A Shropshire company with an interest in inclusive gaming has launched a cash incentive to encourage more grassroots football teams to get involved in a free football-themed, casual skill game.
Paul Carpenter, founder of SG Organisations, a safer gaming, and customer protection consultant, came up with the concept of Goalscorer after realising that many competitive video games were aimed at younger age groups where dexterity and reaction times are important factors in being the best player.
Developed with games industry experts, Goalscorer, is inspired by classic strategy games such as Chess.
Paul said: “The difference with Goalscorer is that it’s much quicker to play than Chess and you don’t need the mental ability of a Grandmaster to be the best. Although it is easy and fun to play it is also a challenge to master, so there is a competitive element.
“Goalscorer is all about supporting grassroots and youth development in football, so we are offering cash prizes for the top 3 players each month for their chosen football team or registered charity.
“By supporting teams from lower leagues and amateur football teams we are giving them an added incentive to compete and have the same opportunity to be the best as Goalscorer players that support larger and wealthier teams.
“We are delighted to announce that AFC Telford United Women’s team are the first team to win the £100 first prize.”
Hannah Clarke, newly appointed First Team coach and U17 Girls coach for AFC Telford United Women said: “Grassroots football is so important, it is the foundation to find and build on new talent. Just take the Lioness’s success in the past 18 months, many of those players would have started at the grassroots level and are now role models for girls and women everywhere and helping women’s football grow in popularity.
“The bond the ladies’ team at Telford is second to none, we have played many successful seasons, as a result of the great coaching and systems we have in place. Paul recently took the time out to explain how GoalScorer works so we hoped to be early winners of the monthly prize, but to win the first £100 is just fantastic news.”
Paul hopes the game will appeal to other football teams, both amateur and professional as it can be customised in the colours of any team and he is encouraging anyone to play.
SG Organisations intends to build on the development of Goalscorer with the continued support of games industry experts, sponsors and advertisers who believe that there is space in the market for an inclusive game. Future developments include improved custom game and leaderboard functions, customised game counters, the development of custom premium versions of the game for sponsors and advertisers, social game and fantasy-themed options.
Paul said: “SG Organisation is also looking to work with a publisher or investor to turn our Training Edition into a version called Goalscorer Premier where all teams are Premier League. But first, we’re looking for feedback on the updated Beta test version of Goalscorer Training Edition which is available in IOS and Android versions to download free on Google Play and in the App Store.”
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