Four professional soccer players in England are among the founders of a new social media platform , OPON, that has the backing of the Premier League and the players’ union, the Professional Footballers Association . OPON recently began a crowdfunding campaign to build the app with plans to go live later in 2022 .
Following rampant social media abuse directed at professional athletes and European soccer players in particular, the founders of OPON are starting a new site that requires users to upload identification to access certain features and functionality. More than a third ( 36% ) of players listed social media as the biggest detriment to their mental health, and the PFA reported that 44% of its players received some kind of online abuse in 2020.
The co-founder soccer players are Watford FC goalkeeper Dan Bachmann, Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Josh Windass, Fulham FC captain Tom Cairney and Watford midfielder Dan Gosling . Also among the founding team is Danielle Bamber , a former English national team track and field athlete who is now a financial advisor for pro athletes.
OPON is said to be the first British-based social media platform and will use digital identity company Yoti to verify users.
