Fanslide, an in-play fantasy football game, has decided to close its app on Sunday in a bid to encourage players to enjoy the EURO 2020 final between England and Italy.
The company’s founder, Joe Cocozza, believes that closing the app will allow players to enjoy England’s first major tournament final for 55 years without any distractions.
“We created Fanslide to add extra excitement when watching football matches,” Cocozza said. “However, England’s first major final in 55 years is a completely unique occasion and it merits a unique response from us.”
Fanslide, which was launched ahead of the UEFA European Championships, is played live on one-off matches and enables fans to “slide” players in and out of the game in real time as the match plays out.
Cocozza added: “Sunday’s game is the biggest match of a lifetime for England supporters, so we’re deferring to the magnitude of the occasion and encouraging our players to switch off this time and just enjoy the match with friends and family.
“We know how much users have enjoyed playing Fanslide during the Euros, but we’re football fans ourselves, and this was an easy decision to make. It’s not something we will ever repeat – unless it takes England another 50 years to reach their next final maybe!”
Fanslide plans to return ahead of the regular season in August with a range of new features to “make the game even more sociable and exciting for fans”.