, called City Connect, is designed to encourage greater fan engagement during matches.
By registering directly with the app, or logging in via Facebook Connect, each player gets a unique ‘game board’ made up of professional football players and match action.
The free-to-play app combines Bingo, Connect Four and elements of Fantasy Football and includes a fun social twist where players make real-time, in-game predictions to build up their ‘game board’.
Chief commercial and operating officer Tom Glick said: “City Connect takes the best of live sports and social gaming and allows fans both at the match and those watching at home to get more involved than ever before in the action.”
Fans compete with their Facebook friends to accurately predict events during matches based on real-time data from the Premier League games City play.
As live events occur on the pitch, fans can earn tokens by competing against friends or by beating their previous top scores. The aim is to get four in a row on the in-game board to win.
It is available to download for iPhone and iPad devices in the Apple store and is the result of a collaboration with mobile developer OneUp Sports Network.
CEO for OneUp Sports, Daren Trousdell said of the partnership:”In partnering with us, MCFC have joined some of the world’s premier sports brands including the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and more in leveraging the strength of the OneUp Sports network to create further global user engagement and sponsorship opportunities via our market leading, real time mobile sports platform.”
